[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 116 (Friday, September 6, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6269-S6270]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. MENENDEZ:
S.J. Res. 21. An original joint resolution to authorize the limited
and specified use of the United States Armed Forces against Syria; from
the Committee on Foreign Relations; placed on the calendar.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the joint
resolution be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the joint resolution was
ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
S.J. Res. 21
Whereas Syria is in material breach of the laws of war by
having employed chemical weapons against its civilian
population;
Whereas the abuses of the regime of Bashar al-Assad have
included the brutal repression and war upon its own civilian
population, resulting in more than 100,000 people killed in
the past two years, 2,000,000 Syrian refugees in neighboring
countries, and 4,500,000 internally displaced persons in
Syria, creating an unprecedented regional crisis and
instability;
Whereas the Assad regime has the largest chemical weapons
programs in the region and has demonstrated its capability
and willingness to repeatedly use weapons of mass destruction
against its own people, including the August 21, 2013, attack
in the suburbs of Damascus in which the Assad regime murdered
over 1,000 innocent people, including hundreds of children;
Whereas there is clear and compelling evidence of the
direct involvement of Assad regime forces and senior
officials in the planning, execution, and after-action
attempts to cover-up, the August 21, 2013, attack, and hide
or destroy evidence of such attack;
Whereas the Arab League has declared with regards to the
August 21, 2013, incident to hold the ``Syrian regime
responsible for this heinous crime'';
Whereas the United Nations Security Council, in Resolution
1540 (2004), affirmed that the proliferation of nuclear,
chemical, and biological weapons constitutes a threat to
international peace and security;
Whereas in the Syria Accountability and Lebanese
Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-175),
Congress found that Syria's acquisition of weapons of mass
destruction threatens the security of the Middle East and the
national security interests of the United States;
Whereas the actions and conduct of the Assad regime are in
direct contravention of Syria's legal obligations under the
United Nations Charter, the Geneva Conventions, and the
Protocol to the Hague Convention on the Prohibition of the
Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and of
Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, done at Geneva June 17,
1925, and also violate the standards set forth in the
Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production,
Stockpiling and use of Chemical Weapons and on their
Destruction, done at Paris January 13, 1993;
Whereas Syria's use of weapons of mass destruction and its
conduct and actions constitute a grave threat to regional
stability, world peace, and the national security interests
of the United States and its allies and partners;
Whereas the objectives of the United States use of military
force in connection with this authorization are to respond to
the
[[Page S6270]]
use, and deter and degrade the potential future use, of
weapons of mass destruction by the Government of Syria;
Whereas, on May 21, 2013, the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate passed by a 15-3 vote the Syria
Transition Support Act (S. 960), which found that the
President's goals of Assad leaving power, an end to the
violence, and a negotiated political settlement in Syria are
prerequisites for a stable, democratic future for Syria and
regional peace and security, but absent decisive changes to
the present military balance of power on the ground in Syria,
sufficient incentives do not yet exist for the achievement of
such goals; and
Whereas the President has authority under the Constitution
to use force in order to defend the national security
interests of the United States: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This joint resolution may be cited as the ``Authorization
for the Use of Military Force Against the Government of Syria
to Respond to Use of Chemical Weapons''.
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES.
(a) Authorization.--The President is authorized, subject to
subsection (b), to use the Armed Forces of the United States
as the President determines to be necessary and appropriate
in a limited and specified manner against legitimate military
targets in Syria, only to--
(1) respond to the use of weapons of mass destruction by
the Government of Syria in the conflict in Syria;
(2) deter Syria's use of such weapons in order to protect
the national security interests of the United States and to
protect United States allies and partners against the use of
such weapons;
(3) degrade Syria's capacity to use such weapons in the
future; and
(4) prevent the transfer to terrorist groups or other state
or non-state actors within Syria of any weapons of mass
destruction.
(b) Requirement for Determination That Use of Military
Force Is Necessary.--Before exercising the authority granted
in subsection (a), the President shall make available to the
Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro
tempore of the Senate the President's determination that--
(1) the United States has used all appropriate diplomatic
and other peaceful means to prevent the deployment and use of
weapons of mass destruction by Syria;
(2) the Government of Syria has conducted one or more
significant chemical weapons attacks;
(3) the use of military force is necessary to respond to
the use of chemical weapons by the Government of Syria;
(4) it is in the core national security interest of the
United States to use such military force;
(5) the United States has a military plan to achieve the
specific goals of--
(A) responding to the use of weapons of mass destruction by
the Government of Syria in the conflict in Syria;
(B) deterring Syria's use of such weapons in order to
protect the national security interests of the United States
and to protect United States allies and partners against the
use of such weapons;
(C) degrading Syria's capacity to use such weapons in the
future; and
(D) preventing the transfer to terrorist groups or other
state or non-state actors within Syria of any weapons of mass
destruction; and
(6) the use of military force is consistent with and
furthers the goals of the United States strategy toward
Syria, including achieving a negotiated political settlement
to the conflict.
