U.S. Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky is criticizing a report released Tuesday that calls for the repeal of the 1973 War Powers Resolution.The report, from a bipartisan panel chaired by former U.S. Secretaries of State Warren Christopher and James Baker, says a new measure should be drafted that requires U.S. presidents to consult Congress more closely before sending troopsinto battle.Congressional involvement became a central issue in the Iraq debate last year, when Democrats tried to force President Bush to end the war.Bunning, a Republican, says the report is overreaching, noting that Christopher and Baker never seemed to have a problem with the policy when they were in office."And now that they're sitting on the sidelines doing absolutely nothing, contributing nothing to America, they want to change the War Powers act, because they don't like it," he told reporters Tuesday.Bunning acknowledges the resolution could use some fine-tuning, but that should be done when the next president and Congress are seated.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.