[House Report 106-116]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]





106th Congress                                                   Report
  1st Session           HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                106-116

=======================================================================



 
  DIRECTING THE PRESIDENT, PURSUANT TO SECTION 5(c) OF THE WAR POWERS 
 RESOLUTION, TO REMOVE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES FROM THEIR POSITIONS 
IN CONNECTION WITH THE PRESENT OPERATIONS AGAINST THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC 
                             OF YUGOSLAVIA

                                _______
                                

 April 27, 1999.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______


 Mr. Gilman, from the Committee on International Relations, submitted 
                             the following

                             ADVERSE REPORT

                     [To accompany H. Con. Res. 82]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on International Relations, to whom was 
referred the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 82) directing 
the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers 
Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from their 
positions in connection with the present operations against the 
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, having considered the same, 
report unfavorably thereon and recommend that the concurrent 
resolution not be agreed to.

                         Background and Purpose

    Representatives of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) 
and the ethnic Albanians from the Serb Province of Kosovo 
convened for negotiations in Rambouillet, France on February 7, 
1999. After sixteen days of talks the negotiations recessed at 
the request of the Albanians, who wanted to return to Kosovo to 
consult with members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and 
others among the Albanian community. Three weeks later the 
negotiations reconvened and the Albanian representatives signed 
the Rambouillet Accords which provided for substantial autonomy 
for the ethnic Albanians of Kosovo, a sharp reduction of 
Serbian police and military personnel in the province, and a 
NATO-led peacekeeping force comprised of 28,000 troops, of 
which the United States had agreed to provide 4,000.
    On March 11, 1999, the House adopted H. Con. Res. 42, a 
concurrent resolution stating, in part, that ``the President is 
authorized to deploy United States Armed Forces personnel to 
Kosovo as part of a NATO peacekeeping operation implementing a 
Kosovo peace agreement.''
    Representatives from NATO had made clear to the government 
of the FRY that if the Albanians agree to the Rambouillet 
Accords and the FRY did not, NATO would undertake punitive air 
strikes against targets throughout the FRY. The FRY, objecting 
to the provisions for the NATO-led peacekeeping force, refused 
to sign the Accords, and the talks ended. On March 24, 1999 
NATO launched the air strikes. On March 26, 1999, President 
Clinton reported to the Congress, ``consistent with the War 
Powers Resolution'', that the United States had begun ``a 
series of air strikes in the [FRY] in response to the FRY 
government's continued campaign of violence and repression 
against the ethnic Albanian population in Kosovo.''
    Serbian special police and military forces have, despite 
the NATO air strikes, been able to conduct an offensive 
operation in Kosovo involving in excess of 40,000 troops. 
Serbian forces have driven more than 850,000 of the 1.6 million 
Albanians out of Kosovo, and there are reports that there may 
be at least 500,000 more internally displaced within Kosovo. 
Albanian refugees have reported that they have witnessed mass 
killings, rapes and other atrocities. It is believed that there 
are 100,000 men of war-fighting age being held in Kosovo by the 
Serbs for forced labor or as potential human shields or 
hostages.
    H. Con. Res. 82, introduced by Rep. Tom Campbell on April 
12, 1999 is a concurrent resolution that directs the President, 
pursuant to section 5 (c) of the War Powers Resolution (Public 
Law 93-148, 50 U.S.C. 1541-1548) to remove U.S. Armed Forces 
from their positions in connection with the present operations 
against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia within thirty days 
after passage or within such longer period as may be necessary 
to effectuate their safe withdrawal.
    Section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution provides in 
pertinent part that:

          * * * at any time that United States Armed Forces are 
        engaged in hostilities outside the territory of the 
        United States, its possessions and territories without 
        a declaration of war or specific statutory 
        authorization, such forces shall be removed by the 
        President if Congress so directs by concurrent 
        resolution.

