ARM17631 115TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S.L.C. S. J. RES. ll To authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, and associated persons or forces, that are engaged in hostilities against the United States, the Armed Forces, or its other personnel. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES llllllllll Mr. FLAKE (for himself and Mr. KAINE) introduced the following joint resolution; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on llllllllll JOINT RESOLUTION To authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, and associated persons or forces, that are engaged in hostilities against the United States, the Armed Forces, or its other personnel. Whereas the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107–40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note) was approved on September 14, 2001; Whereas the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107–243; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note) was approved on October 16, 2002; Whereas, over the course of more than 15 years, the Authorization for Use of Military Force has been used by the ARM17631 S.L.C. 2 Executive Branch in at least 37 instances to justify sending the Armed Forces to 14 nations across the world to take action against terrorist organizations and for other purposes; Whereas the purpose of the Authorization for Use of Military Force, to authorize military action against the perpetrators responsible for the attacks launched against the United States on September 11, 2001, remains valid and critical to our national security; Whereas the purpose of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002, to address the threat posed by the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, is no longer valid; Whereas the overwhelming majority of members of the 115th Congress were not present when the debate and vote on the Authorization for Use of Military Force took place during the 107th Congress; Whereas the scope and purpose of the Authorization for Use of Military Force is in need of review and refinement in light of the lessons learned since its passage; Whereas the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria grew out of alQaeda and is now its own organization that poses a grave threat to the people of the United States, the people and territorial integrity of Iraq and Syria, regional stability, and the national security interests of the United States and its allies and partners; and Whereas the United States should take action against nonstate, transnational actors in a disciplined way that meets the current threat environment and is consistent with the authorities provided under Articles I and II of the Constitution of the United States, the War Powers ARM17631 S.L.C. 3 Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1541 et seq.), and international law: Now, therefore, be it 1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives 2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 4 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This joint resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Authoriza- 5 tion for Use of Military Force Against al-Qaeda, the 6 Taliban, and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’’. 7 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 8 The purposes of this joint resolution are as follows: 9 (1) To update the Authorization for Use of 10 Military Force (Public Law 107–40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 11 note) in order to provide legal authority for military 12 action against al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and the Is- 13 lamic State of Iraq and Syria due to the continued 14 threat they pose to the United States. 15 (2) To establish a process for oversight by Con- 16 gress of military action against persons or forces as- 17 sociated with al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or the Islamic 18 State of Iraq and Syria that pose a direct threat to 19 the United States. 20 (3) To repeal the Authorization for Use of Mili- 21 tary Force and the Authorization for Use of Military 22 Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 23 107–243; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note). ARM17631 S.L.C. 4 1 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF UNITED STATES 2 ARMED FORCES TO PREVENT FUTURE ACTS 3 OF 4 THE UNITED STATES. 5 INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM AGAINST (a) AUTHORIZATION.