Yemen Refueling Prohibition Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 910 To prohibit the use of funds to provide for in-flight refueling of Saudi or Saudi-led coalition aircraft conducting missions as part of the ongoing coalition intervention in Yemen. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 30, 2019 Mr. TED LIEU of California (for himself, Mr. YOHO, and Mr. MALINOWSKI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, 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 com- mittee concerned A BILL To prohibit the use of funds to provide for in-flight refueling of Saudi or Saudi-led coalition aircraft conducting mis- sions as part of the ongoing coalition intervention in Yemen. 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 ‘‘Yemen Refueling Pro- 4 hibition Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:11 Feb 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H910.IH H910 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 910 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) From April 2015 to November 2018 the 3 United States provided in-flight refueling to the mili- 4 taries of the Saudi-led coalition in support of the 5 coalition’s air strikes in Yemen. 6 (2) A 2018 report by the United Nations-con- 7 vened Group of International and Regional Eminent 8 Experts on Yemen found that during this timeframe, 9 most of the 6,600 civilians deaths and 10,563 civil- 10 ian injuries officially reported in Yemen were due to 11 Saudi-led coalition airstrikes. The report indicated 12 that the real numbers were likely significantly high- 13 er. 14 (3) Due to the repeated failures of the Saudi- 15 led coalition to avoid civilian casualties, the Obama 16 administration suspended the sale of precision-guid- 17 ed munitions to Saudi Arabia in December 2016. 18 (4) In May 2017, then-Saudi Foreign Minister 19 Adel al-Jubeir sent a letter to then-Secretary of 20 State Rex Tillerson outlining the steps the Saudi 21 military was taking to change its operational con- 22 duct, mitigate civilian harm and avoid civilian cas- 23 ualties in Yemen. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:11 Feb 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H910.IH H910 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 910 IH (5) In June 2017, the Trump administration 1 announced its intention to resume the sale of preci- 2 sion-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia. 3 (6) Despite the Saudi Foreign Minister’s assur- 4 ances, from June 2017 to November 2018, airstrike- 5 caused civilian deaths continued, including— 6 (A) over a 10-day period in December 7 2017, the United Nations recorded at least 109 8 civilians killed by airstrikes, including 54 civil- 9 ians killed at a market in Taiz province and 14 10 members of one family killed in Hudaydah 11 province; 12 (B) in April 2018, more than 20 civilians 13 were killed at a wedding party in Hajjah prov- 14 ince; and 15 (C) in August 2018, a Saudi-led coalition 16 airstrike hit a school bus in a market in 17 Dahyan, killing 51 people, 40 of whom were 18 children. 19 (7) On November 9, 2018, the United States 20 announced its decision to halt all refueling assist- 21 ance to the Saudi-led coalition. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:11 Feb 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H910.IH H910 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 910 IH SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON IN-FLIGHT REFUELING OF SAUDI 1 OR SAUDI-LED COALITION AIRCRAFT OPER- 2 ATING IN YEMEN. 3 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no Fed- 4 eral funds may be obligated or expended to provide for 5 in-flight refueling of Saudi or Saudi-led coalition aircraft 6 conducting missions as part of the ongoing coalition inter- 7 vention in Yemen. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:11 Feb 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H910.IH H910 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS