From the same piece we get some candor from Senator Biden over what the Congress can realistically do in regards to the President’s Iraq policy (a point I have made before):
Whether lawmakers are prepared to advocate legislative steps to withhold funds from an expanded mission is unclear. Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democratic chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said Sunday that as a practical matter, there was little that lawmakers could do to prevent Mr. Bush from expanding the American military mission in Iraq.“You can’t go in like a Tinkertoy and play around and say you can’t spend the money on this piece and this piece,” Mr. Biden said on the NBC News program “Meet the Press.” “He’ll be able to keep the troops there forever, constitutionally, if he wants to.”
“As a practical matter,” Mr. Biden added, “there is no way to say, ‘Mr. President, stop.’ ”
One could likely concoct a very convoluted process by which the Congress could attempt to force the President’s hand in a matter like this, but Biden is correct: the practicality of the matter is that there is very little that the Congress can do to force a withdrawal. Talk about cutting funding is so much empty rhetoric. It isn’t like there is this extry-special “Iraq Only” account that they can freeze. And we won’t even get into the political fallout of cutting off money to troops in harm’s way.
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but Biden is correct: the practicality of the matter is that there is very little that the Congress can do to force a withdrawal.
This is an important point which–curiously–was rarely brought up during the midterm campaign.
Bush would consistently say on the campaign stump that the Democrats “don’t have a plan” for Iraq. I don’t recall any media members or even Democrats say, “well George, thats not really the job of the legislative–rather you as the executive are the one responsible for executing policy.”
Comment by Ratoe — Monday, January 8, 2024 @ 8:37 am
It isn’t like there is this extry-special “Iraq Only” account that they can freeze.
Sure there is. Congress has passed numerous “Supplementals” and the budget contains items designated specifically for Iraq operations. It has the absolute constitutional power to return these items to zero in the next budget, and it has the authority to impeach if the President reprograms funds from other accounts.
Of course, Dems are not even in agreement amongst themselves on this policy. They lack the will and nerve. But it is not that they lack the power. The President’s role as Commander in Chief does not make him a dictator, as I believe I have read in this space before.
Comment by MSS — Monday, January 8, 2024 @ 11:33 am
Well, the problem is the fungible nature of money. It isn’t all that easy to turn off all the cash to Iraq and only Iraq unless you want to cut off all the money to the military.
Now, I agree that if they wanted to go to extreme measures, such as passing specific laws and budget restrictions and then threatening the President with Impeachment,that is possible. However, for the threat to be credible they would need two-thirds of the Senate on their side (not just Democratic solidarity).
The fragmentation in regards to the policy within the two parties and between them means that the institutional advantage goes to the President. It doesn’t make him a dictator, it just makes it such an unlikely policy move as to make it essentially an impossibility.
As such, in practical terms I stand by the assessment.
For that matter I am not convinced, despite the war’s unpopularity, that there is consensus in the country that an immediate withdrawal is important enough for the type of confrontation needed to be feasible. The political will isn’t there.
Comment by Dr. Steven Taylor — Monday, January 8, 2024 @ 12:52 pm
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