III 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. CON. RES. 37 

Expressing the sense of Congress on federalism in Iraq. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 7, 2007 

Mr. BIDEN (for himself, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. SMITH, Mr. 

NELSON of Florida, and Mrs. HUTCHISON) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of Congress on federalism in Iraq. 

Whereas Iraq continues to experience a self-sustaining cycle 

of sectarian violence; 

Whereas the ongoing sectarian violence presents a threat to 

regional and world peace, and the long-term security interests of the United States are best served by an Iraq 

that is stable, not a haven for terrorists, and not a threat 

to its neighbors; 

Whereas Iraqis must reach a comprehensive and sustainable 

political settlement in order to achieve stability, and the 

failure of the Iraqis to reach such a settlement is a primary cause of increasing violence in Iraq; 

Whereas the Key Judgments of the January 2007 National 

Intelligence Estimate entitled ‘‘Prospects for Iraq’s Stamstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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bility: A Challenging Road Ahead’’ state, ‘‘A number of 

identifiable developments could help to reverse the negative trends driving Iraq’s current trajectory. They include: Broader Sunni acceptance of the current political 

structure and federalism to begin to reduce one of the 

major sources of Iraq’s instability ... Significant concessions by Shia and Kurds to create space for Sunni acceptance of federalism’’; 

Whereas Article One of the Constitution of Iraq declares Iraq 

to be a ‘‘single, independent federal state;’’ 

Whereas Section Five of the Constitution of Iraq declares 

that the ‘‘federal system in the Republic of Iraq is made 

up of a decentralized capital, regions, and governorates, 

and local administrations’’ and enumerates the expansive 

powers of regions and the limited powers of the central 

government and establishes the mechanisms for the creation of new federal regions; 

Whereas the federal system created by the Constitution of 

Iraq would give Iraqis local control over their police and 

certain laws, including those related to employment, education, religion, and marriage; 

Whereas the Constitution of Iraq recognizes the administrative role of the Kurdistan Regional Government in 3 

northern Iraqi provinces, known also as the Kurdistan 

Region; 

Whereas the Kurdistan region, recognized by the Constitution 

of Iraq, is largely stable and peaceful; 

Whereas the Iraqi Parliament approved a federalism law on 

October 11th, 2006, which establishes procedures for the 

creation of new federal regions and will go into effect 18 

months after approval; 

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Whereas Iraqis recognize Baghdad as the capital of Iraq, and 

the Constitution of Iraq stipulates that Baghdad may not 

merge with any federal region; 

Whereas, despite their differences, Iraq’s sectarian and ethnic 

groups support the unity and territorial integrity of Iraq; 

and 

Whereas Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki stated on November 27, 2006, ‘‘The crisis is political, and the ones 

who can stop the cycle of aggravation and bloodletting of 

innocents are the politicians’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 

2 concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that— 

3 (1) the United States should actively support a 

4 political settlement among Iraq’s major factions 

5 based upon the provisions of the Constitution of Iraq 

6 that create a federal system of government and allow 

7 for the creation of federal regions; 

8 (2) the active support referenced in paragraph 

9 (1) above should include— 

10 (A) calling on the international community, 

11 including countries with troops in Iraq, the per12 manent 5 members of the United Nations Secu13 rity Council, members of the Gulf Cooperation 

14 Council, and Iraq’s neighbors— 

15 (i) to support an Iraqi political settle16 ment based on federalism; 

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1 (ii) to acknowledge the sovereignty 

2 and territorial integrity of Iraq; and 

3 (iii) to fulfill commitments for the ur4 gent delivery of significant assistance and 

5 debt relief to Iraq, especially those made 

6 by the member states of the Gulf Coopera7 tion Council; 

8 (B) further calling on Iraq’s neighbors to 

9 pledge not to intervene in or destabilize Iraq 

10 and to agree to related verification mechanisms; 

11 and 

12 (C) convening a conference for Iraqis to 

13 reach an agreement on a comprehensive polit14 ical settlement based on the creation of federal 

15 regions within a united Iraq; 

16 (3) the United States should urge the Govern17 ment of Iraq to quickly agree upon and implement 

18 a law providing for the equitable distribution of oil 

19 revenues, which is a critical component of a com20 prehensive political settlement based upon fed21 eralism; and 

22 (4) the steps described in paragraphs (1), (2), 

23 and (3) above could lead to an Iraq that is stable, 

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1 not a haven for terrorists, and not a threat to its 

2 neighbors. 

Æ 

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