Senate moves to end authorization for “forever war” in Iraq

US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that a House committee will consider legislation next week that would revoke two authorizations for previous wars in Iraq, in a new attempt to reaffirm Congress’ role in deciding whether to send troops to fight in other countries.

Schumer added that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will discuss the authorizations issued in 1991 and 2002 for the use of military force, paving the way for a possible vote in the full Senate before members leave for the April recess.

He continued, “We explicitly need to put the Iraq war behind us forever. And to do that we need to abolish the legal authority under which the war began.”

Democratic and Republican lawmakers from the Senate and House of Representatives introduced legislation to repeal the two long-standing pieces of legislation in early February.