IIA 

Calendar No. 428 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. J. RES. 58 

To require certifications regarding actions by Saudi Arabia in Yemen, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 11, 2018 

Mr. YOUNG (for himself, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. COLLINS, and Mr. COONS) introduced the following joint resolution; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

MAY 22, 2018 

Reported by Mr. CORKER, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

JOINT RESOLUTION 

To require certifications regarding actions by Saudi Arabia 

in Yemen, and for other purposes. 

1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives

2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. CERTIFICATIONS REGARDING ACTIONS BY 

4 SAUDI ARABIA IN YEMEN. 

5 (a) INITIAL CERTIFICATION.—Not later than 30 days 

6 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•SJ 58 RS 

1 of State shall submit to the appropriate committees of 

2 Congress a certification whether the Government of Saudi 

3 Arabia is undertaking— 

4 (1) an urgent and good faith effort to conduct 

5 diplomatic negotiations to end the civil war in 

6 Yemen; 

7 (2) appropriate measures to alleviate the hu8 manitarian crisis in Yemen by increasing access for 

9 Yemenis to food, fuel, and medicine, including 

10 through Yemen’s Red Sea ports, the airport in 

11 Sana’a, and external border crossings with Saudi 

12 Arabia; and 

13 (3) demonstrable action to reduce the risk of 

14 harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure resulting 

15 from its military operations in Yemen, including by 

16 complying with applicable agreements and laws regu17 lating defense articles purchased or transferred from 

18 the United States. 

19 (b) SUBSEQUENT CERTIFICATIONS.—Not later than 

20 180 and 360 days after the date of the enactment of this 

21 Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate 

22 committees of Congress a certification whether the Gov23 ernment of Saudi Arabia is undertaking the efforts de24 scribed in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (a). 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•SJ 58 RS 

1 (c) RESTRICTION.—If the Secretary of State is un2 able under subsections (a) and (b) to certify that the Gov3 ernment of Saudi Arabia is taking demonstrable action as 

4 described in subsection (a), no Federal funds may be obli5 gated or expended to provide in-flight refueling, pursuant 

6 to any agreement authorized by section 2342 of title 10, 

7 United States Code, or other applicable statutory author8 ity, of Saudi and Saudi-led coalition non-United States 

9 aircraft conducting missions in Yemen other than missions 

10 related to— 

11 (1) al Qaeda, al Qaeda in the Arabian Penin12 sula (AQAP), and the Islamic State in Iraq and 

13 Syria (ISIS); 

14 (2) countering the transport, assembly, or em15 ployment of ballistic missiles or components in 

16 Yemen; 

17 (3) helping coalition aircraft return safely to 

18 base in emergency situations; or 

19 (4) force protection of United States aircraft, 

20 ships, or personnel. 

21 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this joint 

22 resolution may be construed as authorizing the use of mili23 tary force. 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•SJ 58 RS 

1 (e) FORM OF CERTIFICATIONS.—The certifications 

2 required under subsections (a) and (b) shall be written, 

3 detailed, and submitted in unclassified form. 

4 (f) STRATEGY REQUIRED.—Not later than 90 days 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

6 of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense 

7 and the Administrator of the United States Agency for 

8 International Development, shall submit to the appro9 priate committees of Congress an unclassified report list10 ing United States objectives in Yemen and detailing a 

11 strategy to accomplish those objectives. The report shall 

12 be unclassified but may include a classified annex. 

13 (g) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE14 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate commit15 tees of Congress’’ means— 

16 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the 

17 Committee on Armed Services, and the Committee 

18 on Appropriations of the Senate; and 

19 (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

20 Committee on Armed Services, and the Committee 

21 on Appropriations of the House of Representatives. 

22 SECTION 1. CERTIFICATIONS REGARDING ACTIONS BY 

23 SAUDI ARABIA IN YEMEN. 

24 (a) RESTRICTION.— 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•SJ 58 RS 

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), if 

2 the Secretary of State is unable under subsection (c) 

3 or (d) to certify that the Government of Saudi Arabia 

4 is undertaking the effort, measures, and actions de5 scribed in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) of sub6 section (c), no Federal funds may be obligated or ex7 pended after the deadline for the applicable certifi8 cation to provide authorized in-flight refueling pursu9 ant to section 2342 of title 10, United States Code, 

10 or other applicable statutory authority, of Saudi or 

11 Saudi-led coalition non-United States aircraft con12 ducting missions in Yemen, other than missions re13 lated to— 

14 (A) al Qaeda, al Qaeda in the Arabian Pe15 ninsula (AQAP), or the Islamic State in Iraq 

16 and Syria (ISIS); 

17 (B) countering the transport, assembly, or 

18 employment of ballistic missiles or components 

19 in Yemen; 

20 (C) helping coalition aircraft return safely 

21 to base in emergency situations; or 

22 (D) force protection of United States air23 craft, ships, or personnel. 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•SJ 58 RS 

1 (2) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the re2 striction in paragraph (1) with respect to a par3 ticular certification if the Secretary— 

4 (A) certifies to the appropriate committees 

5 of Congress that the waiver is in the national se6 curity interests of the United States; and 

7 (B) submits to the appropriate committees 

8 of Congress a report, in written and unclassified 

9 form, setting forth— 

10 (i) the effort in subsection (c)(1), meas11 ures in subsection (c)(2), or actions in sub12 sections (c)(3) or (c)(4), or combination 

13 thereof, about which the Secretary is unable 

14 to make the certification; 

15 (ii) a detailed explanation why the 

16 Secretary is unable to make the certification 

17 about such effort, measures, or actions; 

18 (iii) a description of the actions the 

19 Secretary is taking to encourage the Gov20 ernment of Saudi Arabia to undertake such 

21 effort, measures, or actions; and 

22 (iv) a detailed justification for the 

23 waiver. 

24 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 30 

25 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the PresiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 May 22, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\SJ58.RS SJ58

daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•SJ 58 RS 

1 dent or the President’s designee shall provide a briefing to 

2 the appropriate committees of Congress including, at a 

3 minimum— 

4 (1) a description of Saudi Arabia and the 

5 United Arab Emirates’ military and political objec6 tives in Yemen and whether United States assistance 

7 to the Saudi-led coalition has resulted in significant 

8 progress towards meeting those objectives; 

9 (2) a description of efforts by the Government of 

10 Saudi Arabia to avoid disproportionate harm to ci11 vilians and civilian objects in Yemen, and an assess12 ment of whether United States assistance to the 

13 Saudi-led coalition has led to a demonstrable decrease 

14 in civilians killed or injured by Saudi-led airstrikes 

15 and damage to civilian infrastructure; 

16 (3) an assessment of the United Nations 

17 Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM) in 

18 Yemen and an assessment of the need for existing sec19 ondary inspection and clearance processes and trans20 shipment requirements on humanitarian and com21 mercial vessels that have been cleared by UNVIM; 

22 (4) a description of the sources of external sup23 port for the Houthi forces, including financial assist24 ance, weapons transfers, operational planning, train25 ing, and advisory assistance; 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•SJ 58 RS 

1 (5) an assessment of the applicability of United 

2 States and international sanctions to Houthi forces 

3 that have committed grave human rights abuses, ob4 structed international aid, and launched ballistic 

5 missiles into Saudi territory, and an assessment of 

6 the applicability of United States and international 

7 sanctions to individuals or entities providing the 

8 Houthi forces with material support; and 

9 (6) an assessment of the effect of the Saudi-led 

10 coalition’s military operations in Yemen on the efforts 

11 of the United States to defeat al Qaeda in the Ara12 bian Peninsula and the Islamic State of Iraq and the 

13 Levant. 

14 (c) INITIAL CERTIFICATION.—Not later than 30 days 

15 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

16 of State shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con17 gress a certification indicating whether the Government of 

18 Saudi Arabia is undertaking— 

19 (1) an urgent and good faith effort to conduct 

20 diplomatic negotiations to end the civil war in 

21 Yemen; 

22 (2) appropriate measures to alleviate the human23 itarian crisis in Yemen by increasing access for Yem24 enis to food, fuel, medicine, and medical evacuation, 

25 including through the appropriate use of Yemen’s Red 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•SJ 58 RS 

1 Sea ports, including the port of Hudaydah, the air2 port in Sana’a, and external border crossings with 

3 Saudi Arabia; 

4 (3) appropriate actions to reduce any unneces5 sary delays to shipments associated with secondary 

6 inspection and clearance processes other than the 

7 United Nations Verification and Inspections Mecha8 nism (UNVIM); and 

9 (4) demonstrable actions to reduce the risk of 

10 harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure result11 ing from its military operations in Yemen, including 

12 by— 

13 (A) complying with applicable agreements 

14 and laws regulating defense articles purchased or 

15 transferred from the United States; and 

16 (B) taking appropriate steps to avoid dis17 proportionate harm to civilians and civilian in18 frastructure. 

19 (d) SUBSEQUENT CERTIFICATIONS.—Not later than 

20 180 and 360 days after the date of the enactment of this 

21 Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate 

22 committees of Congress a certification indicating whether 

23 the Government of Saudi Arabia is undertaking the effort, 

24 measures, and actions described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), 

25 and (4) of subsection (c). 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•SJ 58 RS 

1 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this joint 

2 resolution may be construed as authorizing the use of mili3 tary force. 

4 (f) FORM OF CERTIFICATIONS.—The certifications re5 quired under subsections (c) and (d) shall be written, de6 tailed, and submitted in unclassified form. 

7 (g) STRATEGY REQUIRED.—Not later than 90 days 

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

9 of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense and 

10 the Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter11 national Development, shall submit to the appropriate com12 mittees of Congress an unclassified report listing United 

13 States objectives in Yemen and detailing a strategy to ac14 complish those objectives. The report shall be unclassified 

15 but may include a classified annex. 

16 (h) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS DE17 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate committees 

18 of Congress’’ means— 

19 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the 

20 Committee on Armed Services, and the Committee on 

21 Appropriations of the Senate; and 

22 (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Com23 mittee on Armed Services, and the Committee on Ap24 propriations of the House of Representatives. 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS

daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 428 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. J. RES. 58 

JOINT RESOLUTION 

To require certifications regarding actions by Saudi 

Arabia in Yemen, and for other purposes. 

MAY 22, 2018 

Reported with an amendment 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS