Gentlemen:

As your constituent, I strongly urge you to oppose any amendment offered in the Senate Armed Services Committee that would create new worldwide authorization to go to war.

I am very concerned that one or more members of the Committee will try to sneak into the National Defense Authorization Act the worldwide war provision that was added in the middle of the night to the House version of the legislation. The worldwide war amendment would address no clear enemy, no expiration date, no geographical boundaries, and no connection to the 9/11 attacks or any other harm or threat to Americans.

Congress should not wholesale hand over to this president -- and all future presidents -- the authority that the Constitution gives to Congress alone to decide whether, where, and why the country will go to war. If this provision passes, there will be no more checks and balances on the use of the military.

The time is now to ensure the system of checks and balances enumerated in the organic Constitution are followed and elected representatives are expected to honor their oaths of office without exception. The decision to go to war is too important to be decided in a secret debate on an amendment to a much bigger bill, and Congress should not cede its power to this president nor any future presidents, from now through eternity. It would be in violation of the intent and purpose of the Supreme Laws of the union of States, disregarding our entire nation's history, the Republican form of Government, guaranteed to the individual States, expressly written in Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution, and shall not be tolerated.

I urge you to oppose any amendment for new worldwide war authority.

While we are willing to operate by faith over experience for a while, we are not fools. We wish for a peaceful return to organic constitutional principles, wherein our elected representatives honor their oaths of office and act in the best interests of their constituents, not for political expediency or garnering votes to ensure re-election.  This needs to happen sooner, rather than later.

Thank you for considering my views, and your faithfulness to act responsibly on this and other congressional legislation.

Your attention and cooperation in this matter is appreciated.

Respectfully,

Robert William Butler Jr

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