Research Paper on:
Role Of Congress In National Security

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
security. The world and the issues faced by our government are far more complex than they were when the U.S. Constitution was written. In todays world, it is simply impossible  for the Congress to lead the nation itself or even to check up on every initiative the President enacts.1 This has been especially true when a crisis occurs. That being  said, it is also true that the Congress is attempting to regain some of the power it believes it has under the Constitution. Furthermore, when the Consitition was initially written,  the Senate was perceived as a body that would be comprised "of wise men less subject to popular passions than members of the House of Representatives."2 In other words, they  thought the members of the Senate would be wise, thoughtful and not swayed by others. Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war,  to raise and support Armies, to provide and maintain a Navy, to make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the and naval forces, and to call forth the militia  to execute the laws of the union and suppress insurrections and repel invasions.3 Article II, Section 2 identifies the President as the Commander in Chief of the Army, Navy, and  any other official militia of the country.4 The Constitution divides the powers regarding war between the President and the Congress. Basically, the Congress has the power to  declare war and to appropriate the funds needed to fight that war.5 Under the Constitution, the President has exclusive powers as Commander in Chief for most of the other decisions,  such as what will happen in the field of battle.6 However, there is a huge gray area where the powers of the Congress and the powers of the President are