—In order to prevent any future 6 acts of international terrorism against the United States, 7 the President is authorized to use all necessary and appro8 priate force against— 9 (1) al-Qaeda and the Taliban; 10 (2) the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (also 11 known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, 12 the Islamic State, Daesh, ISIS, and ISIL); and 13 (3) associated persons or forces as provided in 14 section 4. 15 (b) WAR POWERS RESOLUTION REQUIREMENTS.— 16 (1) SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORIZATION.— 17 Consistent with section 8(a)(1) of the War Powers 18 Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1547(a)(1)), Congress de- 19 clares that this section is intended to constitute spe- 20 cific statutory authorization within the meaning of 21 section 5(b) of the War Powers Resolution (50 22 U.S.C. 1544(b)). 23 (2) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER REQUIRE- 24 MENTS.—Nothing 25 any requirements of the War Powers Resolution (50 26 U.S.C. 1541 et seq.). in this joint resolution supersedes ARM17631 S.L.C. 5 1 2 SEC. 4. ASSOCIATED PERSONS OR FORCES. (a) ASSOCIATED PERSONS AND FORCES.—For pur- 3 poses of section 3(a)(3), the term ‘‘associated persons or 4 forces’’ means any person or force, other than a sovereign 5 nation, that— 6 (1) is a part of, or substantially supports al- 7 Qaeda, the Taliban, or the Islamic State of Iraq and 8 Syria; and 9 (2) is engaged in hostilities against the United 10 States, its Armed Forces, or its other personnel. 11 (b) INITIAL ASSOCIATED PERSONS OR FORCES.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 13 3(a)(3), the term ‘‘associated persons or forces’’ in- 14 cludes any person or force meeting the definition in 15 subsection (a) that is specified in the report under 16 paragraph (2). 17 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the 18 date of the enactment of this joint resolution, the 19 President shall submit to Congress a report speci- 20 fying the persons or forces (other than the groups 21 al-Nusra Front (also known as Jabhat al-Nusra and 22 Jabhat Fateh al-Sham), Khorasan Group, al-Qaeda 23 in the Arabian Peninsula, and al-Shabaab, which 24 Congress considers to be associated persons or forces 25 for purposes of this joint resolution) that are associ- ARM17631 S.L.C. 6 1 ated persons or forces under subsection (a) as of the 2 date of the enactment of this joint resolution. 3 (3) DISAPPROVAL.—The treatment of persons 4 or forces specified in the report under paragraph (2) 5 as associated persons or forces under subsection (a) 6 is subject to disapproval in accordance with section 7 6. 8 (c) ADDITIONAL ASSOCIATED PERSONS OR 9 FORCES.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 11 3(a)(3), the term ‘‘associated persons or forces’’ 12 shall also include any person or force meeting the 13 definition in subsection (a) that is specified in a re- 14 port under paragraph (2). 15 (2) REPORT.—Upon a determination by the 16 President that any persons or forces not previously 17 treated as associated persons or forces for purposes 18 of section 3(a)(3) shall be treated under this sub- 19 section as associated persons or forces, the President 20 shall submit to Congress a report specifying that 21 such persons or forces are to be treated under this 22 subsection as associated persons or forces. Persons 23 or forces may not be specified in such a report if 24 such persons or forces have previously been dis- ARM17631 S.L.C. 7 1 approved in accordance with section 6 for treatment 2 as associated persons or forces under subsection (a). 3 (3) DISAPPROVAL.—The treatment of persons 4 or forces specified in a report under paragraph (2) 5 as associated persons or forces under subsection (a) 6 is subject to disapproval in accordance with section 7 6. 8 9 SEC. 5. COUNTRIES IN WHICH OPERATIONS AUTHORIZED. Subject to disapproval in accordance with section 6, 10 the use of force authorized by section 3 may take place 11 in a country (other than Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Soma12 lia, Libya, or Yemen) if the President submits to Congress 13 a report on the use of force in such country that includes 14 the following; 15 16 (1) The name of the country in which the use of force will take place. 17 (2) A description of the presence in the country 18 of al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or the Islamic State of 19 Iraq and Syria, or associated persons or forces cur- 20 rently covered by section 4. 21 22 (3) A justification why the use of force in the country is necessary and appropriate. ARM17631 S.L.C. 8 1 SEC. 6. EXPEDITED PROCEDURES FOR JOINT RESOLUTION 2 OF DISAPPROVAL OF USE OF FORCE AGAINST 3 INITIAL OR ADDITIONAL ASSOCIATED PER- 4 SONS OR FORCES OR IN OTHER COUNTRIES. 5 (a) RESOLUTION OF DISAPPROVAL.—For purposes of 6 this section, the term ‘‘resolution’’ means only a joint reso7 lution of the two Houses of Congress — 8 (1) the title of which is as follows: ‘‘A joint res- 9 olution of disapproval of an addition by the Presi- 10 dent to the scope of the Authorization for Use of 11 Military Force against al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and 12 the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.’’; 13 (2) which does not have a preamble; and 14 (3) either— 15 (A) with respect to a report submitted 16 under section 4(b) or 4(c), the matter after the 17 resolving clause of which is as follows: ‘‘That 18 Congress does not approve the use of force 19 against lllllll under the Authoriza- 20 tion for Use of Military Force against al-Qaeda, 21 the Taliban, and the Islamic State of Iraq and 22 Syria.’’, the blank space being filled with the 23 persons or forces concerned; or 24 (B) with respect to a report submitted 25 under section 5, the matter after the resolving 26 clause of which is as follows: ‘‘That Congress ARM17631 S.L.C. 9 1 does 2 lllllll under the Authorization for 3 Use of Military Force against al-Qaeda, the 4 Taliban, and the Islamic State of Iraq and 5 Syria.’’, the blank space being filled with the 6 country concerned. 7 not approve the use of force in (b) CONSIDERATION IN THE SENATE.— 8 (1) REFERRAL.—Any resolution introduced in 9 the Senate shall be referred to the Committee on 10 11 Foreign Relations. (2) IN GENERAL.—If the Committee has not re- 12 ported a resolution within 10 session days after the 13 date of referral of the resolution, the Committee 14 shall be discharged from further consideration of the 15 resolution and the resolution shall be placed on the 16 appropriate calendar. 17 (3) PROCEEDING TO CONSIDERATION.—Not- 18 withstanding Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of 19 the Senate, it is in order, not later than 2 days of 20 session after the date on which the resolution is re- 21 ported or discharged from the Committees, for the 22 Majority Leader of the Senate or the Majority Lead- 23 er’s designee to move to proceed to the consideration 24 of the resolution. Thereafter, it shall be in order for 25 any Member of the Senate to move to proceed to the ARM17631 S.L.C. 10 1 consideration of the resolution at any time. A motion 2 to proceed is not in order if a previous motion to the 3 same effect has been disposed of. All points of order 4 against the motion to proceed to the resolution are 5 waived. The motion to proceed is not debatable. The 6 motion to proceed to the resolution is not subject to 7 a motion to postpone. A motion to reconsider the 8 vote by which the motion to proceed is agreed to or 9 disagreed to shall not be in order. 10 (4) WAIVER OF ALL POINTS OF ORDER.—All 11 points of order against the resolution (and against 12 consideration of the resolution) are waived. 13 (5) RULES TO COORDINATE ACTION WITH 14 OTHER 15 House of a resolution of that House, the House re- 16 ceives from the other House a resolution identical to 17 a resolution introduced in that House, then the fol- 18 lowing procedures shall apply: 19 20 HOUSE.—If, before the passage by one (A) The resolution of the other House shall not be referred to a committee. 21 (B) The procedure in the receiving House 22 shall be the same as if no resolution has been 23 received from the other House until the vote on 24 passage, when the identical resolution received ARM17631 S.L.C. 11 1 from the other House shall supplant the resolu- 2 tion of the receiving House. 3 (C) If one House fails to introduce or con- 4 sider a resolution identical to one passed by the 5 other House, the resolution of the other House 6 shall be entitled to expedited floor procedures 7 under this subsection. 8 (D) If, following passage of the resolution 9 in the Senate, the Senate receives an identical 10 resolution from the House of Representatives, 11 the companion measure shall not be debatable. 12 The vote on passage of the identical resolution 13 in the Senate shall be considered to be the vote 14 on passage of the resolution received from the 15 House of Representatives. 16 (c) ACTION AFTER PASSAGE.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—If Congress passes a resolu- 18 tion, the period beginning on the date the President 19 is presented with the resolution and ending on the 20 date the President takes action with respect to the 21 resolution shall be disregarded in computing the 60- 22 calendar day period described in 7(b). 23 24 (2) VETOES.—If the President vetoes a resolution— ARM17631 S.L.C. 12 1 (A) the period beginning on the date the 2 President vetoes the resolution and ending on 3 the date the Congress receives the veto message 4 with respect to the resolution shall be dis- 5 regarded in computing the 60-calendar day pe- 6 riod described in 7(b); and 7 (B) debate in the Senate of any veto mes- 8 sage with respect to the resolution, including all 9 debatable motions and appeals in connection 10 with the resolution, shall be limited to 10 hours, 11 to be equally divided between, and controlled 12 by, the Majority Leader and the Minority Lead- 13 er of the Senate or their designees. 14 SEC. 7. EFFECT OF ENACTMENT OF JOINT RESOLUTION OF 15 DISAPPROVAL OF USE OF FORCE AGAINST 16 INITIAL OR ADDITIONAL ASSOCIATED PER- 17 SONS OR FORCES OR IN OTHER COUNTRIES. 18 19 (a) IN GENERAL.— (1) AGAINST INITIAL OR ADDITIONAL ASSOCI- 20 ATED PERSONS OR FORCES.—Subject 21 (b), upon the enactment by Congress of a resolution 22 described in section 6(a) with respect to the use of 23 force pursuant to section 3 against initial associated 24 persons or forces pursuant to 4(b), or against addi- 25 tional associated persons or forces pursuant to sec- to subsection ARM17631 S.L.C. 13 1 tion 4(c), the authority under this joint resolution to 2 use force against such persons or forces shall cease. 3 (2) IN OTHER COUNTIES.—Subject to sub- 4 section (b), upon the enactment by Congress of a 5 resolution described in section 6(a) with respect to 6 the use of force pursuant to section 3 in another 7 country pursuant to section 5, the authority under 8 this joint resolution to use force in that country 9 shall cease. 10 (b) DEADLINE FOR EFFECTIVENESS.—Except as 11 provided in section 6(c), a resolution described in section 12 6(a) is effective only if enacted during the 60-calendar day 13 period beginning on the date on which the President sub14 mits to Congress the report on the associated persons or 15 forces concerned under section 4(b) or 4(c) or on the coun16 try concerned under section 5, as applicable. 17 (c) AUTHORIZATION.—The authority sought by the 18 President pursuant to the report under section 4(b), to 19 specify initial associated persons or forces to be covered 20 by section 3(a)(3), pursuant to a report under section 21 4(c), to add additional associated persons or forces to the 22 associated persons or forces currently covered by section 23 3(a)(3), or pursuant to a report under section 5, to au24 thorize the use of force under section 3 in a country or 25 countries not explicitly set forth in section 5, shall exist ARM17631 S.L.C. 14 1 as of the date of the report concerned and continue until 2 a resolution of disapproval described in section 6(a), if 3 any, is enacted by Congress in accordance with section 6. 4 5 SEC. 8. DURATION OF AUTHORIZATION. (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to encourage periodic re- 6 view of the use of force authorized by this joint resolution, 7 the authorization for use of force in section 3 shall termi8 nate five years after the date of the enactment of this joint 9 resolution, unless reauthorized by Congress. 10 (b) REAUTHORIZATION.—Before the expiration of 11 this joint resolution, this joint resolution may be reauthor12 ized pursuant to section 11. 13 SEC. 9. REPEAL OF AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF MILITARY 14 15 FORCE. The Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public 16 Law 107–40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note) is repealed, effective 17 60 days after the date of the enactment of this joint reso18 lution. 19 SEC. 10. REPEAL OF AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF MILI- 20 TARY FORCE AGAINST IRAQ RESOLUTION OF 21 2002. 22 The Authorization for Use of Military Force Against 23 Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107–243; 50 U.S.C. 24 1541 note) is repealed, effective 60 days after the date 25 of the enactment of this joint resolution. ARM17631 S.L.C. 15 1 SEC. 11. EXPEDITED PROCEDURES FOR REAUTHORIZATION 2 OF AUTHORIZATION FOR THE USE OF MILI- 3 TARY FORCE. 4 (a) RESOLUTION OF REAUTHORIZATION.—For pur- 5 poses of this section, the term ‘‘resolution’’ also means a 6 joint resolution of the two Houses of Congress— 7 (1) which is introduced not later than 180 be- 8 fore the date of the expiration of this joint resolution 9 in accordance with section 8(a); 10 (2) the title of which is as follows: ‘‘A joint res- 11 olution to reauthorize the Authorization for Use of 12 Military Force against al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and 13 the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.’’; 14 (3) which does not have a preamble; and 15 (4) the matter after the enacting clause of 16 which is as follows: ‘‘The Authorization for the Use 17 of Military Force against al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and 18 the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is amended in 19 section 8(a) by striking ‘5 years’ and inserting ‘10 20 years’.’’. 21 (b) EXPEDITED PROCEDURES.—Consideration of the 22 resolution described in subsection (a) shall be governed by 23 the procedures set forth in section 6, as if the resolution 24 described in subsection (a) were a resolution described in 25 section 6(a), including the procedures relating to veto mes26 sages specified in section 6(c). ARM17631 S.L.C. 16 1 2 SEC. 12. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. (a) STRATEGY.—Not later than 90 days after the 3 date of the enactment of this joint resolution, the Presi4 dent shall submit to the appropriate committees and lead5 ership of Congress a report setting forth a comprehensive 6 strategy of the United States, encompassing military, eco7 nomic, humanitarian, and diplomatic capabilities, to pro8 tect the United States from al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and 9 the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in their fight to defeat 10 such organizations. 11 (b) IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGY.— 12 (1) BIANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than 180 13 days after the date of the enactment of this joint 14 resolution, and every 180 days thereafter, the Presi- 15 dent shall submit to the appropriate committees and 16 leadership of Congress a written report setting forth 17 a current comprehensive assessment of the imple- 18 mentation of the strategy required by subsection (a), 19 including a description of any substantive change to 20 the strategy (including the reasons for the change 21 and the effect of the change on the rest of the strat- 22 egy). 23 (2) ELEMENTS.—Each report under this sub- 24 section shall include a description of the specific ac- 25 tions taken pursuant to this joint resolution to ad- 26 dress the threat to the United States posed by ARM17631 S.L.C. 17 1 transnational terrorist organizations and associated 2 persons or forces, including— 3 (A) a description of the specific authorities 4 relied upon for such actions; 5 (B) the persons and forces targeted by 6 such actions; 7 (C) the nature and location of such ac- 8 tions; and 9 (D) an evaluation of the effectiveness of 10 11 such actions. (c) QUARTERLY REPORTS ON OPERATIONS.—Not 12 later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this 13 joint resolution, and every 90 days thereafter, the Presi14 dent shall submit to Congress a report setting forth the 15 following: 16 (1) A list of the organizations, persons, and 17 forces against which operations were conducted 18 under the authority of this joint resolution during 19 the 90-day period ending on the date of the report. 20 (2) A list of all foreign countries in which the 21 United States conducted operations under the au- 22 thority of this joint resolution during such 90-day 23 period. 24 (d) CLASSIFIED ANNEX.—Any report submitted 25 under this section may include a classified annex. ARM17631 S.L.C. 18 1 (e) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES AND LEADERSHIP OF 2 CONGRESS DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appro3 priate committees and leadership of Congress’’ means— 4 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the 5 Committee on Armed Services, the Select Committee 6 on Intelligence, and the Committee on Appropria- 7 tions of the Senate; 8 9 (2) the Majority Leader and the Minority Leader of the Senate; 10 (3) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 11 Committee on Armed Services, the Permanent Select 12 Committee on Intelligence, and the Committee on 13 Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and 14 (4) the Speaker of the House of Representa- 15 tives and the Majority Leader and the Minority 16 Leader of the House of Representatives.