War Powers Act Becomes Law

A combination of the Tonkin Gulf Resolution, the prolonged conflict in Vietnam, and the invasion and bombing of Cambodia leave Congress determined to exercise greater oversight of U.S. foreign policy. After introducing the Case-Church Amendment, Senator Clifford P. Case indicates that in the coming months Congress will also pass a bill defining and limiting the president’s powers to make war. The resulting War Powers Resolution requires the president to report to Congress before deploying U.S. military forces. It also limits the duration of that deployment to 60 to 90 days unless the president receives congressional approval.¹