On Wednesday, by a vote of 66–30, the Senate passed S. 316, the bill to repeal the two authorizations for the use of military force (AUMFs) against Iraq currently in effect. The first AUMF, passed in 1991, authorized the deployment of troops after Iraq invaded Kuwait, while the second, passed in 2002, allowed the president to use military force “as he determines to be necessary and appropriate” to “defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq.” The resulting war would destabilize the region, killing thousands of troops and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians.

The repeal bill, barely a page in length, would not have any immediate effect: Neither AUMF currently forms the sole basis for an American overseas conflict. The Congressional Budget Office determined that “enacting S. 316 would not affect the federal budget.” Nonetheless, it’s a good sign that Congress is willing to reclaim its constitutional powers, even incrementally. And it shouldn’t stop there.

Under the Constitution, while the president is the commander in chief, Congress has the sole authority to declare war. But it has not done so since World War II. Instead, over time Congress increasingly ceded war-making powers to the president.

[The AUMFs needed an overhaul, if not full repeal. Congress needed to set a new direction for American military interventions, if we are to keep them in place. And it also needs to reassert its proper constitutional role … and not just in war powers either. — Ed]