ACS Hill Briefing: Congress as Surge Protector? Troop Escalation, the Congress and the Constitution

On January 10th, President Bush announced his intention to send an additional 21,500 troops into Iraq. It is now up to Congress to decide how it will respond. Our panel of constitutional scholars and former Presidential advisors will discuss the scope of Congress' power to limit the President's actions in wartime. Among the questions they will consider: Which tools -- such as refusing to fund an escalation of the war, attaching conditions to appropriations, or enacting laws forbidding escalation of the war -- are constitutionally available to Congress? How has the Supreme Court defined the scope of Congress’ power to limit the Commander-in-Chief? What historical precedents exist?

Crowell & Moring’s Beth Nolan will be participating in the panel discussion.