Two separate but closely related issues confront Congress each time the President introduces armed forces into a situation abroad that conceivably could lead to their involvement in hostilities. One issue concerns the division of war powers between the President and Congress, whether the use of armed forces falls within the purview of the congressional power to declare war and the War Powers Resolution. The other issue is whether or not Congress concurs in the wisdom of the action. This issue brief does not deal with the substantive merits of using armed forces in specific cases, but rather with the congressional authorization for the action and the application and effectiveness of the War Powers Resolution. The purpose of the War Powers Resolution (P.L. 93-148, passed over President Nixon’s veto on November 7, 1973) is to ensure that Congress and the President share in making decisions that may get the U.S. involved in hostilities.

There are no federal statutes or Rules of the House of Representatives that directly affect the status of a Member of Congress who has been indicted for a crime that constitutes a felony. No rights or privileges are forfeited under the Constitution, statutory law or the Rules of the House merely upon an indictment for an offense, prior to an establishment of guilt under the judicial system. Thus, under House Rules, an indicted Member may continue to participate in congressional proceedings and considerations; under the Constitution, a person under indictment is not disqualified from being a Member of or a candidate for re-election to Congress. Internal party rules in the House, however, now require an indicted chairman or ranking member of a House committee, or a member of the House party leadership, to temporarily step aside from his or her leadership or chairmanship position.