War Powers Amendment (Amendment at vote)

[TNF]

I don't like the idea of giving the President the power to deploy troops for any length of time without the Senate first giving the go-ahead, but that's just me.

[Lumine]

I don't like the idea of giving the President the power to deploy troops for any length of time without the Senate first giving the go-ahead, but that's just me.

I'm not necessarily a fan of that as well, but what happens when we need to act right away in order to save lives or defend Atlasia from an imminent attack? Waiting for weeks in the Senate could potentially make the difference, and with a limit of three weeks the President would be constrained to send massive amounts of troops through the globe.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Some flexibility is necessary in emergencies.

[bore]

I can't foresee an emergency that takes 3 weeks to be debated by the senate. One week or a maximum of 10 days should be the limit IMO.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

You new to this Senate man?

[bore]

I'd support making it such that an emergency resolution like the Iraq one didn't need to wait in the queue.

But the fact that they take so long to be debated is hardly surprising, seeing as they have no deadline- the time spent on them expands depending on the deadline.

Look at confirmation hearings- if they were not strictly limited the senate could spend years debating them, but the deadline forces a decision.

[Lumine]

I'd support making it such that an emergency resolution like the Iraq one didn't need to wait in the queue.

But the fact that they take so long to be debated is hardly surprising, seeing as they have no deadline- the time spent on them expands depending on the deadline.

Look at confirmation hearings- if they were not strictly limited the senate could spend years debating them, but the deadline forces a decision.

Yet another reason to change the Senate rules, I must say. Hopefully the rules that Nix proposed will reach the Senate floor soon in order to regulate the proposed mechanism (the authorization, the declaration and the emergency resolutions as well). In the meantime I think going with three weeks a realistic idea in terms of what can be achieved in Atlasia, and the examples put forward by the SoEA make that evident until we can change the rules. Thus, I will turn my earlier proposition into a formal amendment.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The administration of the Senate does not have to fill slots and can be more cautious in doing so just for that reason. I used to always keep a few open both for that and because of limits to attention capacity, but then the queue exploded and we had to maximize slot utilization.

We already do off slot operations like redrafts, so allowing an emergency tract to reinforce present reesources should be fine.

[TNF]

The companion bill is also on the floor now, so there's that.

[bore]

This is an amendment to the constitution, so it's really not easy to adjust. I worry if we put in 3 weeks now, we're stuck with it, even after we change the rules to make it 10 days.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Keep in mind it is a game and certainly the difference in time lengths would have a minimal enough effect to render it a reasonable sacrifice for the practicalities of the game's structure?

[Lumine]

Well, since there's no further comments I will formally propose the amendment. I understand Bore's concerns, but I think that leaving a period of time that is too short without changing the rules could cause a lot of trouble.

[TNF]

Senators have 24 hours to object to the amendment proposed by Lumine.

[TNF]

The amendment has been adopted. What are we doing here?

[Lumine]

The three weeks period is bound to cause some controversy, but I feel it's still a lot better than what we have now in the constitution. Thus, and since I don't see how to improve the language I ask for a final vote.

[TNF]

A final vote is now open on the War Powers Amendment. Senators please vote Aye, Nay, or Abstain.

[TNF]

Nay

[Dr. Cynic]

Aye

[PPT Spiral]

Nay

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Aye Guess

Like was said 10 days just isn't practical for the game's limitations.

[Lumine]

Aye.

[Goldwater]

AYE

[bore]

Aye

[Cranberry]

AYE

I guess it's maybe a tad to late for me to start nitpicking about minor details, so I'll just go ahead, and vote Aye, as I support the bill in general.

[TNF]

The amendment has enough votes to pass. Senators have 24 hours to change their votes.