The Role Of Congress In Foreign Policymaking

The primary goal of foreign policymaking is to ensure state survival. Without foreign policy our world will be in chaos. It is our government’s strategy in dealing with other nations. While both President and Congress each has their own role in foreign policymaking, the President’s role is to enforce decisions and the Congress is to approve treaty making powers.
The president is the chief diplomat of foreign affairs and commander in chief of the armed forces. The president has the duties of including negotiating treaties and appoints ambassadors to represent the United States overseas. Without Congress consent President can act upon his treaty without the 2/3 Congressional vote. An example would be in the incident in March of 2011. When ordering
the United States military to join attacks on the Libyan air defenses and government forces, President Obama didn’t need to seek Congressional authorization. Obama sent Congress a letter stating that as Commander In Chief he had constitutional authority for the attacks. This letter was sent after the bombing campaign started. The lawyers of the White House used the significance of “limited military operation” and war to justify this. In this case, this is a great example of how the president can use his power to enforce treaties without anyone’s approval. In the history of the United States many presidents have exercised their power as the head of the military involving our nation in many conflicts abroad without a formal declaration of war by Congress. They have found different options to get around constitutionally imposed limitations on their ability to set the direction of American foreign policy.
Congress has the role to keep the presidential foreign policymaking in check.
They support president’s decision most of the time but make extensive modification. Throughout the years, there has been a source of tension over foreign policy between Congress and the President. The source of tension is over issues such as foreign aid, human rights, trade, sanctions and declaration of war. In 1973, the Congress passed the WPA which is known as War Powers Resolution overriding President Richard Nixon’s veto amid backlash against the United State involvement in Vietnam. Under this law, the Congress requires the president to consult with them before sending only of the United State troops into hostile situations. They must report commitment of United State forces with the twenty four hour time frame. The president needs to end military action within sixty days if Congress doesn’t declare war or authorize the use of force. The president has the authority to negotiate treaties but it only goes into effect unless after the Congress ratifies it. The Congress has asserted a role in foreign policymaking by creating the War Powers
Act.
There are some good examples of poor consultation with the Congress. The Vietnam War of the 1960’s, 1970’s and the Contra War during the 1980’s in Nicaragua are examples. These examples stand out because the White House barely consulted with Congress. These Presidents and their advisers excluded congressional leaders from their discussions because they wanted to hide information from Congress including the public. In these cases, policy was controlled by a small amount of high level officials and several others that was in the executive branch who knew the full extent of our government’s activities.
In my opinion Congress should have an important role or else all power lies in the President’s hands.
If the president has all the authority and makes the wrong decisions, there is a possibility of heavy repercussions depending on the treaty made with other nations. George Bush sold jet fighters to Saudi Arabia without Congressional consent. This can be used as a means for the national security against the United States. In this instance the Congress has to keep a close eye on foreign trades, on what is sold to other nation by the president. With the vast amount of Congressional members, they can come to a better understanding to create a more fitting policy. The president alone shouldn’t have to make tough foreign policy decisions. He needs help from others to make an appropriate
decision.
The chief foreign policymaker is the president. Without a doubt, there is no question about that but he works regularly within the framework of policies existing in the laws passed by the Congress. When President and the Congress understand their own roles in foreign policy, better policies will manifest after each party make an effort to work together.