Labrador calls for special session
September 1, 2013
Rep. Raúl Labrador called on Speaker Boehner August 31 to call the House into special session next week in order to debate a Congressional authorization of the use of force against Syria.

Earlier in the day, President Obama said for the first time that he would seek Congressional authorization for the use of force against Syria and that the United States “should” take action against that country.

Congress is currently scheduled to reconvene on September 9.

“I commend President Obama for his decision to seek Congressional authorization for the use of force against Syria,” Labrador said. “The Constitution is quite clear that the President cannot commit our nation to war (absent an attack upon the United States) without the approval of Congress. The Speaker should call the House into special session early next week to debate authorizing the use of force against Syria. If the Speaker waits until September 9, the war debate will compress the already limited time that Congress has to deal with other issues, from the budget to the debt ceiling to immigration. The debate over Syria is too important to be delayed or compressed by other issues. We owe it to the American people to fulfill our responsibilities under the Constitution, and to do so in a timely way that respects the democratic process.”

This week, Labrador and 139 other House members sent a letter to President Obama, stating that we “strongly urge you to consult and receive authorization from Congress before ordering the use of U.S. military force in Syria" and reminding the President that "engaging our military in Syria when no direct threat to the United States exists and without prior congressional authorization would violate the separation of powers that is clearly delineated in the Constitution."

“The Speaker must protect Congress’ most basic and most important responsibility – the power to declare war,” Labrador said. “Since the enactment of the War Powers Resolution in 1973, Congress has continued to delegate its constitutional prerogative to authorize the use of force overseas to the executive branch. This trend must be reversed. The House must return next week and assert the primacy of the legislative branch by immediately engaging in a deliberate and thorough debate about the President's case for the use of force in Syria. After the vote, President Obama must respect the will of the duly elected representatives of the American people."