Kelly Hayes
Se. Jeff Brandes filed a Senate Memorial urging Congress and the President to repeal the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force, established days after the 9/11 attacks.
The bill, SM 1804, joins the push to end the 2001 AUMF, which authorizes the President to “use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.”
The authorization has been used by both the Trump and Obama administrations as legal justification for counterterrorism operations around the world, but critics argue it has been inappropriately stretched beyond its original intent. Recently, a group of 25 prominent nonprofit organizations wrote a letter to Congress calling for the elimination of the measure.
Brandes’ proposal states that the military “has accomplished these principal strategic objectives through the valiant sacrifices of service members, but the United States’ continued nation-building attempts in Afghanistan have resulted in the longest war in American history.”
It goes on to say that because of the broad and nonspecific language of the AUMF, it has far exceeded the intended scope of the act, having been invoked more than 41 times to deploy U.S. troops to more than 19 countries.
According to the legislation, Florida is home to 21 military bases, with an estimated 68,000 active duty service members, and more than 1.5 million veterans. The proposal also cites the “heavy price” of the war, which has so far claimed the lives of more than 7,000 service members, and wounded more than 53,000.
If approved, the memorial would be transmitted to the Secretary of State for presentation to Congress.
The House has a similar memorial bill, HM 1121, filed by Rep. Alex Andrade and co-sponsored by Rep. Anthony Sabatini. The House legislation has received two committee assignments, and is waiting on its first hearing in the Local Administration and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee.
