Editing War Powers Resolution (section)

==Background==
Under the [[United States Constitution]], war powers are divided. Under [[Article One of the United States Constitution#Section 8: Powers of Congress|Article I, Section 8]], Congress has the power to:

*[[declare war]]
*grant [[Letters of Marque and Reprisal]] (i.e., license private citizens to capture enemy vessels)
*raise and support Armies (for terms up to two years at a time)
*provide and maintain a Navy
*make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces
*provide for calling forth the [[Militia (United States)|Militia]]
*make [[Prize (law)|Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water]]
*provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia; and
*govern such Part of [the militia] as may be employed in the Service of the United States.

Section 8 further provides that the [[U.S. State|states]] have the power to:

*Appoint the Officers of the Militia; and
*train the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress.

[[Article Two of the United States Constitution#Section 2: Presidential powers|Article II, Section 2]] provides that:

*"The president shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States"

It is generally agreed that the commander-in-chief role gives the President power to repel attacks against the United States<ref name="ReferenceA">The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787, at 318-19 (Max Farrand ed., rev. ed. 1966)(1911)</ref><ref name="justice.gov">[https://www.justice.gov/olc/warpowers925.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081215114422/http://www.justice.gov/olc/warpowers925.htm|date=December 15, 2008}}</ref> and makes the President responsible for leading the armed forces. The President has the right to sign or veto congressional acts, such as a declaration of war, and Congress may override any such presidential veto. Additionally, when the president's actions (or inactions) provide "Aid and Comfort" to enemies or levy war against the United States, then Congress has the power to impeach and remove (convict) the president for treason. For actions short of treason, they can remove the president for "Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors", the definition of which the Supreme Court has left up to Congress. Therefore, the war power was intentionally split between Congress and the Executive to prevent unilateral executive action that is contrary to the wishes of Congress, and require a super-majority for legislative action that is contrary to the wishes of the president. Past presidential administrations have engaged the U.S. in conflict as well as directed U.S. military efforts without the approval of Congress. President Franklin Roosevelt directed the U.S. Navy to protect British shipping vessels during WW2 as well as ordering the occupation of Greenland and Iceland.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vance |first=Cyrus R. |date=December 1984 |title=Striking the Balance: Congress and the President under the War Powers Resolution |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3311864 |journal=University of Pennsylvania Law Review |volume=133 |issue=1 |pages=79–95 |doi=10.2307/3311864|jstor=3311864 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>