KVA: Vote YES on S. 316 to Repeal the 2002/1991 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs).

Mar 27, 2023 by AFP

Dear Senators,

On behalf of Americans for Prosperity’s activists in all 50 states, I urge you to vote “YES” in support of S. 316, introduced by Sens. Tim Kaine (Va.) and Todd Young (Ind.) to repeal the 2002/1991 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs).

Congress drafted, debated, and subsequently passed both AUMFs, authorizing the use of our military forces against the regime of Saddam Hussein in 1991 for the Gulf War and in 2002 ahead of the Iraq War. Saddam Hussein was overthrown in 2003 and the original U.S. mission in Iraq was formally ended in 2011. Since then, Iraq has become a security partner in the region, and their government is no longer an adversary.

Over 4,600 American service members have been killed and more than 32,000 have been wounded in Iraq. Hundreds of thousands more who served continue to bear the burden of the war through mental health challenges and other illnesses connected to their deployments.

A repeal of the 2002/1991 Iraq AUMFs will remove the danger of future potential abuse of these authorizations, begin to restore Congress’ role in matters of war and peace, and force more Congressional debate over when, if, and (most importantly) why we send American troops into harm’s way.

This effort rises above partisan politics as seen in last week’s cloture vote, which recorded a 68-27 count.

We stand ready to work together on economic recovery, public health, and other issues of top concern to Americans. The Iraq AUMFs enable policies that needlessly endanger American lives, waste taxpayer dollars, and distract from other more pressing priorities. They should be repealed.

We urge you to vote YES on S. 316. This vote will be recorded in our legislative scorecard.

Visit AFP’s scorecard online at: AFPscorecard.org

Sincerely,

Brent Gardner
Chief Government Affairs Officer
Americans for Prosperity