[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3176 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3176

 To provide that the President must seek congressional approval before 
    engaging members of the United States Armed Forces in military 
                        humanitarian operations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 14, 2012

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide that the President must seek congressional approval before 
    engaging members of the United States Armed Forces in military 
                        humanitarian operations.

    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 ``Military Humanitarian Operations Act 
of 2012''.

SEC. 2. MILITARY HUMANITARIAN OPERATION DEFINED.

    (a) In General.--In this Act, the term ``military humanitarian 
operation'' means a military operation involving the deployment of 
members or weapons systems of the United States Armed Forces where 
hostile activities are reasonably anticipated and with the aim of 
preventing or responding to a humanitarian catastrophe, including its 
regional consequences, or addressing a threat posed to international 
peace and security. The term includes--
            (1) operations undertaken pursuant to the principle of the 
        ``responsibility to protect'' as referenced in United Nations 
        Security Council Resolution 1674 (2006);
            (2) operations specifically authorized by the United 
        Nations Security Council, or other international organizations; 
        and
            (3) unilateral deployments and deployments made in 
        coordination with international organizations, treaty-based 
        organizations, or coalitions formed to address specific 
        humanitarian catastrophes.
    (b) Operations Not Included.--The term ``military humanitarian 
operation'' does not mean a military operation undertaken for the 
following purposes:
            (1) Responding to or repelling attacks, or preventing 
        imminent attacks, on the United States or any of its 
        territorial possessions, embassies, or consulates, or members 
        of the United States Armed Forces.
            (2) Direct acts of reprisal for attacks on the United 
        States or any of its territorial possessions, embassies, or 
        consulates, or members of the United States Armed Forces.
            (3) Invoking the inherent right to individual or collective 
        self-defense in accordance with Article 51 of the Charter of 
        the United Nations.
            (4) Military missions to protect or rescue United States 
        citizens or military or diplomatic personnel abroad.
            (5) Carrying out treaty commitments to directly aid allies 
        in distress.
            (6) Humanitarian missions in response to natural disasters 
        where no civil unrest or combat with hostile forces is 
        reasonably anticipated, and where such operation is for a 
        limited duration.
            (7) Actions to maintain maritime freedom of navigation, 
        including actions aimed at combating piracy.
            (8) Training exercises conducted by the United States Armed 
        Forces abroad where no combat with hostile forces is reasonably 
        anticipated.

SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT FOR CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORIZATION.

    (a) Authorization Required.--The President may not deploy members 
of the United States Armed Forces into the territory, airspace, or 
waters of a foreign country for a military humanitarian operation not 
previously authorized by statute unless--
            (1) the President submits to Congress a formal request for 
        authorization to use members of the Armed Forces for the 
        military humanitarian operation; and
            (2) Congress enacts a specific authorization for such use 
        of forces.
    (b) Joint Resolution of Approval.--
            (1) Introduction and placement on calendar.--If the 
        President submits a formal request under subsection (a)(1) for 
        authorization to use members of the Armed Forces for a military 
        humanitarian operation, then within 1 calendar day of such 
        request, the majority leader of the Senate and the Speaker of 
        the House of Representatives shall introduce an identical joint 
        resolution in the Senate and the House of Representatives 
        calling for consideration of the military humanitarian 
        operation and shall place such resolution directly on the 
        calendar of the respective House.
            (2) Floor consideration.--
                    (A) In general.--It shall be in order for any 
                Member of the respective House to move to proceed to 
                the consideration of a resolution introduced under 
                paragraph (1), and all points of order against the 
                resolution (and against consideration of the 
                resolution) are waived. The motion is highly privileged 
                in the House of Representatives and is privileged in 
                the Senate and is not debatable. The motion is not 
                subject to amendment, to a motion to postpone, or to a 
                motion to proceed to the consideration of other 
                business. A motion to reconsider the vote by which the 
                motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in 
                order. If a motion to proceed to the consideration of 
                the resolution is agreed to, the resolution shall 
                remain the unfinished business of the respective House 
                until disposed of.
                    (B) Debate.--Debate on the resolution, and on all 
                debatable motions and appeals in connection therewith, 
                shall be limited to not more than 4 hours, which shall 
                be divided equally between those favoring and those 
                opposing the resolution. A motion further to limit 
                debate is in order and not debatable. An amendment to, 
                or a motion to postpone, or a motion to proceed to the 
                consideration of other business, or a motion to 
                recommit the resolution is not in order. A motion to 
                reconsider the vote by which the resolution is agreed 
                to or disagreed to is not in order.
                    (C) Vote on final passage.--Immediately following 
                the conclusion of the debate on the resolution, and a 
                single quorum call at the conclusion of the debate if 
                requested in accordance with the rules of the 
                appropriate House, the vote on final passage of the 
                resolution shall occur. The vote shall occur not later 
                than 48 hours after submission of a formal request 
                under subsection (a)(1), unless the President waives 
                such deadline, in which case the vote in each House 
                shall occur on the next calendar day each respective 
                House is in session.
                    (D) Rulings of the chair on procedure.--Appeals 
                from the decisions of the Chair relating to the 
                application of the rules of the Senate or the House of 
                Representatives, as the case may be, to the procedure 
                relating to a resolution described in paragraph (1) 
                shall be decided without debate.
            (3) Coordination with action by other house.--If, before 
        the passage by one House of a resolution of that House 
        described in paragraph (1), that House receives from the other 
        House a resolution described in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) the resolution of the other House shall not be 
                referred to a committee; and
                    (B) with respect to the resolution of the House 
                receiving the resolution, the procedure in the 
                receiving House shall be the same as if no joint 
                resolution had been received from the other House until 
                the vote on final passage, when the joint resolution 
                received from the other House shall supplant the joint 
                resolution of the receiving House.
            (4) Rules of house of representatives and senate.--This 
        subsection is enacted by Congress--
                    (A) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the 
                Senate and House of Representatives, respectively, and 
                as such it is deemed a part of the rules of each House, 
                respectively, but applicable only with respect to the 
                procedure to be followed in that House in the case of a 
                resolution described in paragraph (1), and it 
                supersedes other rules only to the extent that it is 
                inconsistent with such rules; and
                    (B) with full recognition of the constitutional 
                right of either House to change the rules (so far as 
                relating to the procedure of that House) at any time, 
                in the same manner and to the same extent as in the 
                case of any other rule of that House.

SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY.

    If any provision of this Act is held to be unconstitutional, the 
remainder of the Act shall not be affected.
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