By design, Congress is a slow-moving institution. Months, if not years, can go by before legislation moves across the finish line. Issues involving war and peace are no exception to the rule. In fact, as the last 20 years have demonstrated, lawmakers have treated the highly consequential topic of war powers as too difficult or controversial to consider.

Unfortunately, ducking problems doesn’t amount to a solution. When it comes to war powers, avoidance simply widens the already massive disparity in power between the executive and legislative branches. Fortunately, more lawmakers are finally beginning to understand what happens when decades-old authorizations remain on the books.