United States and Republic of Korea Alliance Support Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 889 To limit the use of funds to reduce the total number of members of the Armed Forces serving on active duty who are deployed to the Republic of Korea, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 30, 2019 Mr. GALLAGHER (for himself, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mr. HURD of Texas, Mr. PA- NETTA, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. KIM, Mr. TAYLOR, and Mr. ROSE of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To limit the use of funds to reduce the total number of members of the Armed Forces serving on active duty who are deployed to the Republic of Korea, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States and Re- 4 public of Korea Alliance Support Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Feb 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H889.IH H889 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 889 IH SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS TO REDUCE THE 1 TOTAL NUMBER OF MEMBERS OF THE 2 ARMED FORCES SERVING ON ACTIVE DUTY 3 WHO ARE DEPLOYED TO THE REPUBLIC OF 4 KOREA. 5 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 6 gress that— 7 (1) it is in the United States national interest 8 to maintain treaty alliances and its forward military 9 presence in the Indo-Pacific region to deter conflict 10 and preserve peace and security; 11 (2) the United States fully stands behind com- 12 mitments to its allies in Northeast Asia as articu- 13 lated in the Mutual Defense Treaty Between the 14 United States and the Republic of Korea and the 15 Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between 16 the United States and Japan; 17 (3) the alliances between the United States and 18 the Republic of Korea and between the United 19 States and Japan form the bedrock of regional sta- 20 bility in the Indo-Pacific region, including with re- 21 spect to the threat posed by North Korea; 22 (4) the withdrawal or significant reduction of 23 United States Armed Forces from the Republic of 24 Korea may risk upsetting the military balance in 25 that region; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Feb 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H889.IH H889 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 889 IH (5) Congress should be consulted in advance of 1 any significant changes to the status quo on the Ko- 2 rean Peninsula. 3 (b) LIMITATION.—None of the funds made available 4 to the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2019 may 5 be used to reduce the total number of members of the 6 United States Armed Forces serving on active duty who 7 are deployed to the Republic of Korea below 22,000 un- 8 less— 9 (1) the Secretary of Defense first submits to 10 the appropriate congressional committees a report 11 on— 12 (A) the effect of such reduction on pre- 13 serving deterrence on the Korean Peninsula; 14 (B) the anticipated reaction of North 15 Korea to such reduction; 16 (C) the effect of such reduction on increas- 17 ing incentives for the Republic of Korea to de- 18 velop an independent nuclear deterrent; 19 (D) the effect of such reduction on the 20 long-term military and economic partnership 21 between the United States and the Republic of 22 Korea and the United States and Japan, re- 23 spectively; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Feb 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H889.IH H889 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 889 IH (E) the effect of such reduction on the 1 military balance between the United States and 2 the People’s Republic of China and between the 3 United States and the Russian Federation; 4 (2) the Secretary of Defense, in consultation 5 with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, first 6 certifies to the appropriate congressional committees 7 that— 8 (A) such a reduction is in the national se- 9 curity interest of the United States and will not 10 significantly undermine the security of United 11 States allies in the region; 12 (B) the Secretary has appropriately con- 13 sulted with allies of the United States, includ- 14 ing the Republic of Korea and Japan, regarding 15 such a reduction; and 16 (C) the Republic of Korea would be fully 17 capable of defending itself and deterring a con- 18 flict on the Korean Peninsula following such a 19 reduction; and 20 (3) such a reduction supports and is consistent 21 with the most current national defense strategy 22 under section 113 of title 10, United States Code. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Feb 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H889.IH H889 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 889 IH (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE- 1 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘relevant congressional 2 committees’’ means— 3 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 4 Committee on Armed Services of the House of Rep- 5 resentatives; and 6 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 7 the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:43 Feb 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H889.IH H889 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS