AUMF Clarification Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2829 To clarify that Congress has not provided authorization for the use of military force against Iran. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 17, 2019 Mr. LEVIN of Michigan (for himself and Mr. MASSIE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To clarify that Congress has not provided authorization for the use of military force against Iran. 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 ‘‘AUMF Clarification 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) The 2001 Authorization for Use of Military 8 Force (Public Law 107–40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note) 9 authorizes the President to use ‘‘necessary and ap- 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2829.IH H2829 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2829 IH propriate force against those nations, organizations, 1 or persons he determines planned, authorized, com- 2 mitted, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred 3 on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organiza- 4 tions or persons’’. 5 (2) Iran and Al Qaeda historically have been 6 adversaries. A 2018 analysis of declassified docu- 7 ments obtained during the 2011 raid on Osama bin 8 Laden’s compound found that ‘‘[Al Qaeda] views 9 Iran as a hostile entity’’ and ‘‘examined documents 10 provide no evidence of cooperation between [Al 11 Qaeda] and Iran on planning or carrying out ter- 12 rorist attacks’’. 13 (3) The Authorization for Use of Military Force 14 Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107– 15 243; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note) authorizes the President 16 ‘‘to use the Armed Forces of the United States as 17 he determines to be necessary and appropriate in 18 order to (1) defend the national security of the 19 United States against the continuing threat posed by 20 Iraq; and (2) enforce all relevant United Nations Se- 21 curity Council resolutions regarding Iraq’’. 22 (4) On May 5, 2019, National Security Advisor 23 Ambassador John Bolton announced the deployment 24 of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2829.IH H2829 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2829 IH and a bomber task force to the United States Cen- 1 tral Command region as a response ‘‘to a number of 2 troubling and escalatory indications and warnings’’ 3 from Iran and ‘‘to send a clear and unmistakable 4 message to the Iranian regime that any attack on 5 United States interests or on those of our allies will 6 be met with unrelenting force’’. 7 (5) Congress has not authorized the use of mili- 8 tary force against Iran. 9 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 10 It is the sense of Congress that Congress has not au- 11 thorized the use of military force against Iran under the 12 Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Res- 13 olution of 2002 (Public Law 107–243; 50 U.S.C. 1541 14 note), the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public 15 Law 107–40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note), or any other provision 16 of law enacted before the date of the enactment of this 17 Act. 18 SEC. 4. CLARIFICATION. 19 Nothing in the Authorization for Use of Military 20 Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107– 21 243; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note), the Authorization for Use of 22 Military Force (Public Law 107–40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 23 note), or any other provision of law enacted before the 24 date of the enactment of this Act may be construed to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2829.IH H2829 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2829 IH provide authorization for the use of military force against 1 Iran. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2829.IH H2829 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS