[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 197 (Thursday, December 13, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7565-S7566]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUPPORTING A DIPLOMATIC SOLUTION IN YEMEN AND CONDEMNING THE MURDER OF
JAMAL KHASHOGGI
Mr. CORKER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the immediate consideration of S.J. Res. 69.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the joint resolution by
title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A joint resolution (S.J. Res. 69) supporting a diplomatic
solution in Yemen and condemning the murder of Jamal
Khashoggi.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to proceeding to the
measure?
The Senator from New Jersey.
Mr. MENENDEZ. Reserving the right to object, I do not intend to
object. I just want to say that on this resolution, there is a central
reason why I am not going to object.
I don't agree with some of the language that speaks about the
economic interests we have with Saudi Arabia. I think their behavior is
more than concerning, but what the distinguished
[[Page S7566]]
chairman on the Foreign Relations Committee is trying to do here at the
core of it is the critical element.
I am going to be supportive because of this one singular statement
under the resolved clause by the Senate and the House of
Representatives that the Senate ``believes Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman is responsible for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.''
Regardless of all of my other concerns about language, that is the
central essence of what the chairman is going to do. I think it is
incredibly important for the Senate to speak on that issue and,
hopefully, speak with one voice.
With that, I withdraw my objection.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia.
Mr. KAINE. Reserving the right to object, I will not object, but I
stand to support this.
Jamal Khashoggi was a Virginia resident. His children are American
citizens and Virginia residents, and it is important for the Senate to
speak on this matter.
I withdraw the objection.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the joint
resolution.
Mr. CORKER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the joint
resolution be considered read a third time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The joint resolution was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading
and was read the third time.
Mr. CORKER. I know of no further debate on the resolution.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate?
Hearing none, the joint resolution having been read the third time,
the question is, Shall the joint resolution pass?
The preamble was agreed to.
The joint resolution (S.J. Res. 69) was passed as follows:
S.J. Res. 69
Whereas the ongoing civil war in Yemen has exacerbated that
country's humanitarian crisis, in which nearly 12,000,000
people are suffering from ``severe hunger,'' according to the
United Nations' World Food Programme;
Whereas there is no military solution to the conflict;
Whereas the United States-Saudi Arabia relationship is
important to United States national security and economic
interests;
Whereas the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has,
in recent years, engaged in concerning behavior, including
its conduct in the civil war in Yemen, apparent detention of
the Prime Minister of Lebanon, undermining the unity of the
Gulf Cooperation Council, expulsion of the Canadian
ambassador, suppression of dissent within the Kingdom, and
the murder of Jamal Khashoggi;
Whereas misleading statements by the Government of the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia regarding the murder of Jamal
Khashoggi have undermined trust and confidence in the
longstanding friendship between the United States and the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; and
Whereas such erratic actions place unnecessary strain on
the United States-Saudi Arabia relationship, which is an
essential element of regional stability: Now, therefore, be
it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That the
Senate--
(1) believes Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is
responsible for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi;
(2) acknowledges the United States Government has
sanctioned 17 Saudi individuals under the Global Magnitsky
Human Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of
Public Law 114-328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note) for their roles in
the murder;
(3) calls for the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
to ensure appropriate accountability for all those
responsible for Jamal Khashoggi's murder;
(4) calls on the Government of Saudi Arabia to release Raif
Badawi, Samar Badawi, and the Saudi women's rights activists
who were arrested as political prisoners in 2018;
(5) encourages the Government of Saudi Arabia to redouble
its efforts to enact economic and social reforms;
(6) calls on the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
to respect the rights of its citizens and moderate its
increasingly erratic foreign policy;
(7) warns that the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia's increasing purchases of military equipment from, and
cooperation with, the Russian Federation and the People's
Republic of China, challenges the strength and integrity of
the long-standing military-to-military relationship between
the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and may
introduce significant national security and economic risks to
both parties;
(8) demands that all parties seek an immediate cease-fire
and negotiated political solution to the Yemen conflict and
increased humanitarian assistance to the victims of the
conflict;
(9) condemns the Government of Iran's provision of advanced
lethal weapons to Houthi rebels, which have perpetuated the
conflict and have been used indiscriminately against civilian
targets in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the
Bab al Mandeb waterway;
(10) condemns Houthi rebels for egregious human rights
abuses, including torture, use of human shields, and
interference with, and diversion of, humanitarian aid
shipments;
(11) demands that the Saudi-led coalition and all parties
to the Yemen conflict seek to minimize civilian casualties at
all times;
(12) supports the peace negotiations currently being
managed by United Nations Special Envoy Martin Griffiths and
encourages the United States Government to provide all
possible support to these diplomatic efforts;
(13) declares that there is no statutory authorization for
United States involvement in hostilities in the Yemen civil
war; and
(14) supports the end of air-to-air refueling of Saudi-led
coalition aircraft operating in Yemen.
Mr. CORKER. Mr. President, I want to thank our ranking member and my
friend, Senator Menendez, for his tremendous cooperation for many years
but especially over this last week, and Senator Kaine for coming in and
supporting it.
I want to reiterate what the ranking member just said. The Senate has
now unanimously said that Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman is
responsible for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. That is a strong
statement. I think it speaks to the values we hold dear, as the rest of
this resolution does.
I am glad the Senate is speaking with one voice, unanimously, toward
this end. I thank the leader for accommodating--making this happen.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, before the chairman on Foreign
Relations Committee leaves, I want to thank him for his extraordinary
leadership. This is a bit of a thicket here with different points of
view, but as a result of what the chairman has just offered, it is a
clear, unambiguous message about how we feel about what happened to
this journalist.
I want to thank him.
Mr. CORKER. I thank the Senator.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
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