(c) War Powers Resolution Requirements.--
(1) Specific statutory authorization.--Consistent with
section 8(a)(1) of the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C.
1547(a)(1)), Congress declares that this section is intended
to constitute specific statutory authorization within the
meaning of section 5(b) of the War Powers Resolution (50
U.S.C. 1544(b)), within the limits of the authorization
established under this section.
(2) Applicability of other requirements.--Nothing in this
resolution supersedes any requirement of the War Powers
Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1541 et seq.).
SEC. 3. LIMITATION.
The authority granted in section 2(a) does not authorize
the use of the United States Armed Forces on the ground in
Syria for the purpose of combat operations.
SEC. 4. TERMINATION OF THE AUTHORIZATION FOR THE USE OF
UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES.
The authorization in section 2(a) shall terminate 60 days
after the date of the enactment of this joint resolution,
except that the President may extend, for a single period of
30 days, such authorization if--
(1) the President determines and certifies to Congress, not
later than 5 days before the date of termination of the
initial authorization, that the extension is necessary to
fulfill the purposes of this resolution as defined by section
2(a) due to extraordinary circumstances and for ongoing and
impending military operations against Syria under section
2(a); and
(2) Congress does not enact into law, before the extension
of authorization, a joint resolution disapproving the
extension of the authorization for the additional 30-day
period; provided that any such joint resolution shall be
considered under the expedited procedures otherwise provided
for concurrent resolutions of disapproval contained in
section 7 of the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1546).
SEC. 5. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
(a) Changing of Momentum on Battlefield.--It is the policy
of the United States to change the momentum on the
battlefield in Syria so as to create favorable conditions for
a negotiated settlement that ends the conflict and leads to a
democratic government in Syria.
(b) Degradation of Ability of Regime to Use Weapons of Mass
Destruction.--A comprehensive United States strategy in Syria
should aim, as part of a coordinated international effort, to
degrade the capabilities of the Assad regime to use weapons
of mass destruction while upgrading the lethal and non-lethal
military capabilities of vetted elements of Syrian opposition
forces, including the Free Syrian Army.
SEC. 6. SYRIA STRATEGY.
(a) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date of
the enactment of this resolution, the President shall consult
with Congress and submit to the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs
of the House of Representatives an integrated United States
Government strategy for achieving a negotiated political
settlement to the conflict in Syria, including a
comprehensive review of current and planned United States
diplomatic, political, economic, and military policy towards
Syria.
(b) Elements.--The strategy required under subsection (a)
shall include--
(1) the provision of all forms of assistance to the Syrian
Supreme Military Council and other Syrian entities opposed to
the government of Bashar Al-Assad that have been properly and
fully vetted and share common values and interests with the
United States;
(2) the provision of all forms of assistance to the Syrian
political opposition, including the Syrian Opposition
Coalition;
(3) efforts to isolate extremist and terrorist groups in
Syria to prevent their influence on the future transitional
and permanent Syrian governments;
(4) security coordination with allies and regional partners
including Israel, Jordan and Turkey;
(5) efforts to limit support from the Government of Iran
and others for the Syrian regime;
(6) planning for securing existing chemical, biological,
and other weapons supplies; and
(7) efforts to address the ongoing humanitarian challenges
presented by 2,000,000 Syrian refugees in neighboring
countries, and 4,500,000 internally displaced persons in
Syria, and related humanitarian needs.
SEC. 7. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION AND REPORTING.
(a) Notification and Provision of Information.--Upon the
President's determination to use the authority set forth in
section 2, the President shall notify Congress, including the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives,
of the use of such authority and shall keep Congress fully
and currently informed of the use of such authority.
(b) Reports.--Not later than 10 days after the initiation
of military operations under the authority provided by
section 2, and every 20 days thereafter until the completion
of military operations, the President shall submit to
Congress, including the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives, a report on the status of such operations,
including progress achieved toward the objectives specified
in section 2(a), the financial costs of operations to date,
and an assessment of the impact of the operations on the
Syrian regime's chemical weapons capabilities and intentions.
SEC. 8. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
The authority set forth in section 2 shall not constitute
an authorization for the use of force or a declaration of war
except to the extent that it authorizes military action under
the conditions, for the specific purposes, and for the
limited period of time set forth in this resolution.
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