{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.manchin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=86fa442b-9716-4620-b09a-baef114e0a4e", "Byrd inspires current members of Congress to curb presidential power | Charleston Gazette", "2014-10-14", "2014", "2014-10", "Democrat", "House", "WV", "Joe Manchin", "M001183", "www.manchin.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "October 14, 2014\n\t\t\t Byrd inspires current members of Congress to curb presidential power | Charleston Gazette \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tA lifelong defender of the \u201cseparation of powers\u201d between the three branches of American government, the late U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd believed the Senate had to stop any president from usurping its role in determining policies \u2014 especially policies leading to military invasions and wars.\r\n\u201cEvery West Virginian who has paid attention to the political process over the last half century knows that, if you violated the Constitution, you would have the wrath of Robert Byrd,\u201d said Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who now holds the seat that was Byrd\u2019s between 1959 and 2010.\r\nBetween 1993 and 2000, Byrd vigorously opposed some of President Bill Clinton\u2019s key political goals, among them the \u201cline-item veto,\u201d which would allow presidents to strike out any line from any legislation Congress passed. Byrd won that fight against his fellow Democrat.\r\nIn 2002, Byrd opposed the Iraq war resolution backed by President George W. Bush. Byrd believed that resolution, which passed the Senate 77-23, unconstitutionally shifted more power away from Congress.\r\nNow, some members of Congress believe President Obama is misusing authority that was granted to Bush after the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida terrorist attacks to go after militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (the group also known as ISIS or Islamic State).\r\n\u201cI have more admiration for Senator Byrd today than I had when he was in the Senate, now that I am sitting here myself,\u201d Manchin said last week.\r\nWith one dissenter, Congress passed the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force three days after the al-Qaida attacks. It authorized Bush and subsequent presidents to use \u201cnecessary and appropriate\u201d force against anyone involved in the attacks.\r\n\u201cI believe we need to come back and repeal that,\u201d Manchin said.\r\nWhite House officials have said the Obama administration\u2019s legal reasoning for military action against ISIL stems from the 2001 authorization from Congress.\r\n\u201cUnder George Bush\u2019s AUMF, the White House thinks they have all the approval they need from Congress. I believe that is wrong,\u201d Manchin said. \u201cByrd would be standing with 10 feet of constitutional books arguing against this.\u201d\r\nOther members of the Senate feel the same. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. and longtime supporter of Obama, had \u201ca spirited discussion\u201d with him earlier this year about the need to get congressional approval before going to war against ISIL, The New York Times reported last week.\r\n\u201cSenator Tim Kaine is adamant that the president needs to come back to Congress to get reauthorization,\u201d Manchin said. \u201cI truly believe the president needs to make his case to get involved in Syria, before getting involved in a civil war that could last for years.\u201d\r\nAsked if he believes the president needs congressional authority for his actions against ISIL, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., emphasized the dangers posed by the group.\r\n\u201cISIL is a cowardly but dangerous enemy, a practitioner of heinous acts of brutality. The group poses a very real threat, not only to U.S. personnel and facilities in the region, but also to the stability of the Middle East as a whole. If ISIL goes unchecked, they have the potential to launch attacks directly at the United States. Their campaign of terror must end,\u201d Rockefeller said. \u201cWith that goal in mind, the president has begun to take steps to degrade ISIL through powerful airstrikes. However, those airstrikes alone will not be sufficient to truly destroy ISIL, and this will not be a quick or easy operation. These realities will force many hard decisions in the months ahead.\u201d\r\nRep. Nick J. Rahall, D-W.Va., has served in the House of Representatives for nearly 40 years, and often cites Byrd as his mentor and primary influence.\r\n\u201cSenator Byrd taught us to look to the Constitution in times of war. He taught us that open and transparent debates would keep our nation true to its values and principles,\u201d said Rahall, who voted for the 2001 AUMF after the al-Qaida attacks but against the 2002 Iraq war resolution giving Bush increased powers to wage war.\r\nRockefeller voted for the 2001 AUMF and the 2002 Iraq war resolution. He called the 2002 vote \u201cone of the most difficult decisions I have had to make in my [then] 18 years in the Senate.\u201d\r\nDavid Corbin, a Byrd biographer and member of the senator\u2019s staff for 26 years, said, \u201cByrd was a firm believer in Congress as part of the three branches of power. Congress was equal to the president.\r\n\u201cBefore you commit combat troops on the ground, it should be subjected to congressional oversight. Byrd was a firm believer that only Congress has the right to declare war,\u201d Corbin said.\r\nIn February 2003, Byrd delivered a moving speech criticizing the Senate for failing to block the shift of war powers to the president.\r\n\u201cThere is no debate, no discussion, no attempt to lay out for the nation the pros and cons of this particular war,\u201d Byrd said. \u201cWe stand passively mute in the United States Senate, paralyzed by our own uncertainty, seemingly stunned by the sheer turmoil of events.\u201d\r\nCorbin wrote, \u201cTo Byrd, Bush was attempting to disrupt, if not destroy, the system of checks and balances that America\u2019s founding fathers established.\u201d\r\nByrd and Obama became friends after Obama joined the Senate in 2004, and Obama headlined the West Virginia Democratic Party\u2019s annual fundraiser in 2006, during Byrd\u2019s last re-election campaign. However, less than a month after Obama took office, Byrd criticized his decision to appoint administrative \u201cczars\u201d who did not have to win Senate approval to oversee federal agencies.\r\nRahall said he believes Congress will have an opportunity to examine part of the president\u2019s Middle East strategy \u2014 the training and arming of Syrian rebels \u2014 soon.\r\nThe House resolution granting Obama the authority to train Syrian rebels expires in December, Rahall said, giving \u201cCongress and the American people another opportunity to take a look at the situation.\u201d\r\nManchin said. \u201cI can only imagine if Robert C. Byrd were still here and what we would hear from him. I was one of the few Democrats who said I do not think we should be arming and training people who we don\u2019t know what side of the fence they will be on. The weapons we give them will be used against us, sooner or later.\r\n\u201cLeaders have been warned for centuries that this is an area, because of deep sectarian and religious differences, that will not be changed in a reasonable manner or through force.\r\n\u201cThey want to drag us into another civil war in Syria. Bashar al-Assad is a barbarian dictator who has committed genocide on his own people. In that part of the world, Saddam Hussein did the same in Iraq, as did Moammar Kadafi in Libya.\u201d\r\nHighly critical of Assad, Manchin expressed frustration that the United States has received no commitments for help from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey or the United Arab Emirates.\r\n\u201cRobert C. Byrd would say. \u2018When it comes time to be using our resources and our military might in a war, you need the approval of Congress,\u2019\u201d Manchin said. \u201cThat is where I stand and that is where Robert C. Byrd would be.\u201d  \u2003\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t\t    By:\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t    Paul Nyden", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.manchin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=86fa442b-9716-4620-b09a-baef114e0a4e"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0026870295405388, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}