Military Humanitarian Operations Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1325 To provide that the President must seek congressional approval before engag- ing members of the United States Armed Forces in military humanitarian operations. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 6, 2019 Mr. LEE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To provide that the President must seek congressional ap- proval before engaging members of the United States Armed Forces in military humanitarian operations. 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 ‘‘Military Humanitarian 4 Operations Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. MILITARY HUMANITARIAN OPERATION DEFINED. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—In this Act, the term ‘‘military 7 humanitarian operation’’ means a military operation in- 8 volving the deployment of members or weapons systems 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:21 May 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1325.IS S1325 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1325 IS of the United States Armed Forces where hostile activities 1 are reasonably anticipated and with the aim of preventing 2 or responding to a humanitarian catastrophe, including its 3 regional consequences, or addressing a threat posed to 4 international peace and security. The term includes— 5 (1) operations undertaken pursuant to the prin- 6 ciple of the ‘‘responsibility to protect’’ as referenced 7 in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1674 8 (2006); 9 (2) operations specifically authorized by the 10 United Nations Security Council, or other inter- 11 national organizations; and 12 (3) unilateral deployments and deployments 13 made in coordination with international organiza- 14 tions, treaty-based organizations, or coalitions 15 formed to address specific humanitarian catas- 16 trophes. 17 (b) OPERATIONS NOT INCLUDED.—The term ‘‘mili- 18 tary humanitarian operation’’ does not mean a military 19 operation undertaken for the following purposes: 20 (1) Responding to or repelling attacks, or pre- 21 venting imminent attacks, on the United States or 22 any of its territorial possessions, embassies, or con- 23 sulates, or members of the United States Armed 24 Forces. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:21 May 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1325.IS S1325 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1325 IS (2) Direct acts of reprisal for attacks on the 1 United States or any of its territorial possessions, 2 embassies, or consulates, or members of the United 3 States Armed Forces. 4 (3) Invoking the inherent right to individual or 5 collective self-defense in accordance with Article 51 6 of the Charter of the United Nations. 7 (4) Military missions to rescue United States 8 citizens or military or diplomatic personnel abroad. 9 (5) Humanitarian missions in response to nat- 10 ural disasters where no civil unrest or combat with 11 hostile forces is reasonably anticipated, and where 12 such operation is for not more than 30 days. 13 (6) Actions to maintain maritime freedom of 14 navigation, including actions aimed at combating pi- 15 racy. 16 (7) Training exercises conducted by the United 17 States Armed Forces abroad where no combat with 18 hostile forces is reasonably anticipated. 19 SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT FOR CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORIZA- 20 TION. 21 The President may not deploy members of the United 22 States Armed Forces into the territory, airspace, or waters 23 of a foreign country for a military humanitarian operation 24 not previously authorized by statute unless— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:21 May 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1325.IS S1325 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1325 IS (1) the President submits to Congress a formal 1 request for authorization to use members of the 2 Armed Forces for the military humanitarian oper- 3 ation; and 4 (2) Congress enacts a specific authorization for 5 such use of forces. 6 SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY. 7 If any provision of this Act is held to be unconstitu- 8 tional, the remainder of the Act shall not be affected. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:21 May 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1325.IS S1325 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS