Direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran that have not been authorized by Congress.

IA 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. J. RES. 82 Direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran that have not been authorized by Congress. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 7, 2020 Ms. OMAR submitted the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs JOINT RESOLUTION Direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran that have not been authorized by Congress. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives 1 of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 3 Congress makes the following findings: 4 (1) Congress has the sole power to declare war 5 under article I, section 8, clause 11 of the United 6 States Constitution. 7 (2) Congress has not yet declared war upon, 8 nor enacted a specific statutory authorization for use 9 of military force against, the Islamic Republic of 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:06 Jan 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HJ82.IH HJ82 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HJ 82 IH Iran. The 2001 Authorization for Use of Military 1 Force (Public Law 107–40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note) 2 against the perpetrators of the 9/11 attack and the 3 Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq 4 Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107–243; 50 U.S.C. 5 1541 note) do not serve as a specific statutory au- 6 thorization for war against Iran, and neither author- 7 ize any such action. The Trump Administration has 8 acknowledged that neither act is specific statutory 9 authorization for military action against Iran. 10 (3) President Donald J. Trump understands 11 that Congress has not authorized war with Iran and 12 has stated that he has the authority to initiate such 13 military action without first going to Congress, as 14 reported in The Hill on June 24, 2019. 15 (4) The conflict between the United States and 16 the Islamic Republic of Iran constitutes, within the 17 meaning of section 4(a) of the War Powers Resolu- 18 tion (50 U.S.C. 1543(a)), either hostilities or a situ- 19 ation where imminent involvement in hostilities is 20 clearly indicated by the circumstances into which 21 United States Armed Forces have been introduced. 22 (5) Section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution 23 (50 U.S.C. 1544(c)) states that ‘‘at any time that 24 United States Armed Forces are engaged in hos- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:06 Jan 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HJ82.IH HJ82 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HJ 82 IH tilities outside the territory of the United States, its 1 possessions and territories without a declaration of 2 war or specific statutory authorization, such forces 3 shall be removed by the President if the Congress so 4 directs’’. 5 (6) Section 8(c) of the War Powers Resolution 6 (50 U.S.C. 1547(c)) defines the introduction of the 7 United States Armed Forces to include ‘‘the assign- 8 ment of members of such armed forces to command, 9 coordinate, participate in the movement of, or ac- 10 company the regular or irregular forces of any for- 11 eign country or government when such military 12 forces are engaged, or there exists an imminent 13 threat that such forces will become engaged in, hos- 14 tilities’’. 15 (7) The United States Armed Forces have been 16 introduced into hostilities, as defined by the War 17 Powers Resolution, against Iran. 18 (8) Department of Defense officials have been 19 warning for more than a year that the Trump Ad- 20 ministration ‘‘maximum pressure campaign’’ against 21 Iran, which has included economic, diplomatic and 22 military pressure, is raising the risk of retaliation 23 against United States troops and personnel. The 24 cycle of escalating back-and-forth violence between 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:06 Jan 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HJ82.IH HJ82 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HJ 82 IH Iran and its proxies and the United States and its 1 allies have proven their warnings correct. 2 (9) The question of whether United States 3 forces should be engaged in armed conflict against 4 Iran should only be made following a full briefing to 5 Congress and the American public of the issues at 6 stake, a public debate in Congress, and a congres- 7 sional vote as contemplated by the Constitution. The 8 absence of such a deliberative approach is deeply un- 9 fair to members of the United States Armed Forces 10 and other Americans whose lives are at risk in the 11 event of hostilities between the United States and 12 Iran. 13 (10) Section 1013 of the Department of State 14 Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1984 and 1985 (50 15 U.S.C. 1546a) provides that any joint resolution or 16 bill to require the removal of United States Armed 17 Forces engaged in hostilities without a declaration of 18 war or specific statutory authorization shall be con- 19 sidered in accordance with the expedited procedures 20 of section 601(b) of the International Security and 21 Arms Export Control Act of 1976. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:06 Jan 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HJ82.IH HJ82 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HJ 82 IH SEC. 2. REMOVAL OF UNITED STATES FORCES FROM HOS- 1 TILITIES AGAINST THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC 2 OF IRAN. 3 (a) REMOVAL OF FORCES.—Pursuant to section 4 1013 of the Department of State Authorization Act, Fis- 5 cal Years 1984 and 1985 (50 U.S.C. 1546a), and in ac- 6 cordance with the provisions of section 601(b) of the Inter- 7 national Security Assistance and Arms Export Control Act 8 of 1976, Congress hereby directs the President to remove 9 United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the 10 Islamic Republic of Iran or any part of its government 11 or military, by not later than the date that is 30 days 12 after the date of the enactment of this joint resolution un- 13 less explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific 14 authorization for use of military force. 15 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec- 16 tion shall be construed to prevent the United States from 17 defending itself from imminent attack. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:06 Jan 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HJ82.IH HJ82 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS