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Congress can't keep up with the pace of war, modern life
© St. Petersburg Times WASHINGTON -- The world seems to be passing Congress by. So much of what the lawmakers do is simply too little, too late. Last week, for example, members of Congress complained bitterly that President Bush was not keeping them informed about his plans for the future of the war against terrorism. Gone from their ranks are many of the Vietnam-era members who knew that Congress could not give a president carte blanche to prosecute a foreign war and then expect to be privy to the decisionmaking. "Memories are short," says retired Sen. Dale Bumpers, D-Ark., who made many eloquent floor speeches during his career in Congress about lessons of the Vietnam War. Since Vietnam, members of Congress have tried repeatedly to harness the president to their will in times of military conflict. The 1973 War Powers Resolution was the most dramatic of these efforts, of course. But there were other mechanisms with the same purpose crafted in negotiations between the Congress and the White House, and then quickly forgotten. No president has ever officially agreed to abide by the War Powers Resolution. Some presidents have agreed to consult Congress in an effort to comply with the spirit -- but not the letter -- of the resolution. Congress lacks any power to enforce such strictures on the White House. The Constitution gave Congress the right to declare war. But over the centuries, the war-making powers of the commander-in-chief have expanded beyond those of Congress. Ever since Franklin D. Roosevelt, presidents have been commiting American troops to armed conflict without seeking the approval of Congress. Perhaps the biggest obstacle for Congress in this power struggle with the president is that the legislative branch cannot move quickly enough to respond to acts of aggression against the United States or its allies. After the terrorist attacks last September, President Bush needed to react quickly. Congress can only act quickly if there is an obvious national consensus in favor of armed conflict. And in cases where there is consensus, why should the president even bother to wait for Congress to act? In cases where there is no consensus, presidents do not want to take the chance that their action would be thwarted by Congress. Although Bush's father sought the approval of Congress to intervene in the Gulf War a decade ago, this was the exception that proves the rule. He did not agree to consult Congress until he was certain of the outcome. He also knew it would take a long time to get heavy U.S. military equipment into place. Bumpers, now a lawyer in private practice, says he still thinks the legislative branch has a right to be consulted whenever the president decides to send American troops into combat. With the benefit of hindsight, however, Bumpers recognizes most presidents don't have to worry about the opinion of Congress when they decide to put American lives in jeopardy. "Once it is a fait accompli and American troops are on the ground fighting in a foreign country, the American people will immediately rally around to protect the president," Bumpers noted in a telephone interview. "In the long run, public opinion may go south. But in the immediate instance, the president can get away with almost anything." It is unsettling for us to watch members of Congress whining about not being consulted by the president. While most of us don't particularly care that they feel dissed, it is a sad reminder that the founding fathers' vision of checks and balances is being eclipsed by modern expediency. Our government is an 18th century institution struggling to deal with 21st century problems. Thus we should not be surprised that the most unwieldy portion of the government, that which is devoted to reflecting the will of the people, cannot keep up with the president. War, of course, is not the only place where Congress lags behind the pace of modern life. Most issues that are the responsibility of Congress are not addressed quickly enough. The campaign finance reform legislation that Congress will likely pass in the near future was intended to solve problems that first arose in the 1980s. Since the current legislation was drafted, many new abuses have been invented that it does not address. And instead of fixing Social Security, some members of Congress want to mail each American a worthless piece of paper promising them their benefits. In these and many other ways, we get the impression that the difficulties of governing are causing our representatives to simply lose interest in the job. -- Sara Fritz can be reached by e-mail at fritz@sptimes.com and by telephone at (202) 463-0576.
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Times columns today Howard Troxler Sara Fritz Eric Deggans |
