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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S.J. Res. 21 Placed on Calendar Senate (PCS)]

                                                       Calendar No. 166
113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. J. RES. 21

 To authorize the limited and specified use of the United States Armed 
                         Forces against Syria.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 6, 2013

  Mr. Menendez, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, reported the 
following original joint resolution; which was read twice and placed on 
                              the calendar

_______________________________________________________________________

                            JOINT RESOLUTION

 
 To authorize the limited and specified use of the United States Armed 
                         Forces against Syria.

Whereas Syria is in material breach of the laws of war by having employed 
        chemical weapons against its civilian population;
Whereas the abuses of the regime of Bashar al-Assad have included the brutal 
        repression and war upon its own civilian population, resulting in more 
        than 100,000 people killed in the past two years, 2,000,000 Syrian 
        refugees in neighboring countries, and 4,500,000 internally displaced 
        persons in Syria, creating an unprecedented regional crisis and 
        instability;
Whereas the Assad regime has the largest chemical weapons programs in the region 
        and has demonstrated its capability and willingness to repeatedly use 
        weapons of mass destruction against its own people, including the August 
        21, 2013, attack in the suburbs of Damascus in which the Assad regime 
        murdered over 1,000 innocent people, including hundreds of children;
Whereas there is clear and compelling evidence of the direct involvement of 
        Assad regime forces and senior officials in the planning, execution, and 
        after-action attempts to cover-up, the August 21, 2013, attack, and hide 
        or destroy evidence of such attack;
Whereas the Arab League has declared with regards to the August 21, 2013, 
        incident to hold the ``Syrian regime responsible for this heinous 
        crime'';
Whereas the United Nations Security Council, in Resolution 1540 (2004), affirmed 
        that the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons 
        constitutes a threat to international peace and security;
Whereas in the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 
        2003 (Public Law 108-175), Congress found that Syria's acquisition of 
        weapons of mass destruction threatens the security of the Middle East 
        and the national security interests of the United States;
Whereas the actions and conduct of the Assad regime are in direct contravention 
        of Syria's legal obligations under the United Nations Charter, the 
        Geneva Conventions, and the Protocol to the Hague Convention on the 
        Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, 
        and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, done at Geneva June 17, 1925, 
        and also violate the standards set forth in the Convention on the 
        Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and use of 
        Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, done at Paris January 13, 
        1993;
Whereas Syria's use of weapons of mass destruction and its conduct and actions 
        constitute a grave threat to regional stability, world peace, and the 
        national security interests of the United States and its allies and 
        partners;
Whereas the objectives of the United States use of military force in connection 
        with this authorization are to respond to the use, and deter and degrade 
        the potential future use, of weapons of mass destruction by the 
        Government of Syria;
Whereas, on May 21, 2013, the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate 
        passed by a 15-3 vote the Syria Transition Support Act (S. 960), which 
        found that the President's goals of Assad leaving power, an end to the 
        violence, and a negotiated political settlement in Syria are 
        prerequisites for a stable, democratic future for Syria and regional 
        peace and security, but absent decisive changes to the present military 
        balance of power on the ground in Syria, sufficient incentives do not 
        yet exist for the achievement of such goals; and
Whereas the President has authority under the Constitution to use force in order 
        to defend the national security interests of the United States: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This joint resolution may be cited as the ``Authorization for the 
Use of Military Force Against the Government of Syria to Respond to Use 
of Chemical Weapons''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES.

    (a) Authorization.--The President is authorized, subject to 
subsection (b), to use the Armed Forces of the United States as the 
President determines to be necessary and appropriate in a limited and 
specified manner against legitimate military targets in Syria, only 
to--
            (1) respond to the use of weapons of mass destruction by 
        the Government of Syria in the conflict in Syria;
            (2) deter Syria's use of such weapons in order to protect 
        the national security interests of the United States and to 
        protect United States allies and partners against the use of 
        such weapons;
            (3) degrade Syria's capacity to use such weapons in the 
        future; and
            (4) prevent the transfer to terrorist groups or other state 
        or non-state actors within Syria of any weapons of mass 
        destruction.
    (b) Requirement for Determination That Use of Military Force Is 
Necessary.--Before exercising the authority granted in subsection (a), 
the President shall make available to the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate the 
President's determination that--
            (1) the United States has used all appropriate diplomatic 
        and other peaceful means to prevent the deployment and use of 
        weapons of mass destruction by Syria;
            (2) the Government of Syria has conducted one or more 
        significant chemical weapons attacks;
            (3) the use of military force is necessary to respond to 
        the use of chemical weapons by the Government of Syria;
            (4) it is in the core national security interest of the 
        United States to use such military force;
            (5) the United States has a military plan to achieve the 
        specific goals of--
                    (A) responding to the use of weapons of mass 
                destruction by the Government of Syria in the conflict 
                in Syria;
                    (B) deterring Syria's use of such weapons in order 
                to protect the national security interests of the 
                United States and to protect United States allies and 
                partners against the use of such weapons;
                    (C) degrading Syria's capacity to use such weapons 
                in the future; and
                    (D) preventing the transfer to terrorist groups or 
                other state or non-state actors within Syria of any 
                weapons of mass destruction; and
            (6) the use of military force is consistent with and 
        furthers the goals of the United States strategy toward Syria, 
        including achieving a negotiated political settlement to the 
        conflict.
    (c) War Powers Resolution Requirements.--
            (1) Specific statutory authorization.--Consistent with 
        section 8(a)(1) of the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 
        1547(a)(1)), Congress declares that this section is intended to 
        constitute specific statutory authorization within the meaning 
        of section 5(b) of the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 
        1544(b)), within the limits of the authorization established 
        under this section.
            (2) Applicability of other requirements.--Nothing in this 
        resolution supersedes any requirement of the War Powers 
        Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1541 et seq.).

SEC. 3. LIMITATION.

    The authority granted in section 2(a) does not authorize the use of 
the United States Armed Forces on the ground in Syria for the purpose 
of combat operations.

SEC. 4. TERMINATION OF THE AUTHORIZATION FOR THE USE OF UNITED STATES 
              ARMED FORCES.

    The authorization in section 2(a) shall terminate 60 days after the 
date of the enactment of this joint resolution, except that the 
President may extend, for a single period of 30 days, such 
authorization if--
            (1) the President determines and certifies to Congress, not 
        later than 5 days before the date of termination of the initial 
        authorization, that the extension is necessary to fulfill the 
        purposes of this resolution as defined by section 2(a) due to 
        extraordinary circumstances and for ongoing and impending 
        military operations against Syria under section 2(a); and
            (2) Congress does not enact into law, before the extension 
        of authorization, a joint resolution disapproving the extension 
        of the authorization for the additional 30-day period; provided 
        that any such joint resolution shall be considered under the 
        expedited procedures otherwise provided for concurrent 
        resolutions of disapproval contained in section 7 of the War 
        Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1546).

SEC. 5. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    (a) Changing of Momentum on Battlefield.--It is the policy of the 
United States to change the momentum on the battlefield in Syria so as 
to create favorable conditions for a negotiated settlement that ends 
the conflict and leads to a democratic government in Syria.
    (b) Degradation of Ability of Regime to Use Weapons of Mass 
Destruction.--A comprehensive United States strategy in Syria should 
aim, as part of a coordinated international effort, to degrade the 
capabilities of the Assad regime to use weapons of mass destruction 
while upgrading the lethal and non-lethal military capabilities of 
vetted elements of Syrian opposition forces, including the Free Syrian 
Army.

SEC. 6. SYRIA STRATEGY.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the 
enactment of this resolution, the President shall consult with Congress 
and submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives an 
integrated United States Government strategy for achieving a negotiated 
political settlement to the conflict in Syria, including a 
comprehensive review of current and planned United States diplomatic, 
political, economic, and military policy towards Syria.
    (b) Elements.--The strategy required under subsection (a) shall 
include--
            (1) the provision of all forms of assistance to the Syrian 
        Supreme Military Council and other Syrian entities opposed to 
        the government of Bashar Al-Assad that have been properly and 
        fully vetted and share common values and interests with the 
        United States;
            (2) the provision of all forms of assistance to the Syrian 
        political opposition, including the Syrian Opposition 
        Coalition;
            (3) efforts to isolate extremist and terrorist groups in 
        Syria to prevent their influence on the future transitional and 
        permanent Syrian governments;
            (4) security coordination with allies and regional partners 
        including Israel, Jordan and Turkey;
            (5) efforts to limit support from the Government of Iran 
        and others for the Syrian regime;
            (6) planning for securing existing chemical, biological, 
        and other weapons supplies; and
            (7) efforts to address the ongoing humanitarian challenges 
        presented by 2,000,000 Syrian refugees in neighboring 
        countries, and 4,500,000 internally displaced persons in Syria, 
        and related humanitarian needs.

SEC. 7. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION AND REPORTING.

    (a) Notification and Provision of Information.--Upon the 
President's determination to use the authority set forth in section 2, 
the President shall notify Congress, including the Committee on Foreign 
Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 
House of Representatives, of the use of such authority and shall keep 
Congress fully and currently informed of the use of such authority.
    (b) Reports.--Not later than 10 days after the initiation of 
military operations under the authority provided by section 2, and 
every 20 days thereafter until the completion of military operations, 
the President shall submit to Congress, including the Committee on 
Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 
the House of Representatives, a report on the status of such 
operations, including progress achieved toward the objectives specified 
in section 2(a), the financial costs of operations to date, and an 
assessment of the impact of the operations on the Syrian regime's 
chemical weapons capabilities and intentions.

SEC. 8. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    The authority set forth in section 2 shall not constitute an 
authorization for the use of force or a declaration of war except to 
the extent that it authorizes military action under the conditions, for 
the specific purposes, and for the limited period of time set forth in 
this resolution.

                                                       Calendar No. 166

113th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                             S. J. RES. 21

_______________________________________________________________________

                            JOINT RESOLUTION

 To authorize the limited and specified use of the United States Armed 
                         Forces against Syria.

_______________________________________________________________________

                           September 6, 2013

                 Read twice and placed on the calendar
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