Section 7 of the War Powers Resolution provides expedited 
procedures to govern the consideration of concurrent 
resolutions introduced pursuant to section 5(c).
    Concurrent resolutions are resolutions approved by both 
houses of Congress but not presented to the President for 
signature into law. When the War Powers Resolution was enacted 
in 1973, it was widely believed that Congress could require the 
President to act in response to the adoption of concurrent 
resolutions. In 1983, however, the Supreme Court ruled in INS 
v. Chadha that provisions of law purporting to require the 
President to act in response to the adoption of concurrent 
resolutions are unconstitutional because they deny the 
President his right to veto legislation to which he objects. It 
is generally accepted that section 5(c) of the War Powers 
Resolution was among the concurrent resolution provisions 
rendered ineffective by the Chadha decision.
    The fact that a concurrent resolution passed pursuant to 
section 5(c) may not legally require the President to withdraw 
U.S. Armed Forces from a foreign country does not mean that 
section 5(c)--and the associated expedited procedures of 
section 7--effectively have been repealed. Rather, the import 
of the Chadha decision is that any concurrent resolution passed 
pursuant to section 5(c) would not be binding.
    In addition, because the Chadha decision does not address 
congressional procedures, the expedited procedures of section 7 
remain available with respect to concurrent resolutions 
introduced under section 5(c). Under section 7, the Committee 
is required to report H. Con. Res. 82 within fifteen calendar 
days, or by Tuesday, April 27, 1999. The resolution ``shall 
become the pending business of the House in question * * * and 
shall be voted on within three calendar days thereafter, unless 
such House otherwise determines by the yeas and nays.''
    The Committee is generally sympathetic to the intent of the 
sponsor of the resolution to reassert the constitutional 
authority of Congress with respect to deployments of U.S. Armed 
Forces into hostilities abroad.
    The Committee is of the view that, if adopted, H. Con. Res. 
82 would have severe deleterious consequences for U.S. national 
security and severe repercussions within the North Atlantic 
Alliance, and that it would not address the situation that we, 
along with our allies, now face in the Balkans. Without 
continued U.S. participation in the NATO operation in the FRY, 
the Alliance is not capable of fulfilling its stated objective 
of securing a withdrawal of Serbian armed forces from Kosovo 
and creating the conditions for a safe return of refugees and 
the presence of an international military force. Failure by 
NATO to achieve its stated objectives after the use of massive 
air power, would embolden theleadership of the FRY, and other 
potential adversaries. The Committee feels that withdrawal of U.S. 
armed forces will only exacerbate the shortcomings of present U.S. 
policy.

                            Committee Action


            Introduction and Consideration of the Resolution

    The Committee on International Relations held a hearing on 
February 10, 1999 concerning U.S. policy in Kosovo and received 
testimony from Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs 
Thomas Pickering, and from Undersecretary of Defense for Policy 
Walter Slocombe. On March 10, 1999 the Committee received 
testimony from a number of private witnesses regarding Kosovo, 
including former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former 
Permanent Representative of the U.S. to the United Nations 
Jeanne Kirkpatrick and former Senator Bob Dole. On April 21, 
1999, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright testified on the 
situation in Kosovo before the Committee. In addition to these 
public hearings, Administration and U.S. military officials 
have briefed members in closed sessions, and there have been 
consultations conducted by the President with key members of 
the Congress.
    H. Con. Res. 82 was introduced by Representative Campbell 
on April 12, 1999 and referred by the Speaker to the Committee 
on International Relations. The Committee began its mark-up of 
H. Con. Res. 82 on Wednesday, April 21, 1999, continued the 
mark-up on Thursday, April 22, 1999, and concluded its 
consideration of the measure and, a quorum being present, 
ordered it reported adversely, by record vote, on Tuesday, 
April 27, 1999.

            Record Votes on Amendments and Motion to Report

    Clause (3)(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires that the results of each record vote 
on an amendment or motion to report, together with the names of 
those voting for or against, be printed in the committee 
report. The following record vote was taken during the 
consideration of H. Con. Res. 82:

Description of Amendment, Motion, Order, or Other Proposition (Vote 
        during markup of H. Con. Res. 82--April 27, 1999)

    (4:42 p.m.).--Bereuter motion to order the resolution 
reported adversely.
    Voting Yes: Gilman, Hyde, Bereuter, Smith, Burton, 
Ballenger, King, Houghton, McHugh, Gillmor, Gejdenson, Lantos, 
Berman, Ackerman, Faleomavaega, Martinez, Payne, Menendez, 
Brown, Hastings, Hilliard, Sherman, Wexler, Rothman, Davis, 
Pomeroy, Delahunt, Meeks, Crowley, and Hoeffel.
    Voting No: Goodling, Leach, Gallegly, Ros-Lehtinen, 
Rohrabacher, Manzullo, Royce, Chabot, Sanford, Salmon, 
Campbell, Brady, Burr, Radanovich, Cooksey, Tancredo, McKinney, 
Danner, and Lee.
    Ayes 30. Noes 19.

