HB527 would prevent any member of the Montana National Guard from being deployed for active duty combat without Congress passing an “official declaration of war” or taking an “official action” otherwise pursuant to the U.S. Constitution to “execute the laws of the country, repel an invasion, or suppress an insurrection.”
The House failed to pass HB527 on March 2, 2023, by a vote of 40 to 60. We have assigned pluses to the yeas because Article I, Section 8, of the U.S. Constitution expressly asserts that “Congress,” not the President, “shall have power…to provide for the common defence.” Only Congress—as explained and limited by succeeding Clauses 11, 12, and 15—is granted the specified powers to “declare war,” “raise and support Armies,” and “provide for calling forth the Militia.”