WASHINGTON –Today, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on European Affairs, released the following statement regarding Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Menendez’s decision to hold a debate and vote on legislation to authorize the use of military force against ISIL.

I continue to strongly believe that Congress must debate and vote on an authorization for the use of military force against ISIL. The constitution vests the Congress with the exclusive power to declare war, and we cannot abdicate this responsibility that we are entrusted with by the American people, especially our men and women in uniform. The existing AUMFs are over a decade old and out-of-date, and not applicable to the current fight against ISIL. While the President’s Article II authorities allow him to protect the nation from imminent threats, this does not include waging a protracted new war in the Middle East.

I am heartened that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) today decided to debate an AUMF next week and exercise our constitutional duties. I have long been calling for such a debate, including last month when the president announced his desire to work with the Congress to craft a new AUMF.

There is likely to be disagreement in the Congress about the best course of action against ISIL and about the provisions of a new AUMF. Some members of the SFRC have argued that it is unconstitutional and unprecedented to impose any restrictions on the executive branch in an AUMF, such as a limitation on the use of ground troops. But in fact, just last year, in August 2013, the SFRC voted in favor of an AUMF that imposed strict limitations on the executive branch -- allowing the President only to target Bashar al-Assad’s weapons of mass destruction in Syria and only after certain conditions were met.

I believe that the United States must protect our vital national security interests. But we would do a disservice to the American people if we simply gave the executive branch a blank check authorization that allows our country to get dragged into an open-ended engagement with no clear end or objectives. I look forward to a serious debate next week on this critical issue for our country.