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1 1 (June 10, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/goveazn0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service 0 June 10, 2020 Congress, Civilian Control of the Military, and Nonpartisanship The possible use of federal armed forces as part of the U.S. executive branch's response to incidents of violence during racial justice protests has raised questions about how the military is controlled by domestic political institutions and the U.S. military's relationship with American society. Article I of the U.S. Constitution grants specific powers to Congress, making the legislative branch a key actor in governing, overseeing, and funding the U.S. military. What Is Civilian Control of the Military? How to advance the nation's security while at the same time ensuring that instruments of force do not undermine the practice of American democracy has been a central question since the founding of the United States, if not before. The designers of the Constitution were deeply skeptical of a standing army, as such a military instrument could also overthrow the government it professed to serve, much like Oliver Cromwell demonstrated in 1653 when he used his army to disband the English Parliament. Consternation regarding British deployment of its military to the American colonies without the consent of local governing officials was among the key grievances listed in the Declaration of Independence. In the context of a new, experimental, and democratic Republic, the Founding Fathers believed that subordination of the military to the authority of civil masters was critically important to prevent the emergence of a new form of tyranny or dictatorship. The principle of civilian control of the military places ultimate authority over U.S. armed services in the hands of civilian leadership, with civilian responsibility and control of the military balanced between the executive and legislative branches of the government. In some ways, the relationship between the military and the civil society it serves is a paradox: the military, by its very nature, has coercive power that could threaten civil society. Yet without a sufficiently strong and capable military, civil society becomes vulnerable to attack, and the former might not be able to defend the latter. Civilian Control of the Military: Congressional and Executive Branch Responsibilities The Founding Fathers designed a system of civilian control of the military in a manner that conformed with the government's overall architecture of checks and balances. An elected President was designated the Commander-in- Chief of the nation's armed forces. This had the dual advantage of ensuring that an elected civilian leader presided over the nation's army while at the same time enhancing unity of command over the military. The President was also granted the ability to commission military officers, authority to appoint Secretaries to preside over military services, and the responsibility to regularly report to Congress on the state of the union. Federalist Papers 46 and 59 show that the Founding Fathers were also concerned about unitary executive control of the military. The desire to ensure that the military reflected, and was subordinate to, the will of the people therefore led to considerable congressional powers on matters concerning the armed services. These include the power to lay and collect taxes for the common defense, the sole power to declare war, the ability to raise and support armies, and the authority to establish rules and regulations for the army, navy, and militias when in service of the United States. To further strengthen civilian control of the military, a provision prohibited the appropriation of money for the army for a period longer than two years. In the post-World War II era, Congress has exercised this constitutional authority in a number of ways, including (but not limited to) the following: * Annual strategy and posture hearings overseeing the Department of Defense's (DOD's) plans and programs. * Annually authorizing the scope and priorities for the military's budget and appropriating monies accordingly. * Establishing new service branches of the U.S. military, such as the U.S. Space Force in 2019 (P.L. 116-92). * Establishing new components of the U.S. military, such as U.S. Special Operations Command (P.L. 99-661). * Setting key DOD strategy production requirements, such as the National Defense Strategy (P.L. 114-328). * Consenting upon the nominations of senior leaders to DOD civilian and military positions. * Cancellation of weapons systems, as with the MBT-70 Supertank in 1971. * Establishing authorities for DOD's noncombat cooperative activities with other nations' military and security establishments (Title 22 U.S. Code; Title 10 U.S. Code, Chapter 16). * Organizing the military chain of command, for example through the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act (P.L. 99-433). * Requiring reporting on key issues and areas of interest to Congress, such as the semi-annual Report on Stability and Progress in Afghanistan (P.L. 110-181). * Setting criteria for military promotions, for example by requiring military staff in a joint' position before becoming eligible for a General or Flag Officer position in the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act (P.L. 99-433). * Setting personnel policies, including repealing DOD's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy toward gay service members in the military (P.L. 111-321). igross.gov

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