Bipartisan Organizations Representing Democracy, Veterans, Faith Leaders, and Scientists Demand Congress Act Now on Iran War

Today, in advance of an anticipated vote this week in Congress on a War Powers Resolution, a bipartisan coalition of democracy, veterans, faith, and science groups sent a letter to Congress demanding elected officials reassert war powers amid a fragile ceasefire agreement. The letter reminds members, “Keeping Americans safe means having a plan. It also means upholding the constitutional framework that ensures decisions of war are deliberate, accountable, and shared among the branches of government.” 

The coalition sent it to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, urging the committees to take bipartisan action to restore the proper balance of powers, protect American lives, and ensure that decisions about war are not made by the president alone.

“Over time, presidents of both parties have pushed the limits of their constitutional authority, gradually eroding Congress’s role in decisions of war and peace,” the letter reads. “Reasserting Article I authority is not about one president or one party. It is about restoring the constitutional balance that protects our democracy, our national security, and our troops.”

Issue One partnered with Common Cause, Democracy Matters, Faith in Democracy, Mormon Women for Ethical Government, Principles First, Project on Government Oversight, Protect Democracy, RepresentUs, Stand Up America, The Chamberlain Network, and Union of Concerned Scientists on the letter.

“Recent military action taken without a vote in Congress, including the rapid expenditure of $5.6 billion in taxpayer dollars, underscores the urgency of this moment,” the letter continues. “American service members have already been killed and wounded, and the risk of further escalation remains. Without clear authorization, oversight, and strategy, this conflict could continue to grow and cost more American lives.”

Along with the letter, Issue One Director of National Campaigns Víctor Guillén said, “While presidents of both parties have stretched the boundaries of constitutional authority, we are especially concerned about the actions of President Trump. From Greenland to Venezuela to Iran, President Trump has shown that he is willing to recklessly enter military conflicts without congressional support. His impulsiveness has led to suffering for millions of Americans, from American troops who were wounded and killed to people living paycheck to paycheck wondering how they will afford groceries, gas, or childcare. Now that Congress has seen what the President is capable of, it must stop the President from repeating it. If Congress does not check him now, the President will most likely start more poorly-planned and pointless conflicts in the future — on Truth Social, no less — to the detriment of the American people and citizens around the world.”

To that end, the letter urges Congress to advance several measures to reassert its war powers:

• Committee members are urged to require congressional authorization before further military escalation.
• Members are reminded of their responsibility to conduct robust oversight of ongoing military operations and expenditures.
• They are encouraged to reaffirm Congress’s Article I authority over war powers and the use of taxpayer funds.
• Further they are asked to revisit and reform the war powers resolution to ensure that Congress has a meaningful consultative and decisionmaking role in any significant military deployment.

“This is a bipartisan responsibility,” the letter concludes. “The Constitution is clear and the stakes are high.”

Read the full letter HERE.

Background

Issue One has been working with our ReFormers Caucus members and coalition partners to draw attention to the need for Congress to check President Trump’s overreach in Iran. Earlier this month, former Secretaries of Defense Chuck Hagel and Leon Panetta published an opinion piece in The New York Times about how this war could harm the United States and what actions Congress should take to rein in the President.

Issue One also partnered with Mormon Women for Ethical Government, RepresentUS, Principles First, and The Chamberlain Network to release the We the People Playbook, which outlines bipartisan policy recommendations for ending the practice of presidents operating as the sole authority when declaring war. These groups also came together ahead of the president’s State of the Union address in February to ask Congress to stop executive branch overreach, including on the issue of war powers.