[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2016 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2016

       To prevent an unconstitutional strike against North Korea.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 26, 2017

  Mr. Markey introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
       To prevent an unconstitutional strike against North Korea.

    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 ``No Unconstitutional Strike Against 
North Korea Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The President is currently prohibited from initiating a 
        war or launching a first strike without congressional approval 
        under the United States Constitution and United States law.
            (2) The Constitution, in article I, section 8, grants 
        Congress the sole power to declare war.
            (3) George Washington, in a letter to William Moultrie 
        dated August 28, 1793, wrote, ``The constitution vests the 
        power of declaring war in Congress; therefore no offensive 
        expedition of importance can be undertaken until after they 
        shall have deliberated upon the subject and authorized such a 
        measure.''.
            (4) In Examination Number 1 of the Hamilton Papers, dated 
        December 17, 1801, Alexander Hamilton wrote, ```The Congress 
        shall have the power to declare war'; the plain meaning of 
        which is, that it is the peculiar and exclusive duty of 
        Congress, when the nation is at peace, to change that state 
        into a state of war.''.
            (5) James Madison wrote, in Madison Papers, Helvidius, 
        Number 4, dated September 14, 1793, ``The power to declare war, 
        including the power of judging the causes of war, is fully and 
        exclusively vested in the legislature . . . the executive has 
        no right, in any case, to decide the question, whether there is 
        or is not cause for declaring war.''.
            (6) Section 2(c) of the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 
        1541(c)) states that ``the constitutional powers of the 
        President as Commander-in-Chief to introduce United States 
        Armed Forces into hostilities, or into situations where 
        imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated by the 
        circumstances, are exercised only pursuant to (1) a declaration 
        of war, (2) specific statutory authorization, or (3) a national 
        emergency created by attack upon the United States, its 
        territories or possessions, or its armed forces''.
            (7) The American people, United States allies in Asia, and 
        the entire world have been deeply troubled by escalating 
        tensions on the Korean peninsula.
            (8) Recent polling demonstrates that more than two-thirds 
        of people in the United States believe that the United States 
        should attack North Korea only if North Korea attacks first.
            (9) The United States has approximately 28,500 members of 
        the Armed Forces stationed in Korea who would be placed in 
        grave danger if an active military conflict were to erupt.
            (10) On August 14, 2017, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of 
        Staff, Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford stated, ``The United 
        States military's priority is to support our government's 
        efforts to achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula 
        through diplomatic and economic pressure.''.
            (11) On August 10, 2017, Defense Secretary James Mattis 
        stated that armed conflict with North Korea ``would be 
        catastrophic''.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON UNCONSTITUTIONAL MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST NORTH 
              KOREA.

    (a) In General.--None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made 
available to the Department of Defense or to any other Federal 
department or agency may be used to launch a military strike against 
North Korea or introduce the Armed Forces into hostilities in North 
Korea before the date on which Congress declares war on North Korea or 
enacts an authorization described in subsection (b).
    (b) Authorization of Military Strikes.--An authorization described 
in this subsection is an authorization that meets the requirements of 
the War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93-148; 50 U.S.C. 1541 et seq.) 
and that is enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (c) Exceptions.--The prohibition under subsection (a) shall not 
apply with respect to the introduction of the Armed Forces into 
hostilities to repel a sudden attack on the United States, its 
territories or possessions, the United States Armed Forces, or United 
States allies or to the deployment of United States Armed Forces to 
rescue or remove United States personnel.
    (d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed 
to relieve the executive branch of the restrictions on the use of force 
or the reporting requirements stated in the War Powers Resolution 
(Public Law 93-148; 50 U.S.C. 1541 et seq.).

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS IN SUPPORT OF A DIPLOMATIC RESOLUTION TO 
              GROWING TENSIONS WITH NORTH KOREA.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) a conflict on the Korean peninsula would have 
        catastrophic consequences for the American people, for members 
        of the United States Armed Forces stationed in the region, for 
        United States interests, for United States allies the Republic 
        of Korea and Japan, for the long-suffering people of North 
        Korea, and for global peace and security more broadly, and that 
        actions and statements that increase tensions and could lead to 
        miscalculation should be avoided; and
            (2) the President, in coordination with United States 
        allies, should explore and pursue every feasible opportunity to 
        engage in talks with the Government of North Korea on concrete 
        steps to reduce tensions and improve communication, and to 
        initiate negotiations designed to achieve a diplomatic 
        agreement to halt and eventually reverse North Korea's nuclear 
        and missile pursuits and to move toward denuclearization and a 
        permanent peace in the Korean peninsula.
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