Still confusing, at the very least.
From this site (written in December of 1999):
As regards America's involvement in the Kosovo-Yugoslav War, the U.S. Armed Forces participated in the aerial war over Kosovo and Serbia without the formal approval of Congress. On March 23, 16 Republicans and 42 Democrats coalesced to pass U.S. Senate Concurrent Resolution 21, an action that did not have the force of law, but allowed a majority of the senators to go on record as favoring congressional authorization of U.S. participation in the imminent NATO air assault against the Serbs. On the night of March 24, the House of Representatives, on a 424-1 vote, passed U.S. House Resolution 130, a comparatively noncontroversial and legally meaningless action declaring the House's support for American members of the military forces involved in Operation Allied Force. Neither House Resolution 130 nor Senate Concurrent Resolution granted the President any additional authority, as regards sending the U.S. Armed Forces into foreign hostilities.
When the House of Representatives was debating House Resolution 130, Republican members supporting the resolution declared that they supported the U.S. troops sent into military action, but not President Clinton's Balkan policy. Representative Floyd Spence (R-SC), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, stated that he had "reservations" about Clinton's policy, but not about congressional support for the men and women in the U.S. Armed Forces--military personnel put in harm's way by implementation of the President's policy. Spence's remark was repeated by other Republicans.
On April 28, the House of Representatives rejected two resolutions brought to the floor of the House by Representative Tom Campbell (R-CA). One of these resolutions, if passed by both chambers of Congress, would have declared that a state of war existed between the United States of America and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The other resolution, U.S. House Concurrent Resolution 82, directed "the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from their positions in connection with the present operations against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Campbell called on Congress to follow the U.S. Constitution, either clearly and unambiguously declaring war against Yugoslavia/Serbia or using the War Powers Act to force the President to withdraw U.S. forces from military engagement with the Serbs. However, the House of Representatives was unwilling to take either of these actions, both of which the majority of the chamber perceived to be highly controversial and fraught with great political risks. Hence, the House refused to go on record supporting either a declaration of war against the FRY or a move to compel the President to remove U.S. forces from the war zone.
Later on the same day, the House refused to pass an appropriations bill providing funds for the deployment of American ground forces in Kosovo or elsewhere in the FRY. That evening, the House, on a 213-213 tie vote, failed to adopt a resolution supporting the aerial campaign against the Serbs. In refusing to fund deployment of U.S. ground troops and in failing to pass a resolution supporting Operation Allied Force, House merbers were again seeking to avoid controversy and political risks.
In the eyes of House members, who serve very short terms of two years, the next election is always looming large on the horizon. Therefore, avoiding controversies and risks that might cause a House member to lose the next election is nearly always the primary consideration in deciding how he or she will vote on a divisive issue before the House--if the issue is divisive within his or her congressional district, with the constituents almost evenly divided on the issue.
In making their own narrow political interests their primary concern and seeking to insulate themselves from the political pitfalls associated with being honest and forthright with the voters, the members of the House, on April 28, sent to the American public and the world at large a jumble of conflicting messages, as regards House support for U.S. involvement in an ongoing military conflict abroad.
Making it even more difficult for the world outside of Congress to understand the position of the House of Representatives regarding U.S. involvement in the conflict, that chamber, on April 29, voted 311-105 to pass a bill appropriating $13 billion to fund U.S. military involvement in the Balkans during the remainder of the fiscal year. The $13 billion appropriated was twice the amount requested by President Clinton.
On April 20, five weeks after the commencement of Operation Allied Force, the issue of congressional support for U.S. participation in the air war over Kosovo and Serbia was brought before the Senate. On that date, a coalition of Republican and Democratic senators led by Senator John McCain (R-AZ) sought to force the hand of Congress on the issue, launching a drive to obtain Senate passage of U.S. Senate Joint Resolution 20. S.J. Res. 20, introduced into the Senate by Senator McCain, provided that--
"... the President is authorized to use all necessary force and other means, in concert with United States allies, to accomplish United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organization objectives in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro)."
If this joint resolution had been passed by both houses of Congress, it would have had the force of law, giving the President full legal authority to "use all necessary force" in the Kosovo-Yusoslav conflict to accomplish the objectives of the U.S.A. and NATO in that conflict.
The Senate referred S.J. Res. 20 to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which acted in accord with the wishes of the Republican and Democratic leadership in the chamber and delayed consideration of the proposed joint resolution. When, on April 30, the Foreign Relations Committee got around to considering the resolution, the committee voted 14-4 to report S.J. Res. 20 to the full Senate, but without a recommendation for or against the Senate's passage of the measure. The members of the Foreign Relations Committee took this action, knowing that the prospects for Senate passage of the resolution were zero. They were well aware that the Senate leadership had already decided to table S.J. Res. 20 when it reached the floor of the Senate.
Both Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) and Senate Minority Leader Thomas Daschle (D-SD) indicated that they wanted the proposed resolution tabled. Senator Daschle stated:
"I will be joining Senator Lott in voting to table that resolution because I believe we need to post- pone without prejudice any further debate on involve- ment in the Balkans."
Both Majority Leader Lott and Minority Leader Daschle said that, while floor debate on S.J. Res. 20 would be opened, they favored indefinite postponement of the Senate's decision on final passoge.
On May 3, Senate Joint Resolution 20 reached the Senate floor and debate on the measure began. The next day, however, the Senate, on a 78-22 vote, postoned indefinitely further consideration of the resolution.
The overall significance of the foregoing Senate and House votes is that, by early May, a congressional majority supporting President Clinton's military policy in Kosovo and Serbia had not been formed. And since that time, no such majority in Congress has materialized.
All along, the Clinton Presidency has held the position that the President does not need from Congress a war declaration or joint resolution authorizing his involvement of the U.S. Armed Forces in the Kosovo-Yugoslav conflict or in any other situation of foreign hostilities. President Clinton, like many of his predecessors (including all modern presidents), contends that the President can take such action on the basis of his own constitutional authority.