During a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) advocated for support of a bipartisan resolution that would update the current Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMF) passed in 2001 and 2002 to include al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and ISIS.
The measure, Senate Joint Resolution 59, is an “increasingly necessary legal update” that would enable the U.S. Department of Defense to “take the fight to our enemies, to detain enemy combatants when we capture them, and to keep Americans safe,” Young said during the hearing.
The measure would require congressional review of the AUMF every four years. The president would be required to submit a report to Congress on the use of military force, including a recommendation to repeal, modify or leave the resolution in place. The resolution also stipulates that a qualifying resolution to repeal or modify the joint resolution would be eligible for expedited congressional reconsideration.
John Bellinger, a former National Security Advisor legal counsel, thanked Young for his leadership on the issue. Bellinger also noted during the hearing that he viewed the joint resolution proposal as “an improvement” over current AUMFs.
“Passing this legislation would also demonstrate our continued support for our troops and the continued determination of the American people to defeat Islamist terrorists,” Young said. “To those who believe Congress has abdicated its role in war power and worry about an unchecked executive, concerns I share, I say an objective analysis of the legislation, Senate Joint Resolution 59, is a dramatic improvement over the status quo. A dramatic improvement.”