[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2956 Engrossed in House (EH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2956
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To require the Secretary of Defense to commence the reduction of the
number of United States Armed Forces in Iraq to a limited presence by
April 1, 2008, 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. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Responsible Redeployment from Iraq
Act''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against
Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107-243), enacted into law
on October 16, 2002, authorized the President to use the Armed
Forces as the President determined necessary and appropriate in
order to defend the national security of the United States
against the continuing threat posed by the Government of Iraq
at that time;
(2) the Government of Iraq which was in power at the time
the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq
Resolution of 2002 was enacted into law has been removed from
power and its leader indicted, tried, convicted, and executed
by the new freely-elected democratic Government of Iraq;
(3) the current Government of Iraq does not pose a threat
to the United States or its interests; and
(4) after more than four years of valiant efforts by
members of the Armed Forces and United States civilians, the
Government of Iraq must now be responsible for Iraq's future
course.
SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF ARMED FORCES IN IRAQ AND
TRANSITION TO A LIMITED PRESENCE OF THE ARMED FORCES IN
IRAQ.
(a) Requirement.--The Secretary of Defense shall commence the
reduction of the number of Armed Forces in Iraq beginning not later
than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and shall
complete the reduction and transition to a limited presence of the
Armed Forces in Iraq by not later than April 1, 2008.
(b) Reduction and Transition To Be Carried Out in a Safe and
Orderly Manner.--The reduction of the number of Armed Forces in Iraq
and transition to a limited presence of the Armed Forces in Iraq
required by subsection (a) shall be implemented in a safe and orderly
manner, with maximum attention paid to protection of the Armed Forces
that are being redeployed from Iraq.
(c) Reduction and Transition to Further Comprehensive Strategy.--
The reduction of the number of Armed Forces in Iraq and transition to a
limited presence of the Armed Forces in Iraq required by subsection (a)
shall further be implemented as part of the comprehensive United States
strategy for Iraq required by section 4 of this Act.
SEC. 4. COMPREHENSIVE UNITED STATES STRATEGY FOR IRAQ.
(a) Strategy Required.--Not later than January 1, 2008, the
President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a
comprehensive United States strategy for Iraq.
(b) Matters To Be Included.--The strategy required by subsection
(a) shall include the following:
(1) A discussion of United States national security
interests in Iraq and the broader Middle East region and the
diplomatic, political, economic, and military components of a
comprehensive strategy to maintain and advance such interests
as the Armed Forces are redeployed from Iraq pursuant to
section 3 of this Act.
(2) A justification of the minimum force levels required to
protect United States national security interests in Iraq after
April 1, 2008, including a description of the specific missions
of the Armed Forces to be undertaken. The justification shall
include--
(A) the projected number of Armed Forces necessary
to carry out the missions;
(B) the projected annual cost of the missions; and
(C) the expected duration of the missions.
(3) As part of the justification required by paragraph (2),
the President shall, at a minimum, address whether it is
necessary for the Armed Forces to carry out the following
missions:
(A) Protecting United States diplomatic facilities
and United States citizens, including members of the
Armed Forces who are engaged in carrying out other
missions.
(B) Serving in roles consistent with customary
diplomatic positions.
(C) Engaging in actions to disrupt and eliminate
al-Qaeda and its affiliated organizations in Iraq.
(D) Training and equipping members of the Iraqi
Security Forces.
(4) Specific plans for diplomatic initiatives to engage
United States allies and others in the region to bring
stability to Iraq.
(c) Update of Strategy.--Not later than July 1, 2008, and every 90
days thereafter, the President shall transmit to the appropriate
congressional committees an update of the strategy required by
subsection (a), including a description of the number of Armed Forces
deployed to Iraq and the missions for which such Armed Forces are so
deployed.
(d) Form.--The strategy required by subsection (a) and each update
of the strategy required by subsection (c) shall be transmitted in
unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex, if necessary.
(e) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Appropriations, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the
House of Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Appropriations, and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate.
SEC. 5. ARMED FORCES DEFINED.
In this Act, the term ``Armed Forces'' has the meaning given the
term in section 101 of title 10, United States Code.
Passed the House of Representatives July 12, 2007.
Attest:
Clerk.
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2956
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To require the Secretary of Defense to commence the reduction of the
number of United States Armed Forces in Iraq to a limited presence by
April 1, 2008, and for other purposes.