[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 29 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 29

   Expressing the opposition of Congress to any deployment of United 
 States ground forces in Kosovo, a province in the Republic of Serbia, 
               for peacemaking or peacekeeping purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 10, 1999

  Mrs. Fowler (for herself, Mr. Spence, Mr. Sam Johnson of Texas, Mr. 
Young of Alaska, Mr. Stearns, Mrs. Bono, Mr. Wicker, Mr. McCollum, Mr. 
Scarborough, Mr. Bilirakis, Mrs. Chenoweth, Mr. Hastings of Washington, 
 Mr. Kingston, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Bereuter, Mr. Hansen, Mr. McIntosh, Mr. 
 Cunningham, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Tauzin, Mr. Collins, Mr. Sununu, Mr. 
 Bachus, Mr. Brady of Texas, Mr. Hefley, Mr. Nethercutt, Mr. Hilleary, 
and Mr. Foley) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
          referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
   Expressing the opposition of Congress to any deployment of United 
 States ground forces in Kosovo, a province in the Republic of Serbia, 
               for peacemaking or peacekeeping purposes.

Whereas President Clinton is contemplating the introduction of United States 
        ground forces into Kosovo as part of a larger North Atlantic Treaty 
        Organization (NATO) operation to conduct peacemaking or peacekeeping 
        between hostile parties in Kosovo, and these United States ground forces 
        may be subject to foreign command;
Whereas Kosovo, unlike Bosnia, is a province in the Republic of Serbia, a 
        sovereign state;
Whereas United States national security interests in Kosovo do not rise to a 
        level that warrants the introduction of United States ground forces;
Whereas an Act of Congress is necessary for the introduction of the Armed Forces 
        of the United States into hostilities or situations where imminent 
        involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances, 
        when such action is not required for the defense of the United States, 
        its Armed Forces, or its nationals;
Whereas the Secretary of Defense, William Cohen, has opposed the deployment of 
        ground forces in Kosovo, as reflected in his testimony before Congress 
        on October 6, 1998;
Whereas the lessons of United States military involvement in Bosnia clearly 
        argue that the costs and duration of any such deployment for 
        peacekeeping purposes will be much heavier and much longer than 
        initially foreseen; and
Whereas the substantial drain on military readiness of a deployment in Kosovo 
        would be inconsistent with the need, recently acknowledged by the Joint 
        Chiefs of Staff, to reverse the trends which are decimating the ability 
        of the Armed Forces of the United States to carry out the basic National 
        Military Strategy of the United States: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress hereby expresses its opposition to any deployment of 
United States ground forces into the Serbian province of Kosovo for 
peacemaking or peacekeeping purposes.
                                 <all>