In a contentious interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, freshman Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) expressed frustrationat the slow pace of the U.S. Senate, saying that given how little the deliberative body actually accomplishes, he feels sometimes, "like I should return my check".
“We go up week to week, and there's no debate in Congress, no debate in the Senate. We sit idly by," he said.
Paul's frustration stems from the lack of support by Democratic and Republican colleagues for his resolution claiming that U.S. intervention in Libya is "unconstitutional". The Senator has struggled to even bring the resolution to the floor, where it was tabled in a 90-10 vote.
The son of presidential hopeful Ron Paul is invoking the 1973 War Powers Act, which states that the President of the United States must get Congressional authorization within 60 days of taking any military action. If the Congress rules against the action, then it must stop within 30 days.
President Obama notified Congress of the Libyan intervention by letter on March 21, meaning that the 60-day wait expired on Friday.
Paul is facing resistance from members of both parties, who are currently drawing up a bipartisan resolution in the Senate affirming Congressional support for the Libya mission.
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