[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.J. Res. 87 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. J. RES. 87

 Limiting the issuance of a letter of offer with respect to a certain 
 proposed sale of defense articles and defense services to the Kingdom 
                            of Saudi Arabia.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 21, 2008

    Mr. Weiner introduced the following joint resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                            JOINT RESOLUTION


 
 Limiting the issuance of a letter of offer with respect to a certain 
 proposed sale of defense articles and defense services to the Kingdom 
                            of Saudi Arabia.

Whereas record-high gasoline prices are placing considerable fiscal strain on 
        American households that are already burdened by a weakening United 
        States economy;
Whereas the increase in gasoline prices is principally due to the increasing 
        price of crude oil, which has reached a price of more than $120 per 
        barrel in recent weeks, the highest price on record in inflation-
        adjusted terms;
Whereas, because United States gasoline refiners must purchase crude oil on the 
        world market, the price they pay is highly sensitive to crude oil 
        production decisions made by entities with significant shares in the 
        market;
Whereas since 1973, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) 
        has cartelized the crude oil market, effectively controlling the supply 
        and price of petroleum products;
Whereas the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through the nationalized oil company Saudi 
        Aramco, controls 98 percent of the more than 260,000,000,000 barrels of 
        crude oil reserves in Saudi Arabia, and daily production of crude oil in 
        Saudi Arabia constitutes more than 10 percent of the world daily 
        production of crude oil;
Whereas, as the dominant member of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting 
        Countries, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has historically exercised 
        considerable market power by producing between 1,000,000 and 5,000,000 
        barrels of crude oil per day below its maximum daily capacity;
Whereas in April 2008, crude oil production by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was 
        nearly 2,000,000 barrels per day below its maximum daily capacity;
Whereas crude oil production by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2007 was 
        approximately 800,000 barrels per day less than in 2005;
Whereas energy economic analysis has determined that, holding world demand 
        constant, an increase by one percent of the crude oil supply of the 
        world results in a reduction by between 20 percent and 25 percent in 
        world crude oil prices in the near term;
Whereas, according to this analysis, an increase in crude oil production by the 
        Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by 1,000,000 barrels per day, which would result 
        in an increase in world crude oil supply of more than one percent, 
        could--

    (1) reduce world oil prices by between percent 20 and 25 percent, and 
result in a reduction in the price of a barrel of crude oil by more than 
$25 per barrel from the current price of $126 per barrel; and

    (2) in turn, reduce the price of gasoline by between 13 percent and 17 
percent, or by more than 62 cents off the expected summer regular-grade 
price of $3.66 per gallon;

Whereas, despite the refusal of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to increase its oil 
        production, the Administration continues to reward Saudi Arabia with 
        lucrative arms deals;
Whereas, since October 2007, the Administration has offered to sell the Kingdom 
        of Saudi Arabia $1,400,000,000 worth of arms, including 900 Joint Direct 
        Attack Munition (JDAM) kits, which are applied to conventional bombs to 
        make them laser-guided bombs; and
Whereas the Administration should cease the sale of weapons to Kingdom of Saudi 
        Arabia unless and until it increases its production of crude oil: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. LIMITATION ON CERTAIN PROPOSED SALES OF DEFENSE ARTICLES AND 
              DEFENSE SERVICES TO THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA.

    (a) Limitation.--The issuance of a letter of offer with respect to 
each proposed sale of defense articles and defense services to the 
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia specified in subsection (b) is hereby 
prohibited unless the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia--
            (1) commencing not later than 30 days after the date of the 
        enactment of this Joint Resolution, increases its oil 
        production by 1,000,000 barrels of oil per day in excess of its 
        oil production as of January 1, 2008 (as reported by the 
        International Energy Agency); and
            (2) maintains such increased oil production for not less 
        than 90 days after the date on which such increased oil 
        production is reached (as so reported).
    (b) Proposed Sales of Defense Articles and Defense Services.--The 
proposed sales of defense articles and defense services to the Kingdom 
of Saudi Arabia specified in this subsection are the proposed sales as 
follows:
            (1) The proposed sale of defense articles and defense 
        services to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia described in the 
        certifications transmitted to the Speaker of the House of 
        Representatives and the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign 
        Relations of the Senate pursuant to section 36(b) of the Arms 
        Export Control Act on October 4, 2007 (Transmittal Number 08-
        03).
            (2) The proposed sale of defense articles and defense 
        services to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia described in the 
        certifications transmitted to the Speaker of the House of 
        Representatives and the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign 
        Relations of the Senate pursuant to section 36(b) of the Arms 
        Export Control Act on December 7, 2007 (Transmittal Number 08-
        28).
            (3) The proposed sale of defense articles and defense 
        services to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia described in the 
        certifications transmitted to the Speaker of the House of 
        Representatives and the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign 
        Relations of the Senate pursuant to section 36(b) of the Arms 
        Export Control Act on December 7, 2007 (Transmittal Number 08-
        29).
            (4) The proposed sale of defense articles and defense 
        services to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia described in the 
        certifications transmitted to the Speaker of the House of 
        Representatives and the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign 
        Relations of the Senate pursuant to section 36(b) of the Arms 
        Export Control Act on January 14, 2008 (Transmittal Number 08-
        18).
                                 <all>