SJRES 83 — Congress 119
A joint resolution to direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities that have not been authorized by Congress.
Official source: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-joint-resolution/83
Congress.gov subjects: International Affairs
Issues impacted: Defense & National Security (ai, high), Foreign Policy & Sanctions (ai, high)
Official bill text (stored)
Plain-text extraction from Congress.gov text formats. Canonical source remains the official URL above. Full text is prioritized for bills with roll-call votes.
119 SJ 83 IS: To direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities that have not been authorized by Congress. U.S. Senate 2025-09-18 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. IIA 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S. J. RES. 83 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 18 (legislative day, September 16), 2025 Mr. Schiff (for himself and Mr. Kaine ) introduced the following joint resolution; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations JOINT RESOLUTION To direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities that have not been authorized by Congress. 1. Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) Congress has the sole power to declare war under Article I, section 8, clause 11 of the United States Constitution. (2) Congress has not declared war upon, nor enacted a specific statutory authorization for use of military force against— (A) any organization designated on or after February 20, 2025, as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant to section 219(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1189(a) ) or as a specially designated global terrorist pursuant to Executive Order 13224 ( 50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking property and prohibiting transactions with persons who commit, threaten to commit, or support terrorism); (B) any states in which those entities operate; or (C) any non-state organization engaged in the promotion, trafficking, and distribution of illegal drugs and other related activities. (3) The designation of an entity as a foreign terrorist organization or specially designated global terrorist provides no legal authority for the President to use force against members of designated organizations or any foreign state. (4) There has been no armed attack on the United States by— (A) any organization designated on or after February 20, 2025, as a foreign terrorist organization or specially designated global terrorist; (B) any states in which those entities operate; or (C) any non-state organization engaged in the promotion, trafficking, and distribution of illegal drugs and other related activities. (5) The United States military strike on a vessel on September 2, 2025, and the subsequent United States military strike on a vessel on September 15, 2025, constitute, within the meaning of section 4(a) of the War Powers Resolution ( 50 U.S.C. 1543(a) ), either hostilities or a situation where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances into which United States Armed Forces have been introduced. The application of the War Powers Resolution is without prejudice as to whether the strikes themselves violated United States domestic law, international humanitarian law, or international human rights law. (6) Congress has not received sufficient information regarding— (A) the vessels' passengers, cargo, or affiliation; (B) the vessels' intended destinations; (C) any threats the vessels posed to United States interests; (D) any justification for the use of lethal force against the vessels; (E) the availability of non-lethal means to interdict the vessels; or (F) the purported domestic authority or international legal basis to conduct the strikes. (7) Section 1013 of the Department of State Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1984 and 1985 ( 50 U.S.C. 1546a ), provides that any joint resolution or bill to require the removal of United States Armed Forces engaged in hostilities without a declaration of war or specific statutory authorization shall be considered in accordance with the expedited procedures of section 601(b) of the International Security and Arms Control Export Act of 1976. (8) Congress is resolved to provide resources and authorities to the executive branch to prevent and mitigate drug and narcotics trafficking into the United States, including through the use of intelligence, law enforcement, personnel, and detection technology at and between ports of entry and diplomatic and military tools as appropriate to deter, prevent, and prosecute illicit drug and narcotics trafficking, and will consider providing additional resources and authorities if they are requested by the President to combat the spread of illegal drugs. (9) On September 4, 2025, the President formally notified Congress of the September 2, 2025, strike, noted the potential for further military strikes, and stated that it is not possible at this time to know the full scope and duration of military operations that will be necessary to address the continuing threat of drug trafficking emanating from unspecified countries by unspecified organizations. 2. Termination of use of Armed Forces (a) Termination Pursuant to section 1013 of the Department of State Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1984 and 1985 ( 50 U.S.C. 1546a ) and in accordance with the provisions of section 601(b) of the International Security Assistance and Arms Export Control Act of 1976, Congress hereby directs the President to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces for hostilities against any organization designated on or after February 20, 2025, as a foreign terrorist organization or specially designated global terrorist, any states in which those entities operate, or any non-state organization engaged in the promotion, trafficking, and distribution of illegal drugs and other related activities, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force. (b) Rule of construction Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing the United States from defending itself from an armed attack or threat of an imminent armed attack or using the United States Armed Forces in support of civil authorities as part of authorized counternarcotics operations. The trafficking of illegal drugs does not itself constitute such an armed attack or threat of an imminent armed attack.
Plain-English summary
Confidence: high · Complexity: moderate · Model: grok-4.5
So here’s the deal with this joint resolution. It’s Congress trying to pull U.S. forces out of certain fights that lawmakers say they never approved.
After U.S. military strikes on vessels in September 2025, the bill says those actions count as “hostilities” under the War Powers rules—the law meant to give Congress a real say when America uses force. It focuses on groups labeled foreign terrorists on or after February 20, 2025, countries where they operate, and non-state groups tied to illegal drug trafficking. Congress says it never declared war on them and never passed a specific authorization to use military force.
The resolution would direct the president to stop using the Armed Forces against those targets unless Congress clearly authorizes it. Self-defense against an armed attack or an imminent one would still be allowed, and so would military support for civilian agencies in already authorized counternarcotics work. The text also says drug trafficking by itself is not an armed attack on the United States.
Who might notice: troops who could be sent on those missions, and anyone watching how far a president can go against cartels or newly designated terror groups without a congressional vote.
Related issues
How a vote maps to positions
Impartial mapping: which issue position a Yea vs Nay advances. When a bill has multiple floor votes, each roll can have its own mapping. Bill-level entries (no roll listed) apply as a default when a roll has no specific map. Used for legislator alignment.
All rolls (bill default)
| Issue | Yea advances | Nay advances | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreign Policy & Sanctions | Restraint and limited overseas commitments | Status quo / reject this change | Yea orders an end to unauthorized overseas hostilities against specified groups and related states; Nay keeps the current path of allowing those operations without a new war declaration or AUMF. |
| Defense & National Security | Status quo / reject this change | Homeland and border-security operations | Nay leaves room for continued military strikes framed as counternarcotics or homeland-security operations; Yea mainly limits unauthorized force and has no clean matching defense catalog pole. |