IIB 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. J. RES. 37 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2019 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

JOINT RESOLUTION 

Directing the removal of United States Armed Forces from 

hostilities in the Republic of Yemen that have not been 

authorized by Congress. 

1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives

2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Congress has the sole power to declare war 

2 under article I, section 8, clause 11 of the United 

3 States Constitution. 

4 (2) Congress has not declared war with respect 

5 to, or provided a specific statutory authorization for, 

6 the conflict between military forces led by Saudi 

7 Arabia, including forces from the United Arab Emir8 ates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, 

9 Senegal, and Sudan (the Saudi-led coalition), 

10 against the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, in 

11 the Republic of Yemen. 

12 (3) Since March 2015, members of the United 

13 States Armed Forces have been introduced into hos14 tilities between the Saudi-led coalition and the 

15 Houthis, including providing to the Saudi-led coali16 tion aerial targeting assistance, intelligence sharing, 

17 and mid-flight aerial refueling. 

18 (4) The United States has established a Joint 

19 Combined Planning Cell with Saudi Arabia, in which 

20 members of the United States Armed Forces assist 

21 in aerial targeting and help to coordinate military 

22 and intelligence activities. 

23 (5) In December 2017, Secretary of Defense 

24 James N. Mattis stated, ‘‘We have gone in to be 

25 very—to be helpful where we can in identifying how 


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1 you do target analysis and how you make certain 

2 you hit the right thing.’’. 

3 (6) The conflict between the Saudi-led coalition 

4 and the Houthis constitutes, within the meaning of 

5 section 4(a) of the War Powers Resolution (50 

6 U.S.C. 1543(a)), either hostilities or a situation 

7 where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly 

8 indicated by the circumstances into which United 

9 States Armed Forces have been introduced. 

10 (7) Section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution 

11 (50 U.S.C. 1544(c)) states that, ‘‘at any time that 

12 United States Armed Forces are engaged in hos13 tilities outside the territory of the United States, its 

14 possessions and territories without a declaration of 

15 war or specific statutory authorization, such forces 

16 shall be removed by the President if the Congress so 

17 directs’’. 

18 (8) Section 8(c) of the War Powers Resolution 

19 (50 U.S.C. 1547(c)) defines the introduction of 

20 United States Armed Forces to include ‘‘the assign21 ment of members of such armed forces to command, 

22 coordinate, participate in the movement of, or ac23 company the regular or irregular military forces of 

24 any foreign country or government when such mili25 tary forces are engaged, or there exists an imminent 


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1 threat that such forces will become engaged, in hos2 tilities’’, and activities that the United States is con3 ducting in support of the Saudi-led coalition, includ4 ing aerial refueling and targeting assistance, fall 

5 within this definition. 

6 (9) Section 1013 of the Department of State 

7 Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1984 and 1985 (50 

8 U.S.C. 1546a) provides that any joint resolution or 

9 bill to require the removal of United States Armed 

10 Forces engaged in hostilities without a declaration of 

11 war or specific statutory authorization shall be con12 sidered in accordance with the expedited procedures 

13 of section 601(b) of the International Security and 

14 Arms Export Control Act of 1976 (Public Law 94– 

15 329; 90 Stat. 765). 

16 (10) No specific statutory authorization for the 

17 use of United States Armed Forces with respect to 

18 the conflict between the Saudi-led coalition and the 

19 Houthis in Yemen has been enacted, and no provi20 sion of law explicitly authorizes the provision of tar21 geting assistance or of midair refueling services to 

22 warplanes of Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emir23 ates that are engaged in such conflict. 


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1 (11) It is in the national security interest of the 

2 United States to combat anti-Semitism around the 

3 world because— 

4 (A) anti-Semitism is a challenge to the 

5 basic principles of tolerance, pluralism, and de6 mocracy, and the shared values that bind Amer7 icans together; 

8 (B) there has been a significant amount of 

9 anti-Semitic and anti-Israel hatred that must 

10 be most strongly condemned; and 

11 (C) there is an urgent need to ensure the 

12 safety and security of Jewish communities, in13 cluding synagogues, schools, cemeteries, and 

14 other institutions. 

