Draft AUMF Would Limit Anti-iSIS War Authority To Three Years

Alex Wong / Getty Images

WASHINGTON — House Intelligence Committee ranking member Adam Schiff has drafted a new Authorized Use of Military Force resolution granting the administration authority to wage war against ISIS, Al Qaeda, and the Taliban over the next three years.

President Obama called on Congress to pass a new AUMF during his address to the nation on Sunday. Although he and other administration officials have supported passage of a new resolution in the past, they have generally insisted that the existing 2001 version gives them more than enough authority.

But following the Paris and San Bernadino terrorist attacks, pressure is mounting for a much more significant war effort against ISIS, and Obama has been leery of owning a new Syrian war on his own and would like congressional buy-in.

The draft AUMF would also give the executive branch the ability to fight other organizations involved in terrorism, so long as they are “a co-belligerent” against the United States.

Although the legislation creates fairly wide authorities, it would still tighten up the ability to wage war, which under the existing 2001 AUMF has essentially been limitless.

For instance, in addition to the three-year sunset and explicitly stating who can be fought, Schiff’s legislation also creates new reporting requirements that would force the White House to publish a list every 90 days of terrorist groups targeted under the resolution, as well as where military strikes under the AUMF have been conducted.