Is the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force, the 18-year-old war powers resolution that has been twisted into an unrecognizable pretzel by three different administrations, on its deathbed? This question may be premature at the moment, but the House Appropriations Committee is doing its level best to eliminate a law that has provided presidents of both parties with a virtual blank check on when and where to deploy U.S. military power.

On Tuesday, the committee voted in support of an amendment that would sunset the 2001 resolution eight months after final passage of the new defense spending bill. The panel also included a provision sunsetting the 2002 Iraq War resolution and an additional section prohibiting President Trump from using funds to take military action against Iran without the express authorization of Congress. In an ideal world, the executive branch wouldn’t spend a second deceiving itself about the constitutionality of such a scenario unless U.S. national security interests were at imminent risk of attack. Unfortunately, this isn’t the world we live in.