Don't We Already Have One?

That bipartisan odd couple, James Baker and Warren Christopher (of 2000 Florida recount fame), have called for new legislation to deal with the President's ability to wage war without Congressional approval. The plan, apparently, is to revamp/scrap/fix the War Powers Act:

Two former secretaries of state have declared the War Powers Resolution of 1973 obsolete and proposed a new system of closer consultation between the White House and Congress before American forces go into battle.

Their proposal would require the president to consult lawmakers before initiating combat lasting longer than a week except in rare cases requiring emergency action. Congress, for its part, would have 30 days to approve or disapprove of the military action.

I know it's not this simple in the 21st Century and the War on Terra, but don't we already have something like that? Say, Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution:

The Congress shall have Power . . . To declare War . . .

Of course, we haven't actually declared war since 1941, but that hasn't stopped Presidents of both parties from getting us into wars and other military actions of varying lengths and successes. Which begs the question - if the country conveniently ignores the plain language of the Constitution, why would a nouveau War Powers Act fare any better?