[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 84 (Thursday, May 26, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S3321]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 4299. Mr. MURPHY (for himself and Mr. Paul) submitted an amendment
intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2943, to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2017 for military activities of the
Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle H of title XII, add the following:
SEC. 1277. LIMITATIONS ON TRANSFER OF CERTAIN UNITED STATES
MUNITIONS TO SAUDI ARABIA.
(a) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that no
funds authorized for the Defense Security Cooperation Agency
by this Act, any previous Act, or otherwise available to the
Agency may be used to carry out the provisions of the Arms
Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.), for the purposes
of implementing a sale of air to ground munitions to Saudi
Arabia unless the Government of Saudi Arabia--
(1) demonstrates an ongoing effort to combat the mutual
threat our nations face from designated foreign terrorist
organizations; and
(2) takes all feasible precautions to reduce the risk of
harm to civilians and civilian objects, in compliance with
international humanitarian law, in the course of military
actions it pursues for the purpose of legitimate self-defense
as described in section 4 of the Arms Export Control Act (22
U.S.C. 2754).
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Air-to-ground munitions.--The term ``air-to-ground''
munitions means any United States bomb or missile designed as
a Category IV item on the United States Munitions List
pursuant to section 38 (a)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act
(22 U.S.C. 2778 (a)(1)).
(2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee
on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Armed Services, and
the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate.
(3) Authorized sale.--The term ``authorized sale'' means
any sale of United States defense articles or services
authorized pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act.
(4) Designated foreign terrorist organizations.--The term
``designated foreign terrorist organizations'' means groups
designated by the United States as foreign terrorist
organizations pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189) or Specially Designated
Global Terrorists pursuant to Executive Order 13224 (50
U.S.C. 1701 note).
(5) Proposed sale.--The term ``proposed sale'' means any
sale notified to Congress pursuant to subsections (b) or (c)
of section 36 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C.
2776).
(c) Conditions of Transfer.--
(1) Limitation.--No transfer to Saudi Arabia of United
States air-to-ground munitions may occur until the President
makes the certification described under subsection (d).
(2) Certification at time of congressional notification.--
Any notification to Congress made on or after the date of the
enactment of this Act with respect to a proposed sale to
Saudi Arabia of air-to-ground munitions shall be accompanied
by the certification described under subsection (d).
(d) Conditions Required Prior to Sale.--The certification
described under this subsection is a certification by the
President to the appropriate congressional committees as
follows:
(1) The Government of Saudi Arabia and its coalition
partners are taking all feasible precautions to reduce the
risk of harm to civilians and civilian objects to comply with
their obligations under international humanitarian law, which
includes minimizing harm to civilians, discriminating between
civilian objects and military objectives, and exercising
proportional use of force in the course of military actions
it pursues for the purpose of legitimate self-defense as
described in section 4 of the Arms Export Control Act (22
U.S.C. 2754).
(2) The Government of Saudi Arabia and its coalition
partners are making demonstrable efforts to facilitate the
flow of critical humanitarian aid and commercial goods,
including commercial fuel and commodities not subject to
sanction or prohibition under United Nations Security Council
Resolution 2216 (2015).
(3) The Government of Saudi Arabia is taking all necessary
measures to target designated foreign terrorist
organizations, including al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
and affiliates of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant as
part of its military operations in Yemen.
(e) Reporting Requirements.--
(1) Reporting requirements.--Prior to any transfer of
United States air-to-ground munitions to Saudi Arabia
pursuant to an authorized sale to Saudi Arabia of air-to-
ground munitions or the notification to Congress of a
proposed sale to Saudi Arabia of air-to-ground munitions, the
President or the President's designee shall provide a
briefing to the appropriate congressional committees. The
briefing shall include--
(A) a description of the nature, content, costs, and
purposes of any United States support for the Government of
Saudi Arabia's coalition military operations in Yemen on or
after March 26, 2015;
(B) an assessment of whether the Government of Saudi
Arabia's coalition operations have deliberately targeted
civilian infrastructure in Yemen on or after March 26, 2015,
and whether the armed forces of the Government of Saudi
Arabia and its coalition partners have taken all possible
steps to comply with the rules of distinction,
proportionality, and precautions, as regulated by Additional
Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and
Relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed
Conflicts, done at Geneva June 8, 1977;
(C) an assessment of whether the armed forces of Saudi
Arabia have used United States-origin munitions, including
cluster munitions, in any attacks against civilians or
civilian infrastructure in Yemen on or after March 26, 2015,
and how that affects the United States' credibility in the
region; and
(D) an assessment of the effect of Saudi Arabia's military
operations in Yemen on its ability to contribute to United
States efforts to defeat al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
(2) Form of briefing.--The briefing required under
paragraph (1) shall be conducted in an unclassified forum but
may be conducted in a classified setting as required.
(f) Sunset.--This section shall cease to have effect three
years after the date of the enactment of this Act, unless
renewed.
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