[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 46 (Thursday, March 14, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S1893]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              S.J. RES. 7

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I rise to express a concern over the 
Rubio amendment to the Sanders-Lee joint resolution, S.J. Res. 7, which 
was passed by voice vote in yesterday's debate.
  The Rubio amendment attempts to make clear that nothing in the joint 
resolution is intended or may be interpreted to affect any intelligence 
or counterintelligence activity or investigations relating to threats 
in or from Yemen, which involves the collection, analysis, or sharing 
of intelligence with any coalition partner.
  I do not believe that it was the intention of the authors of S.J. 
Res. 7 to restrict these intelligence activities per se. I believe it 
was Senator Rubio's intention to make sure that that legitimate 
intelligence activities, as specified, were not affected.
  However, my concern springs from the full implications of what 
``sharing intelligence'' means. I assume it is meant to share useful 
intelligence the United States may acquire about the intentions, 
activities, characteristics, and other information about, for example, 
the Houthis or Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. That is entirely 
appropriate.
  But if the intelligence being shared is actually information that 
allows Saudi Arabia or other members of the Saudi-led coalition to 
specifically target and conduct military operations, such as 
airstrikes, against specific sites in Yemen, then that would get 
perilously close to the U.S. being directly involved in hostilities in 
Yemen, including under the War Powers Resolution.
  Section 8 of the War Powers Resolution considers U.S. Armed Forces to 
be ``introduced into hostilities'' if, among other activities, members 
of the U.S. Armed Forces ``coordinate'' the activities of foreign 
forces. Arguably, enabling Saudi forces to target specific sites in 
Yemen could constitute ``coordination'' under the War Powers 
definition.
  Why is this important? It is important, first, to preserve the scope 
of application of the War Powers Resolution, which the Congress enacted 
to rein in the power of the executive branch to make war anywhere under 
any circumstances.
  Second, the more direct assistance U.S. Armed Forces provide to the 
Saudi-led coalition, the closer they are associated with the actions of 
those countries. That could lead to shared liability in those 
activities if and when those activities lead, inadvertently or 
otherwise, to atrocities on the ground in Yemen.
  Again, I do not believe that it was the intention of the author of 
this amendment to create the legal space for this to occur. I would 
advise the Department of Defense and the appropriate intelligence 
agencies to be mindful of this issue and be cautious about what 
intelligence information is shared and for what purposes it is used.

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