Washington: The US Senate rejected an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to require a congressional declaration of war prior to the United States engaging in an Article 5 response pursuant to its NATO obligations.
US Senators rejected the amendment on Wednesday in a vote of 16 in favour and 83 against.
Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty provides for a collective alliance response in the event any one member is the victim of an armed attack.
The amendment would clarify that it is the sense of the US Congress that the United States Article 5 obligation does not supersede constitutional requirements for Congress to formally declare war prior to US military engagement.
The measure was backed by US Senator Rand Paul.
“We do need to reaffirm the power and the necessity of declaring war because we are ignoring it by continuing to be involved in military activity and war around the globe without ever having voted on it as we are mandated by the Constitution,” Paul said in a statement on the bill.
Article 1 Section 8 of the US Constitution states that Congress has the power to declare war on behalf of the US.
The amendment was sponsored by Senator Rand Paul, who tried to attach the measure last year to a resolution backing Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO. Lawmakers likewise rejected the measure then.
