[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 114 (Thursday, July 14, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5186-S5187]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE PESHMERGA OF THE KURDISTAN
REGION OF IRAQ
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 566, S. Con. Res. 41.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the concurrent
resolution by title.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 41) expressing the
sense of Congress on the Peshmerga of the Kurdistan Region of
Iraq.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
concurrent resolution, which had been reported from the Committee on
Foreign Relations with amendments, as follows:
(The parts of the concurrent resolution intended to be stricken are
shown in boldface brackets and the parts of the concurrent resolution
intended to be inserted are shown in italic.)
S. Con. Res. 41
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, in coordination with the Government
of Iraq, agrees to provide in an expeditious and in a timely
manner;]
(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;
[(6)] (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;
[(7)] (9) the Peshmerga are vital partners in the fight
against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham; and
[(8)] (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.
Ms. MURKOWSKI. I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported
amendments be agreed to, the concurrent resolution, as amended, be
agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid
upon the table with no intervening action or debate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The committee-reported amendments were agreed to.
The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 41), as amended, was agreed
to, as follows:
S. Con. Res. 41
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;
[[Page S5187]]
(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.
____________________