Advocacy groups push for Congressional reforms to surveillance, war declaration policies
FreedomWorks also joined a coalition of 20 groups to advocate that Congress adhere to a new “statement of principles” regarding lawmakers’ authority over the United States’ war-making decisions. Included in the coalition are the libertarian-leaning R Street Institute think tank and several left-leaning groups such as the Center for American Progress and VoteVets.
The coalition says the system of checks and balances between President Trump and Congress is “broken” and urges Congress to “rise above partisanship and parochial interests” to fix it.
“Military interventions, emergency declarations, and arms sales are areas where the president may act only with authorization or approval from Congress,” the coalition’s statement declares. “In genuine emergencies where Congress has no time to act, the president may proceed without congressional approval — but only for a limited period of time. These national security powers must be used for clearly defined purposes, subject to regular review by Congress, and only as a last resort.”
The R Street Institute, which focuses on free market and limited government issues, joined the effort because it viewed the advocacy as policy-centric and not politics-focused.
“R Street has long argued that Congress has surrendered many of its constitutional responsibilities, and must take back power it has for too long ceded to the executive branch,” said Anthony Marcum, R Street Institute resident fellow. “The statement of principles shows that this is a bipartisan effort, not focused on politics, but rather rebalancing our separation of powers system.”
