Bill Summary
This legislation, called the "Resolution Defining Presidential Wars as Impeachable Offenses," declares that any war initiated by the President without a prior congressional declaration is an impeachable "high crime and misdemeanor." It also defines the terms "war" and "cobelligerency" for the purposes of impeachment proceedings. The resolution aims to clarify the standards for impeaching a President and to prevent abuse of power by the executive branch. It also allows for the House of Representatives to declare other Presidential actions as impeachable offenses.
Possible Impacts
1. This legislation could affect people by clarifying the circumstances under which a President could be impeached for initiating a war without prior Congressional approval. This could potentially provide a check on Presidential power and prevent abuses of power.
2. The legislation could also affect people by setting a standard for defining an impeachable offense, which could prevent the impeachment process from being used as a purely partisan tool and instead ensure that it is used as intended to hold public officials accountable for serious misconduct.
3. Additionally, the resolution could affect people by limiting the President's ability to involve the United States in a war as a cobelligerent without prior Congressional approval. This could prevent the country from being dragged into conflicts without proper consideration and debate by Congress.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 411 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 411
Defining Presidential wars not declared by Congress under article I,
section 8, clause 11 (Declare War Clause) as impeachable ``high crimes
and misdemeanors'' within the meaning of article II, section 4 of the
Constitution and defining the meanings of war and cobelligerency for
purposes of the Declare War Clause and Impeachment provisions.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 30, 2019
Ms. Gabbard submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Defining Presidential wars not declared by Congress under article I,
section 8, clause 11 (Declare War Clause) as impeachable ``high crimes
and misdemeanors'' within the meaning of article II, section 4 of the
Constitution and defining the meanings of war and cobelligerency for
purposes of the Declare War Clause and Impeachment provisions.
Whereas Presidential wars not declared by Congress under article I, section 8,
clause 11 are the most flagrant and dangerous of Presidential
usurpations;
Whereas President George Washington, who had presided over the Constitutional
Convention and supported the Declare War Clause, elaborated during his
service in office: ``The Constitution vests the power of declaring war
with Congress; therefore, no offensive expedition of importance can be
undertaken until after they have deliberated on the subject and
authorized such a measure.'';
Whereas Presidential wars saddle the people with multitrillion dollar
indebtedness, diverts national genius from production to destruction,
cripples liberty, silences the law, awakens enemies, and provokes
blowback in the United States;
Whereas the absence of impeachment standards creates an appearance that
impeachment is a partisan exercise, which undermines its legitimacy and
deters its use;
Whereas the absence of definitions of war and cobelligerency for purposes of the
Declare War Clause undermines its enforcement through the impeachment
process or otherwise;
Whereas the law should warn before it strikes;
Whereas article I, section 2, clause 5 provides that, ``The House of
Representatives . . . shall have the sole Power of Impeachment'';
Whereas the impeachment power of the House of Representatives is a cornerstone
safeguard against Presidential tyranny;
Whereas the past neglect of the House of Representatives to use the impeachment
power against Presidential usurpations and lawlessness has concentrated
alarming power in the executive branch, crippled liberty, undermined
transparency, and encouraged Presidents to further aggrandizements;
Whereas article II, section 4 of the Constitution provides that, ``The
President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States,
shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of,
Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors'';
Whereas the Constitutional Convention rejected ``neglect of duty'' or
``maladministration'' as impeachment standards in favor of ``high crimes
and misdemeanors'' because the former terms were too broad;
Whereas impeachable ``high crimes and misdemeanors'' has an objective meaning
based on the intent of the Constitution's Framers and British
impeachment precedents;
Whereas Alexander Hamilton in Federalist 65 explained that impeachable offenses
``proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from
the abuse or violation of some public trust. They are of a nature which
may with peculiar propriety be denominated POLITICAL, as they relate
chiefly to injuries done immediately to the society itself'';
Whereas the House of Representatives has voted Articles of Impeachment against
two Presidents, one Cabinet officer, one Senator, one Supreme Court
Justice, and 14 Federal judges without providing a general standard for
defining an impeachable offense; and
Whereas every participant in the drafting, debating, and ratifying of the
Constitution understood that the Declare War Clause prohibited
Presidential wars and entrusted exclusively to Congress the solemn
responsibility for deciding whether the Nation should cross the Rubicon
from a state of peace to a state of war: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved,
SECTION 1. DEFINING PRESIDENTIAL WARS AS IMPEACHABLE OFFENSES.
That the House of Representatives declares the following
Presidential actions shall constitute impeachable ``high crimes and
misdemeanors'' within the meaning of article II, section 4, which will
cause the House to vote an Article or Articles of Impeachment to send
to the Senate for trial: ``Initiating wars against state or nonstate
actors without prior congressional declarations under article I,
section 8, clause 11 (Declare War Clause) by which Congress itself
decides to take the United States from a condition of peace to a
condition of war against an identified enemy.''.
SEC. 2. DEFINING PRESIDENTIAL WARS.
Nothing in this resolution shall be interpreted to prohibit the
President from responding with proportionate military force in the
exercise of national self-defense to actual or imminent aggression or a
declaration of war against the United States.
SEC. 3. COBELLIGERNCY.
This resolution shall be interpreted to prohibit the President from
making the United States a cobelligerent in an ongoing war without a
congressional declaration under the Declare War Clause. For purposes of
this section, the United States becomes a cobelligerent if it
systematically or substantially supplies war materials, military
troops, trainers, or advisers, military intelligence, financial support
or their equivalent in association, cooperation, assistance, or common
cause with another belligerent.
SEC. 4. NONEXCLUSIVITY.
This resolution shall not be interpreted to preclude the House of
Representatives from concluding that other Presidential actions
constitute impeachable ``high crimes and misdemeanors'' within the
meaning of article II, section 4, either by supplemental resolutions or
by ad hoc determinations.
SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This resolution shall take effect upon passage by the House of
Representatives.
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