War Powers Act
What Is It The Wars Powers Act is a measure by congress passed in response to the Watergate scandal under president Nixon. The act states that “the president must notify Congress within 48 hours after deployment of troops into a hostile situation… the president can only commit troops into a hostile situation for 60 days without Congressional approval. After the 60 days pass, Congress can authorize continued presence of the troops, declare war, or recall the troops” (Braunwarth et.al., 2014, p. 358-359). Meaning that the act is indented to regulate presidential control over the country’s military affairs. The first part is to allow the president maneuverability within extreme circumstances so as to allow troops to fight when needed. The second portion is used to regulate when and for how long the president deploys the troops so as not to create prolonged involvement or even engage in conflicts without sufficient reason. Was It Important To Pass The Act is important to pass, because it allows Congress to regulate military actions by the president. …show more content…
As an inherent power, the power to direct and control the armed forces is under the presidents control. As such, the first part of the act allows the president to engage when there is an immediate threat, however. The ability to command the armed forces without a set amount of time, or rather constraint, would inevitably cause damage to the US. So, it is then important to have the second part of the Act. As such the president’s personal view on what’s immediate or a threat could be defined in any way, so it is then up to Congress to limit such capabilities or even to allow that threat to be declared credible. The reasons why Congress felt the legislation was important to pass was do the increase involvements in military affairs internationally. Incidents such as Korea in 1950, and Vietnam in 1955, where not done with Congressional approval originally. Such cases introduced the need for Congress to limit the ability in which presidents use military interventions. Essentially, the act is in place to check presidential actions and limit the wide range of power the armed forces has. Problems With the Act? Personally, as the author of this paper I don’t see any problems with the act. It allows Congress to regulate the inherit powers the president receives as command and chief of the armed forces. In a world that is increasingly becoming global in nature, that is, nation to nation communication and …show more content…
This is largely the case because the president sees his position as one that does not need Congressional approval under the faithfully executed clause in the oath of office which is largely interpreted on a subjective basis. Which means that under the constitution, as commander and chief, a present sees is position as one that does not need Congresses’ approval and that such legislation violates the constitution as a whole. Essentially, the president understands the wording in the constitution to mean that the positon of president, and that position alone, has sole authority over the armed