[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 9555]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         PROVIDING ASSISTANCE TO IRAQI KURDISH PESHMERGA FORCES

  Mrs. ERNST. Mr. President, as we continue to fight against ISIS and 
their radical allies, I rise to urge my colleagues to support the 
Ernst-Boxer amendment, which provides authority for direct assistance 
to a critical partner in that fight: the Iraqi Kurds.
  Defeating ISIS is critical to maintaining an inclusive and unified 
Iraq, and the Iraqi Kurds are the key to that goal and helping to 
improve the humanitarian crisis in the region through their support and 
protection of over 1.6 million displaced persons from Iraq and Syria.
  This bipartisan amendment, also cosponsored by Senators Graham, 
Tillis, Rubio, and Gardner, provides temporary authority for the 
President, in consultation with the Iraqi Government--and I say, again, 
in consultation with the Iraqi Government--to provide weapons directly 
to Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the fight against ISIS should the 
administration choose to do so.
  Currently, by law, the United States must provide support to the 
Iraqi Kurds through the Iraqi central government in Baghdad, which has 
often not been timely or adequate in the past. These delays have had a 
negative impact on the Kurds' ability to defend Iraqi territory and 
provide security for those who have sought refuge in Iraqi Kurdistan. 
The President's recent decision to expedite arms to the Kurds as a way 
to improve the counter-ISIS effort, I believe, speaks for itself.
  Additionally, last year, Secretary of State John Kerry said to the 
House Foreign Affairs Committee:

       You said the administration is responsible for sending all 
     these weapons through Baghdad. No, we're not. You are. We're 
     adhering to U.S. law passed by Congress.

  Secretary Kerry continued:

       We have to send it to the [Iraqi] government because that's 
     U.S. law. If you want to change it, fix it, we invite you.

  Well, this amendment does just that, and it does so in a bipartisan, 
bicameral fashion. It builds upon a similar bill in the House led by 
Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce and Ranking Member Engel. 
This bill and my amendment are quite different than the House NDAA 
language.
  My amendment provides a 3-year authorization to reduce delays and 
inefficiencies in arming Peshmerga forces to fight ISIS while ensuring 
the Iraqi Government is an integral part of the process. The amendment 
continues to promote a unified Iraq and enhances the ability to fight 
our common enemy--an enemy that ultimately seeks to bring their terror 
to our shores.
  Furthermore, the amendment preserves the President's ability to 
notify the Iraqi Government before weapons, equipment, defense services 
or related training is provided to Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces. It 
ensures this emergency authorization does not construct a precedent of 
providing direct support to organizations other than a country or an 
international organization. Most important to remember, it does not 
require the President to act. It provides him the authorization to do 
so if he feels the situation warrants it.
  Beginning in the first gulf war, the Iraqi Kurds and their Peshmerga 
security forces have played a vital role in supporting U.S. interests 
and fostering a free Iraq, despite limited means of doing so. Last 
week, they not only held their ground but made some gains against ISIS 
in the Kirkuk Province. There are far too few positive news stories out 
of Iraq recently, but when there are some, it is often the Kurds who 
are making that progress.
  ISIS is deadly and determined, and Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces--
our critical partner in the fight against ISIS--need U.S. weapons as 
quickly as possible. We simply cannot afford future delays at this 
critical moment in the battle. I urge my colleagues to join us in 
supporting this much needed bipartisan legislation to arm the Iraqi 
Kurds in the fight against ISIS.
  With that, Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. NELSON. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Ernst). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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