Unlike the House bill, the Senate bill would give presidents the unconstitutional power to commit the crime of using the U.S. military in partnership with another nation's as long as this didn't make the United States a party (a term it does not define) to the war. This would take the one war that Congress almost sort-of acted on under the War Powers Resolution (Yemen), and eliminate the ability to act on it.
ADDITIONAL UPSIDE
Unlike the House bill, the Senate bill would repeal all the existing AUMFs.
HOUSE BILL
ADDITIONAL DOWNSIDE
Unlike the Senate bill, the House bill would further erode the idea that impeachment is the appropriate remedy for serious offenses by holders of high office by writing into the law the right of Congress to sue in court a violator of a Congressional ban on a particular war.
ADDITIONAL UPSIDES
Unlike the Senate bill, the House bill would ban wars with a "serious risk" of violations of "the Law of Armed Conflict, international humanitarian law, or the treaty obligations of the United States," which would seem to be a standard that would have prevented every U.S. war for the past century if actually taken seriously.
While both bills contain sections on weapons dealing, the House bill is more serious than the Senate. The House bill bans the transfer of weapons and training ("defense articles and defense services") to countries that "commit genocide or violations of international humanitarian law." This item would do so much good for the world and cost certain people so much money that it practically guarantees the bill will never be voted on.
While both bills contain sections on declarations of emergency, the House bill bans permanent emergencies, and ends existing "emergencies."
CONCLUSION
I don't like the downsides in these bills at all. I think they're horrific, disgraceful, and absolutely indefensible. But I think they're outweighed by the upsides, even in the Senate bill, though the House one is better. Yet, clearly best of all would be for Congress to make use of any of these things, either one of the new bills or the law as it exists today.
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