Constitutional Authorities Resolution

IA 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. J. RES. 58 Requiring congressional approval prior to engaging in hostilities within the sovereign Islamic Republic of Iran. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 15, 2019 Mr. MOULTON submitted the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs JOINT RESOLUTION Requiring congressional approval prior to engaging in hostilities within the sovereign Islamic Republic of Iran. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives 1 of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Joint Resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Constitu- 4 tional Authorities Resolution’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) Article I, section 8, of the Constitution of 8 the United States grants Congress the sole power to 9 declare war. 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:43 May 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HJ58.IH HJ58 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HJ 58 IH (2) President George Washington, in a letter to 1 William Moultrie dated August 28, 1793, wrote that 2 ‘‘[t]he constitution vests the power of declaring war 3 in Congress; therefore no offensive expedition of im- 4 portance can be undertaken until after they shall 5 have deliberated upon the subject and authorized 6 such a measure’’. 7 (3) Alexander Hamilton wrote in Examination 8 Number 1 of the Hamilton Papers, dated December 9 17, 1801, that ‘‘ ‘[t]he Congress shall have the 10 power to declare war’; the plain meaning of which is, 11 that it is the peculiar and exclusive duty of Con- 12 gress, when the nation is at peace, to change that 13 state into a state of war’’. 14 (4) Iran is the leading state sponsor of ter- 15 rorism in the Middle East and a pernicious trouble- 16 maker in Iraq and Afghanistan. 17 (5) Missile tests by Iran have led to escalating 18 tensions with Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United 19 States, and the United Nations. 20 (6) Iran has threatened to shutdown crucial 21 maritime lines of communication, putting United 22 States and international naval assets, as well as 23 global energy assets, at risk. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:43 May 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HJ58.IH HJ58 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HJ 58 IH (7) Since 1979, Iran has been ruled by Islamic 1 theocrats who use the Quran to justify the suppres- 2 sion of domestic political freedom and the denial of 3 civil and human rights. 4 (8) A war with Iran would also endanger 5 United States assets, personnel, and foreign policy 6 objectives throughout the region, including in Iraq, 7 Afghanistan, and Israel. 8 (9) On June 22, 2018, President Trump 9 tweeted that Iran ‘‘[w]ill suffer consequences the 10 likes of which few throughout history have ever suf- 11 fered before’’. 12 (10) A May 5, 2019, statement from National 13 Security Advisor Ambassador John Bolton said that 14 any attack on America or its allies, by Iran or its 15 proxies, ‘‘will be met with unrelenting force’’. 16 (11) Loose talk of war and belligerent rhetoric 17 increases the risk of miscalculation by either side 18 and unsettles United States allies. 19 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON REQUIREMENT TO OBTAIN 20 CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL PRIOR TO EN- 21 GAGING IN HOSTILITIES WITHIN THE IS- 22 LAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN. 23 It is the sense of Congress that specific congressional 24 approval is required, and has not been provided as of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:43 May 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HJ58.IH HJ58 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HJ 58 IH date of the enactment of this joint resolution, to authorize 1 the United States Armed Forces to engage in hostilities 2 within the sovereign Islamic Republic of Iran. 3 SEC. 4. PRIOR NOTICE REQUIREMENT BEFORE ENTRY INTO 4 HOSTILITIES WITHIN IRAN. 5 Prior to the introduction of the Armed Forces into 6 the sovereign Islamic Republic of Iran, the President shall 7 submit to Congress a report, in classified or unclassified 8 form, that includes— 9 (1) the circumstances necessitating the intro- 10 duction of the Armed Forces; 11 (2) the constitutional and legislative authority 12 under which such introduction took place; and 13 (3) the estimated scope and duration of the 14 hostilities or involvement. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 May 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HJ58.IH HJ58 khammond on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS