IIA 

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; 

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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 

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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 

1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives

2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This joint resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Authoriza3 tion for the Use of Military Force Against the Government 

4 of Syria to Respond to Use of Chemical Weapons’’. 

5 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF UNITED STATES 

6 ARMED FORCES. 

7 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The President is authorized, 

8 subject to subsection (b), to use the Armed Forces of the 

9 United States as the President determines to be necessary 

10 and appropriate in a limited and specified manner against 

11 legitimate military targets in Syria, only to— 

12 (1) respond to the use of weapons of mass de13 struction by the Government of Syria in the conflict 

14 in Syria; 

15 (2) deter Syria’s use of such weapons in order 

16 to protect the national security interests of the 

17 United States and to protect United States allies 

18 and partners against the use of such weapons; 

19 (3) degrade Syria’s capacity to use such weap20 ons in the future; and 

21 (4) prevent the transfer to terrorist groups or 

22 other state or non-state actors within Syria of any 

23 weapons of mass destruction. 

24 (b) REQUIREMENT FOR DETERMINATION THAT USE

25 OF MILITARY FORCE IS NECESSARY.—Before exercising 

26 the authority granted in subsection (a), the President shall 

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1 make available to the Speaker of the House of Representa2 tives and the President pro tempore of the Senate the 

3 President’s determination that— 

4 (1) the United States has used all appropriate 

5 diplomatic and other peaceful means to prevent the 

6 deployment and use of weapons of mass destruction 

7 by Syria; 

8 (2) the Government of Syria has conducted one 

9 or more significant chemical weapons attacks; 

10 (3) the use of military force is necessary to re11 spond to the use of chemical weapons by the Govern12 ment of Syria; 

13 (4) it is in the core national security interest of 

14 the United States to use such military force; 

15 (5) the United States has a military plan to 

16 achieve the specific goals of— 

17 (A) responding to the use of weapons of 

18 mass destruction by the Government of Syria in 

19 the conflict in Syria; 

20 (B) deterring Syria’s use of such weapons 

21 in order to protect the national security inter22 ests of the United States and to protect United 

23 States allies and partners against the use of 

24 such weapons; 

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1 (C) degrading Syria’s capacity to use such 

2 weapons in the future; and 

3 (D) preventing the transfer to terrorist 

4 groups or other state or non-state actors within 

5 Syria of any weapons of mass destruction; and 

6 (6) the use of military force is consistent with 

7 and furthers the goals of the United States strategy 

8 toward Syria, including achieving a negotiated polit9 ical settlement to the conflict. 

10 (c) WAR POWERS RESOLUTION REQUIREMENTS.— 

11 (1) SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORIZATION.— 

12 Consistent with section 8(a)(1) of the War Powers 

13 Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1547(a)(1)), Congress de14 clares that this section is intended to constitute spe15 cific statutory authorization within the meaning of 

16 section 5(b) of the War Powers Resolution (50 

17 U.S.C. 1544(b)), within the limits of the authoriza18 tion established under this section. 

19 (2) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER REQUIRE20 MENTS.—Nothing in this resolution supersedes any 

21 requirement of the War Powers Resolution (50 

22 U.S.C. 1541 et seq.). 

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1 SEC. 3. LIMITATION. 

2 The authority granted in section 2(a) does not au3 thorize the use of the United States Armed Forces on the 

4 ground in Syria for the purpose of combat operations. 

5 SEC. 4. TERMINATION OF THE AUTHORIZATION FOR THE 

6 USE OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES. 

7 The authorization in section 2(a) shall terminate 60 

8 days after the date of the enactment of this joint resolu9 tion, except that the President may extend, for a single 

10 period of 30 days, such authorization if— 

11 (1) the President determines and certifies to 

12 Congress, not later than 5 days before the date of 

13 termination of the initial authorization, that the ex14 tension is necessary to fulfill the purposes of this 

15 resolution as defined by section 2(a) due to extraor16 dinary circumstances and for ongoing and impend17 ing military operations against Syria under section 

18 2(a); and 

19 (2) Congress does not enact into law, before the 

20 extension of authorization, a joint resolution dis21 approving the extension of the authorization for the 

22 additional 30-day period; provided that any such 

23 joint resolution shall be considered under the expe24 dited procedures otherwise provided for concurrent 

25 resolutions of disapproval contained in section 7 of 

26 the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1546). 

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1 SEC. 5. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

2 (a) CHANGING OF MOMENTUM ON BATTLEFIELD.— 

3 It is the policy of the United States to change the momen4 tum on the battlefield in Syria so as to create favorable 

5 conditions for a negotiated settlement that ends the con6 flict and leads to a democratic government in Syria. 

7 (b) DEGRADATION OF ABILITY OF REGIME TO USE

8 WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION.—A comprehensive 

9 United States strategy in Syria should aim, as part of a 

10 coordinated international effort, to degrade the capabili11 ties of the Assad regime to use weapons of mass destruc12 tion while upgrading the lethal and non-lethal military ca13 pabilities of vetted elements of Syrian opposition forces, 

14 including the Free Syrian Army. 

15 SEC. 6. SYRIA STRATEGY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

17 date of the enactment of this resolution, the President 

18 shall consult with Congress and submit to the Committee 

19 on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee 

20 on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives an in21 tegrated United States Government strategy for achieving 

22 a negotiated political settlement to the conflict in Syria, 

23 including a comprehensive review of current and planned 

24 United States diplomatic, political, economic, and military 

25 policy towards Syria. 

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1 (b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required under sub2 section (a) shall include— 

3 (1) the provision of all forms of assistance to 

4 the Syrian Supreme Military Council and other Syr5 ian entities opposed to the government of Bashar Al6 Assad that have been properly and fully vetted and 

7 share common values and interests with the United 

8 States; 

9 (2) the provision of all forms of assistance to 

10 the Syrian political opposition, including the Syrian 

11 Opposition Coalition; 

12 (3) efforts to isolate extremist and terrorist 

13 groups in Syria to prevent their influence on the fu14 ture transitional and permanent Syrian govern15 ments; 

16 (4) security coordination with allies and re17 gional partners including Israel, Jordan and Turkey; 

18 (5) efforts to limit support from the Govern19 ment of Iran and others for the Syrian regime; 

20 (6) planning for securing existing chemical, bio21 logical, and other weapons supplies; and 

22 (7) efforts to address the ongoing humanitarian 

23 challenges presented by 2,000,000 Syrian refugees 

24 in neighboring countries, and 4,500,000 internally 

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1 displaced persons in Syria, and related humanitarian 

2 needs. 

3 SEC. 7. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION AND REPORTING. 

4 (a) NOTIFICATION AND PROVISION OF INFORMA5 TION.—Upon the President’s determination to use the au6 thority set forth in section 2, the President shall notify 

7 Congress, including the Committee on Foreign Relations 

8 of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

9 the House of Representatives, of the use of such authority 

10 and shall keep Congress fully and currently informed of 

11 the use of such authority. 

12 (b) REPORTS.—Not later than 10 days after the initi13 ation of military operations under the authority provided 

14 by section 2, and every 20 days thereafter until the com15 pletion of military operations, the President shall submit 

16 to Congress, including the Committee on Foreign Rela17 tions of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

18 of the House of Representatives, a report on the status 

19 of such operations, including progress achieved toward the 

20 objectives specified in section 2(a), the financial costs of 

21 operations to date, and an assessment of the impact of 

22 the operations on the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons 

23 capabilities and intentions. 

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1 SEC. 8. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

2 The authority set forth in section 2 shall not con3 stitute an authorization for the use of force or a declara4 tion of war except to the extent that it authorizes military 

5 action under the conditions, for the specific purposes, and 

6 for the limited period of time set forth in this resolution. 

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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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