U.S. Senator Rand Paul is calling for a formal declaration of war against ISIL militants who control parts of Iraq and Syria, as the New York Times reported on Monday.
Paul, in an interview on Saturday, said his proposal limits the duration of military action to one year, and significantly restricts the use of ground forces.
Congress has not formally declared war since World War Two.
Members of the U.S. Congress claim that U.S. President Barack Obama is waging war against ISIL without proper congressional oversights.
However, the Obama administration has said Obama has the legal authority to conduct the fight against ISIL. The campaign has involved air strikes in Iraq and Syria, training and equipping moderate rebels in Syria, and hundreds of U.S. military advisers helping Iraqi and Kurdish troops against the militants.
Paul said Congress had ceded too much authority to Obama because it has not come up with its own policy, the Times reports.
“War cannot be initiated without Congress,” Paul told the times.
