Another reader raises a question about Sen. Biden’s announcement that he will propose a bill to rescind the October 2002 resolution which authorized the use of force in Iraq. The question is: Would the president would have to sign such a bill for it to become law? The reader reasons that the resolution is like a declaration of war; the constitution gives congress the power to declare war — the president does not have to sign such a declaration; therefore, can congress “undeclare” war without the president’s consent?
I think there is a pretty clear answer in the Iraq resolution context: the resolution is not a declaration of war, however similar the two may be. Resolutions are like other bills, they have to be submitted to the president to sign or veto. In fact, the Iraq resolution did not get the force of law until Bush signed it on October 16, 2002. Biden’s proposed rescission resolution would also be like any other bill — in the unlikely event it ever passed both houses of congress, the president would have to sign or veto it.
This would be an interesting question, though, if congress had formally declared war against Iraq. I believe we have only had five declared wars in American history, and congress has never tried to “un-declare” before. Since the constitution does not address recissions of declarations of war, I assume they would have to be treated like ordinary bills — i.e., they’d have no effect unless the president signed them or congress overrode a veto. But I confess that this is just an assumption — I don’t know what would happen.