Sen. Sanders seeks to block funding for US military strike against Iran

While a serving US president usually needs Congress to officially declare war, the US has not declared war against any nation since 1942

By OMRI NAHMIAS
Bernie Sanders (photo credit: REUTERS/SCOTT MORGAN)
Bernie Sanders
(photo credit: REUTERS/SCOTT MORGAN)
Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders and California Representative Ro Khanna introduced legislation on Friday that would prohibit funding “for offensive military force in or against Iran without prior congressional authorization.”
In their joint statement, they argued that measures to restrict funds for such military activities were passed by a bipartisan, 251-margin vote in the House of Representatives, but were later stripped from the National Defense Authorization Act adopted by Congress in December.
“I am introducing a bill with Rep. Khanna to stop [President] Donald Trump from illegally taking us to war against Iran,” Sanders tweeted. “It’s working-class kids who will have to fight and die in a disastrous new Middle East conflict – not the children of billionaires.”
“Today, we are seeing a dangerous escalation that brings us closer to another disastrous war in the Middle East,” Khanna said in a statement. “A war with Iran could cost countless lives and trillions of more dollars - and lead to even more deaths, more conflict, [and] more displacement in that already highly volatile region of the world.
“Our legislation blocks Pentagon funding for any unilateral actions this president takes to wage war against Iran without Congressional authorization,” he continued. “We must invest in the needs of the American people, not spend trillions more on endless wars.”
Trump had spoken in the past in favor of an America First policy; his decision last year to pull American forces out of Syria was slammed for being seen as an abandonment of America’s Kurdish allies in the region.
While a serving US president usually needs Congress to officially declare war, the US has not made a declaration of war against any nation since 1942.
Instead, it declared “authorization to use military force,” such as in the 2003 Iraq War.
Likewise, the “War on Terror” is grounded in the 2001 Congressional resolution which authorized the use of military force against terrorists.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.