                             Other Matters


                      Committee Oversight Findings

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee reports the 
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on 
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the 
descriptive portions of this report.

                Committee on Government Reform Findings

    Clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires each committee report to contain a 
summary of the oversight findings and recommendations made by 
the Government Reform Committee pursuant to clause 4(c)(2) of 
rule X of those Rules. The Committee on International Relations 
has received no such findings or recommendations from the 
Committee on Government Reform.

                      Advisory Committee Statement

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this 
resolution.

                Applicability to the Legislative Branch

    The Committee finds that the resolution does not relate to 
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public 
services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.

New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures, Congressional Budget Office 
             Cost Estimate, and Federal Mandates Statements

    Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires each committee report that accompanies 
a measure providing new budget authority, new spending 
authority, or new credit authority or changing revenues or tax 
expenditures to contain a cost estimate, as required by section 
308(a)(1) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as amended, 
and, when practicable with respect to estimates of new budget 
authority, a comparison of the estimated funding level for the 
relevant program (or programs) to the appropriate levels under 
current law.
    Clause 3(d) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires committees to include their own cost 
estimates in certain committee reports, which include, when 
practicable, a comparison of the total estimated funding level 
for the relevant program (or programs) with the appropriate 
levels under current law.
    Clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires the report of any committee on a 
measure which has been approved by the Committee to include a 
cost estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional 
Budget Office, pursuant to section 403 of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974, if the cost estimate is timely submitted.
    The Committee is not of the view that the reports referred 
to above need be submitted with respect to H. Con. Res. 82, but 
has requested them for the information of Members and provides 
them as a service to the Members. Accordingly, the Committee 
adopts the cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office as 
its own submission of any new required information with respect 
to H. Con. Res. 82 on new budget authority, new spending 
authority, new credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
the national debt. It also adopts the estimate of Federal 
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform 
Act. The estimate and report which has been received is set out 
below.

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                    Washington, DC, April 27, 1999.
Hon. Benjamin A. Gilman,
Chairman, Committee on International Relations,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: At your request, the Congressional 
Budget Office (CBO) has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for 
H. Con. Res. 82, a concurrent resolution directing the 
President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers 
Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from their 
positions in connection with the present operations against the 
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jeannette 
Deshong.
            Sincerely,
                                          Dan L. Crippen, Director.
    Enclosure.

               congressional budget office cost estimate

H. Con. Res. 82--Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of 
        the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces 
        from their positions in connection with the present operations 
        against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

    The resolution would direct the President to remove U.S. 
military forces from their positions in connection with the 
present operations against Yugoslavia within 30 days after the 
resolution is passed or within as long a time as necessary for 
their safe withdrawal.
    Uncertainty about the duration, intensity, and conduct of 
the present operations makes it impossible to estimate the 
savings from implementing the resolution. The Department of 
Defense has requested about $5.5 billion to cover the costs in 
1999 of actual and projected operations. Ultimately, the costs 
in 1999 and later years would depend on the scope, duration, 
and intensity of the operations, which CBO cannot predict. If 
fighting escalated to include U.S. ground forces, costs would 
be about $400 million a month to deploy and sustain each 
increment of 27,000 troops and over $1 billion a month to 
sustain an air campaign.
    The estimate was prepared by Jeannette Deshong. This 
estimate was approved by Paul N. Van de Water, Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    The Resolution consists of a single section entitled 
``Removal of United States Armed Forces from the Federal 
Republic of Yugoslavia.'' This section states that ``Pursuant 
to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 
1544(c)), the Congress hereby directs the President to remove 
United States Armed Forces from their positions in connection 
with the present operations against the Federal Republic of 
Yugoslavia within 30 days after the passage of this resolution 
or within any such longer period as may be necessary to 
effectuate their safe withdrawal.''

                                
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