FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 16, 1999
CONTACT: Lisette McSoud Mondello
SENATOR HUTCHISON CALLS UPON CONGRESS
TO REASSERT ITS MILITARY AND FOREIGN POLICY ROLE
-- Ethical and Legal Uses of Military Force Demand Legislative Review --
DALLAS, TX -- Congress must reassert its role in U.S. military and foreign policy, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison said today during a major foreign policy address at Southern Methodist University Law School. Only Congress can offer the oversight needed to ensure that the U.S. is able to distinguish between critical security missions and those that are not, the Senator said.
"We must choose more carefully between those areas where direct engagement is called for and those where a supporting role is more appropriate," Senator Hutchison told SMU students and faculty. "The role of Congress is to make sure the Executive Branch chooses wisely."
A member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Hutchison has long called for a more selective use of American power overseas. She warned that only Congress can compel the Executive Branch to spend American power with care. Failure here would weaken America's military strength and its resolve to handle the crises that demand a superpower's attention, she said.
"The ethical and legal implications of the use of military force demand the highest level of congressional scrutiny," Senator Hutchison said. "This is especially true when the lives of our soldiers are on the line."
Congress recently passed Senator Hutchison's legislation that calls for the Clinton Administration to examine whether America can reduce its global commitments when the mission has ended or can be accomplished with fewer troops.
"Congress is gradually being excluded from its constitutional role in foreign policy," Senator Hutchison said. "A more healthy consultation process will help restore the proper checks and balances between the executive and legislative branches of government."
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