,,iv #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,,res4 #daa ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,may #cj1 #bjai,ms4 ,gabbard submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,,resolution ,defining ,presidential wars not declared by ,congress under article ,i1 section #h1 clause #aa 7,declare ,war ,clause7 as impeachable high crimes and misdemeanors within the meaning of article ,,ii1 section #d of the ,constitution and defining the meanings of war and cobelligerency for purposes of the ,declare ,war ,clause and ,impeachment provisions4 ,whereas ,presidential wars not declared by ,congress under article ,i1 section #h1 clause #aa are the most flagrant and dangerous of ,presidential usurpations2 ,whereas ,president ,george ,washington1 who had presided over the ,constitutional ,convention and supported the ,declare ,war ,clause1 elaborated during his service in office3 ,the ,constitution vests the power of declaring war with ,congress2 therefore1 no offensive expedition of importance can be undertaken until after they have deliberated on the subject and authorized such a measure42 ,whereas ,presidential wars saddle the people with multitrillion dollar indebtedness1 diverts national genius from production to destruction1 cripples liberty1 silences the law1 awakens enemies1 and provokes blowback in the ,united ,states2 ,whereas the absence of impeachment standards creates an appearance that impeachment is a partisan exercise1 which undermines its legitimacy and deters its use2 ,whereas the absence of definitions of war and cobelligerency for purposes of the ,declare ,war ,clause undermines its enforcement through the impeachment process or otherwise2 ,whereas the law should warn before it strikes2 ,whereas article ,i1 section #b1 clause #e provides that1 ,the ,house of ,representatives ''' shall have the sole ,power of ,impeachment2 ,whereas the impeachment power of the ,house of ,representatives is a cornerstone safeguard against ,presidential tyranny2 ,whereas the past neglect of the ,house of ,representatives to use the impeachment power against ,presidential usurpations and lawlessness has concentrated alarming power in the executive branch1 crippled liberty1 undermined transparency1 and encouraged ,presidents to further aggrandizements2 ,whereas article ,,ii1 section #d of the ,constitution provides that1 ,the ,president1 ,vice ,president and all civil ,officers of the ,united ,states1 shall be removed from ,office on ,impeachment for1 and ,conviction of1 ,treason1 ,bribery1 or other high ,crimes and ,misdemeanors2 ,whereas the ,constitutional ,convention rejected neglect of duty or maladministration as impeachment standards in favor of high crimes and misdemeanors because the former terms were too broad2 ,whereas impeachable high crimes and misdemeanors has an objective meaning based on the intent of the ,constitution's ,framers and ,british impeachment precedents2 ,whereas ,alexander ,hamilton in ,federalist #fe explained that impeachable offenses proceed from the misconduct of public men1 or1 in other words1 from the abuse or violation of some public trust4 ,they are of a nature which may with peculiar propriety be denominated ,,political1 as they relate chiefly to injuries done immediately to the society itself2 ,whereas the ,house of ,representatives has voted ,articles of ,impeachment against two ,presidents1 one ,cabinet officer1 one ,senator1 one ,supreme ,court ,justice1 and #ad ,federal judges without providing a general standard for defining an impeachable offense2 and ,whereas every participant in the drafting1 debating1 and ratifying of the ,constitution understood that the ,declare ,war ,clause prohibited ,presidential wars and entrusted exclusively to ,congress the solemn responsibility for deciding whether the ,nation should cross the ,rubicon from a state of peace to a state of war3 ,now1 therefore1 be it #a4 ,defining presidential wars as impeachable offenses ,that the ,house of ,representatives declares the following ,presidential actions shall constitute impeachable high crimes and misdemeanors within the meaning of article ,,ii1 section #d1 which will cause the ,house to vote an ,article or ,articles of ,impeachment to send to the ,senate for trial3 ,initiating wars against state or nonstate actors without prior congressional declarations under article ,i1 section #h1 clause #aa 7,declare ,war ,clause7 by which ,congress itself decides to take the ,united ,states from a condition of peace to a condition of war against an identified enemy44 #b4 ,defining presidential wars ,nothing in this resolution shall be interpreted to prohibit the ,president from responding with proportionate military force in the exercise of national self-defense to actual or imminent aggression or a declaration of war against the ,united ,states4 #c4 ,cobelligerncy ,this resolution shall be interpreted to prohibit the ,president from making the ,united ,states a cobelligerent in an ongoing war without a congressional declaration under the ,declare ,war ,clause4 ,for purposes of this section1 the ,united ,states becomes a cobelligerent if it systematically or substantially supplies war materials1 military troops1 trainers1 or advisers1 military intelligence1 financial support or their equivalent in association1 cooperation1 assistance1 or common cause with another belligerent4 #d4 ,nonexclusivity ,this resolution shall not be interpreted to preclude the ,house of ,representatives from concluding that other ,presidential actions constitute impeachable high crimes and misdemeanors within the meaning of article ,,ii1 section #d1 either by supplemental resolutions or by ad hoc determinations4 #e4 ,effective date ,this resolution shall take effect upon passage by the ,house of ,representatives4