[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 41 Referred in House (RFH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. CON. RES. 41


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 18, 2016

              Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of Congress on the Peshmerga of the Kurdistan 
                            Region of Iraq.

    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the Peshmerga of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq have been 
        one of the most effective fighting forces in the military 
        campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS);
            (2) the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham poses an acute 
        threat to the Iraqi people and territorial integrity of Iraq, 
        including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and the security and 
        stability of the Middle East;
            (3) the severe budget shortfalls faced by both the 
        Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government are 
        hindering the stability of Iraq and have the potential to 
        undermine long-term efforts to bring about the sustainable 
        defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham;
            (4) the $415,000,000 pledged by the United States 
        Government to the Kurdish Peshmerga in April of 2016, in 
        coordination with the Government of Iraq, in addition to the 
        $65,000,000 already provided from the Iraq Train and Equip 
        Fund, should remain a priority for the United States as part of 
        the continued support for Iraqi Security Forces, including the 
        Peshmerga, in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and 
        al-Sham;
            (5) the Peshmerga should receive all weapons and equipment 
        that the United States, by, with, and through the Government of 
        Iraq, agrees to provide in an expeditious and in a timely 
        manner;
            (6) it should be the policy of the United States to 
        support, within the framework of the Iraq Constitution, Iraqi 
        Security Forces, the Kurdish Peshmerga in Iraq, Sunni tribal 
        forces, and other local security forces, including threatened 
        ethnic and religious minority groups, in the campaign against 
        the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham;
            (7) ensuring the safe resettlement and reintegration of 
        ethnic and religious minorities, including Christians (among 
        them Assyrian, Chaldean, Syriac, Armenian, Evangelical, 
        Antiochian and Greek Orthodox, Maronite, Melkite, and Roman 
        Catholic communities), Yezidis, Turkmen, Shi'a, Shabak, 
        Sabaean-Mandeans, and Kaka'i, among others, including victims 
        of genocide, into their homelands in Iraq, including the 
        Ninevah Plain, is a critical component toward achieving a safe, 
        secure, and sovereign Iraq;
            (8) the Peshmerga require equipment that will allow them to 
        defend themselves and their coalition advisers against the 
        increased use of vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices by 
        the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham;
            (9) the Peshmerga are vital partners in the fight against 
        the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham; and
            (10) in coordination with the Government of Iraq, the 
        United States will endeavor to increase assistance to Iraqi 
        Kurdish Forces to enhance their combat medicine and logistical 
        capabilities, to defend internally displaced persons and 
        refugees, and to defend the Peshmerga and their coalition 
        advisers.

            Passed the Senate July 14, 2016.

            Attest:

                                                JULIE E. ADAMS,

                                                             Secretary.