[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 104 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 104

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President 
should provide Congress with a detailed deployment and troop commitment 
plan prior to approval for authorization to commit United States Armed 
          Forces to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 11, 2015

 Mr. Pearce submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President 
should provide Congress with a detailed deployment and troop commitment 
plan prior to approval for authorization to commit United States Armed 
          Forces to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

Whereas the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, known as ISIS, has taken advantage 
        of a political power vacuum in Iraq left by the United States exiting 
        the country before the mission was complete;
Whereas the ongoing Syrian civil war, beginning in 2011, has created a freedom 
        of mobility for radicalized networks and organizations to go to Syria;
Whereas, in the summer of 2014, ISIS grew exponentially in the region, 
        ultimately threatening Bagdad;
Whereas, on September 10, 2014, President Barack Obama committed to degrading 
        and destroying ISIS through a global coalition;
Whereas United States Armed Forces commitment was to air operations and training 
        of opposition forces;
Whereas, on February 6, 2015, the President signaled plans to submit to Congress 
        a request for use of United States ground forces in the fight against 
        ISIS;
Whereas Use of Military Force requests should be contingent on the President, 
        acting as Commander in Chief, providing Congress with a clear and 
        definitive deployment and troop commitment plan;
Whereas, in Vietnam, much of the United States Armed Forces fought without 
        defined deployment commitments or planning resulting in troops facing 
        repeated temporary duty assignment or deployment after deployment due to 
        an inability to commit greater troop strength to the war;
Whereas much of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan followed the same path, relying 
        heavily on temporary duty assignment and repeated deployments with 
        little to no downtime for the troops involved;
Whereas President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama forced too much of 
        the mission duties on too small of a cross-section of our Armed Forces, 
        never committing the true strength or size of our forces to the mission;
Whereas continual and repeated deployment without time at home takes a heavy and 
        unnecessary toll on the members of the United States Armed Forces and 
        their families;
Whereas, with more information on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder than ever, any 
        military engagement must focus in creating a deployment strategy that 
        minimizes stressors to the greatest ability possible, including the 
        reduction in repeated deployment without time at home;
Whereas temporary duty assignments limit the ability of the United States Armed 
        Forces to counter the ISIS threat by providing less time at home for 
        training and family; and
Whereas temporary duty assignment limits the availability of support personnel 
        and equipment often needed in combat: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that--
                    (A) only Congress has the constitutional authority 
                to declare war according to article 1, section 8, 
                clause 11 of the United States Constitution;
                    (B) the President should set clear, definable 
                objectives for the United States Armed Forces to 
                achieve before committing such Armed Forces to battle; 
                and
                    (C) the President, as Commander in Chief of the 
                United States Armed Forces, should provide Congress 
                with a clear and definitive deployment and troop 
                commitment plan prior to engaging in hostilities 
                against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, known as 
                ISIS; and
            (2) the House of Representatives should not approve a 
        request for the Use of Military Force against ISIS--
                    (A) unless the President provides Congress with 
                requested information; and
                    (B) should the President commit to defeating ISIS 
                using temporary duty assignment as a main means of 
                troop deployment.
                                 <all>