15 (12) It is in the foreign policy interest of the 

16 United States to continue to emphasize the impor17 tance of combating anti-Semitism in our bilateral 

18 and multilateral relations, including with the United 

19 Nations, European Union institutions, Arab League, 

20 and the Organization for Security and Cooperation 

21 in Europe. 

22 (13) Because it is important to the national se23 curity interest of the United States to maintain 

24 strong bipartisan support for Israel, the only democ25 racy in the Middle East, all attempts to delegitimize 


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1 and deny Israel’s right to exist must be denounced 

2 and rejected. 

3 (14) It is in the national security interest of the 

4 United States to oppose restrictive trade practices or 

5 boycotts fostered or imposed by any foreign country 

6 against other countries friendly to the United States 

7 or against any United States person. 

8 SEC. 2. REMOVAL OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES 

9 FROM HOSTILITIES IN THE REPUBLIC OF 

10 YEMEN THAT HAVE NOT BEEN AUTHORIZED 

11 BY CONGRESS. 

12 Pursuant to section 1013 of the Department of State 

13 Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1984 and 1985 (50 

14 U.S.C. 1546a) and in accordance with the provisions of 

15 section 601(b) of the International Security Assistance 

16 and Arms Export Control Act of 1976 (Public Law 94– 

17 329; 90 Stat. 765), Congress hereby directs the President 

18 to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities in 

19 or affecting the Republic of Yemen, except United States 

20 Armed Forces engaged in operations directed at al-Qaeda 

21 or associated forces, by not later than the date that is 

22 30 days after the date of the enactment of this joint reso23 lution (unless the President requests and Congress author24 izes a later date), and unless and until a declaration of 

25 war or specific authorization for such use of United States 


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1 Armed Forces has been enacted. For purposes of this reso2 lution, in this section, the term ‘‘hostilities’’ includes in3 flight refueling of, non-United States aircraft conducting 

4 missions as part of the ongoing civil war in Yemen. 

5 SEC. 3. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING CONTINUED 

6 MILITARY OPERATIONS AND COOPERATION 

7 WITH ISRAEL. 

8 Nothing in this joint resolution may be construed to 

9 influence or disrupt any military operations and coopera10 tion with Israel. 

11 SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING INTEL12 LIGENCE SHARING. 

13 Nothing in this joint resolution may be construed to 

14 influence or disrupt any intelligence, counterintelligence, 

15 or investigative activities conducted by, or in conjunction 

16 with, the United States Government involving— 

17 (1) the collection of intelligence; 

18 (2) the analysis of intelligence; or 

19 (3) the sharing of intelligence between the 

20 United States and any foreign country if the Presi21 dent determines such sharing is appropriate and in 

22 the national security interests of the United States. 


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1 SEC. 5. REPORT ON RISKS POSED BY CEASING SAUDI ARA2 BIA SUPPORT OPERATIONS. 

3 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact4 ment of this joint resolution, the President shall submit 

5 to Congress a report assessing the risks posed to United 

6 States citizens and the civilian population of Saudi Arabia 

7 and the risk of regional humanitarian crises if the United 

8 States were to cease support operations with respect to 

9 the conflict between the Saudi-led coalition and the 

10 Houthis in Yemen. 

11 SEC. 6. REPORT ON INCREASED RISK OF TERRORIST AT12 TACKS TO UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES 

13 ABROAD, ALLIES, AND THE CONTINENTAL 

14 UNITED STATES IF SAUDI ARABIA CEASES 

15 YEMEN-RELATED INTELLIGENCE SHARING 

16 WITH THE UNITED STATES. 

17 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact18 ment of this joint resolution, the President shall submit 

19 to Congress a report assessing the increased risk of ter20 rorist attacks on United States Armed Forces abroad, al21 lies, and to the continental United States if the GovernVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:33 Feb 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HJ37.RFS HJ37

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1 ment of Saudi Arabia were to cease Yemen-related intel2 ligence sharing with the United States. 

Passed the House of Representatives February 13, 

2019. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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