Their proposal would require the president to consult senior lawmakers before initiating combat expected to last longer than a week, except for covert operations or rare circumstances requiring emergency action, in which case consultation would have to be undertaken within three days.

Congress, for its part, would have 30 days to approve the military action or, if it declined to do so, could then order it ended by disapproving it.

The plan would create a new committee of Congressional leaders and relevant committee chairmen, with a full-time staff that would have access to military and intelligence material. The president would be required to consult with the group in advance of any major strike and regularly throughout any extended conflict.

The question has arisen repeatedly in the context of the Iraq war. In 2002, President Bush sought and received Congressional authorization for military action to enforce United Nations resolutions on Iraqi weapons. Since then, however, many members of Congress have claimed that he has exceeded that authority by changing the mission of the deployment and pouring in thousands of additional troops.

Something is needed, the Congress is an impotent body that has no guts to confront a president.