IV

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 39

Urging the President to oppose expansion of the Oil-for-Food Program in

Iraq, condemning Saddam Hussein for the actions the Government of

Iraq has taken against the Iraqi people and for its defiance of the

United Nations, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 2, 1999

Mr. WATKINS (for himself and Mr. THORNBERRY) submitted the following

concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Urging the President to oppose expansion of the Oil-forFood Program in Iraq, condemning Saddam Hussein

for the actions the Government of Iraq has taken against

the Iraqi people and for its defiance of the United Nations, and for other purposes.

Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 requires that international economic sanctions, including an

embargo on the sale of oil from Iraq, remain in place

until Iraq discloses and destroys its weapons of mass destruction programs and capabilities and undertakes unconditionally never to resume such activities;

Whereas Resolution 687 further established the United Nations Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM) to uncover
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all aspects of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction program;

Whereas UNSCOM has repeatedly reported to the United

Nations Security Council that Iraq is not in compliance

with the conditions of Resolution 687;

Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 986

partially lifted the international economic sanctions by allowing Iraq to sell $1,000,000,000 worth of oil every 90

days and has since been expanded to allow Iraq to sell

$5,256,000,000 worth of oil every 6 months (commonly

referred to as the Oil-for-Food Program);

Whereas significant evidence exists that the Iraqi people are

not reaping the supposed benefits of the Oil-for-Food

Program because the regime of Saddam Hussein is either

unable or unwilling to distribute humanitarian supplies,

and that stockpiles of humanitarian supplies are sitting

in warehouses in Iraq;

Whereas United States Administration officials have stated

that the United States might support an increase in the

amount of oil Iraq could sell under the Oil-for-Food Program if Iraq cooperated with UNSCOM;

Whereas Iraq has not cooperated with UNSCOM, but instead

has engaged in hostile activities targeted at the members

of the United States Armed Forces;

Whereas significant evidence exists that Iraq is illegally exporting as many as 100,000 barrels of oil a day;

Whereas overproduction and reduced demand have already

created a surplus in the world oil market and have driven

oil prices to their lowest levels since the Great Depression;
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Whereas these decreased oil prices have placed in serious

jeopardy many of our domestic oil and gas wells and have

already cost an estimated 24,000 jobs in the domestic oil

industry;

Whereas increasing our nation’s dependence on foreign oil

threatens national security and economic prosperity; and

Whereas allowing Iraq, which has violated international

agreement after international agreement, to sell additional oil on the world market will only drive down these

already depressed international oil prices and force many

of our domestic marginal stripper well producers to plug

their oil wells: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That the Congress—

3 (1) urges the President to oppose any expansion

4 of the Oil-for-Food Program under current condi5 tions;

6 (2) urges the President to take steps, through

7 the United Nations, to improve enforcement of the

8 embargo on the sale of oil from Iraq, including ef9 forts to strengthen the Multilateral Interdiction

10 Force and inspections near the port of Basra;

11 (3) condemns in the strongest possible terms

12 the continued threat to international peace and sta13 bility posed by the regime of Saddam Hussein, and

14 its refusal to abide by the conditions of United Na15 tions Security Council Resolutions 686 and 687;
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1 (4) supports the men and women of the Armed

2 Forces who are carrying out their missions in the

3 Persian Gulf theater of operations;

4 (5) reaffirms that United States policy should

5 support efforts to remove the regime of Saddam

6 Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote the

7 emergence of a democratic government to replace

8 that regime; and

9 (6) encourages the Department of State to find

10 alternative mechanisms to provide humanitarian re11 lief to the Iraqi people.

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