[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2851 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2851

   To require certain information from the President before certain 
        deployments of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 12, 2000

  Mr. Cleland (for himself and Mr. Jeffords) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require certain information from the President before certain 
        deployments of the Armed Forces, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. REPORT ON CERTAIN INFORMATION BEFORE CERTAIN DEPLOYMENTS OF 
              ARMED FORCES.

    (a) Prohibition on Use of Appropriated Funds for Deployment Before 
Report.--Except as provided in subsection (d), the President may not 
obligate or expend any appropriated funds for a deployment of the Armed 
Forces referred to in subsection (b) until the President submits to the 
appropriate officials and committees of Congress a report on the 
deployment meeting the requirements of subsection (c).
    (b) Covered Deployments.--A deployment of the Armed Forces referred 
to in this subsection is a deployment of the Armed Forces--
            (1) into hostilities;
            (2) into situations where imminent involvement in 
        hostilities is clearly indicated by the circumstances;
            (3) in a contingency operation; or
            (4) to or with a multilateral organization.
    (c) Report.--The report on a deployment under this section shall--
            (1) specify the vital national interests at stake which 
        require the deployment, the likely consequences of the 
        deployment on such interests and on any other national 
        interests, and the adverse consequences to such interests of 
        the absence of such deployment;
            (2) specify why diplomatic and other means (other than the 
        deployment) are unable to secure the interests specified under 
        paragraph (1);
            (3) identify concrete policy objectives which are to be 
        achieved by the deployment, the specific military missions 
        which are designed to achieve each such policy objective, and 
        the anticipated date, or the set of conditions, that defines 
        the endpoint of the deployment; and
            (4) specify the authority for the deployment under the 
        Constitution and under international law.
    (d) Exception.--(1) Subsection (a) shall not apply in the case of a 
deployment in response to a war or national emergency declared by the 
President or Congress that is caused by an attack on the United States, 
or its territories or possessions, or on the Armed Forces abroad.
    (2) If subsection (a) does not apply with respect to a deployment 
by reason of paragraph (1), the President shall submit to the 
appropriate officials and committees of Congress a report on the 
deployment that meets the requirements of subsection (c) as soon as 
practicable after the date of the deployment.
    (e) Construction With War Powers Resolution.--(1) Compliance with 
the provisions of this section with respect to a deployment shall 
satisfy the requirements of section 4(a) of the War Powers Resolution 
(50 U.S.C. 1543(a)) with respect to the deployment.
    (2) Nothing in this section shall affect the applicability of 
section 5 of the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1544) to any 
deployment referred to in subsection (b).
    (f) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``appropriate officials and committees of 
        Congress'' means the following:
                    (A) The President pro tempore of the Senate.
                    (B) The Speaker of the House of Representatives.
                    (C) The Committees on Armed Services and Foreign 
                Relations of the Senate.
                    (D) The Committees on Armed Services and 
                International Relations of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (2) The term ``contingency operation'' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 101 of title 10, United States Code.
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