The Congress plans to repeal two laws, from 1991 and 2002, that allow the US president to conduct military operations in the Middle East.

The respective provisions are included in the draft defense budget for the current fiscal year—which began on October 1—and agreed upon by Democrats and Republicans in the US legislature.

The US constitution gives the power to declare war not to the country’s president, but to Congress. But in recent decades, American leaders have very broadly interpreted the legislative powers for the use of military force abroad, including for launching substantially new operations.

Several members of Congress have introduced resolutions requiring that the US head of state use military force only with legislative power. But none of those resolutions has yet been adopted. As a result, lawmakers of both parties have decided to repeal the two aforesaid laws that American leaders have relied upon in recent years when using force in the Middle East.

In the US Congress, a committee composed of members from both the House of Representatives and the Senate had earlier been formed to agree upon the details of different draft defense budgets prepared by the two chambers.

The agreed drafts of the US defense budget are, as a rule, approved in the shortest possible time.