IA 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. J. RES. 58 

Requiring congressional approval prior to engaging in hostilities within the 

sovereign Islamic Republic of Iran. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 15, 2019 

Mr. MOULTON submitted the following joint resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

JOINT RESOLUTION 

Requiring congressional approval prior to engaging in 

hostilities within the sovereign Islamic Republic of Iran. 

1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives

2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Joint Resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Constitu5 tional Authorities Resolution’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Article I, section 8, of the Constitution of 

9 the United States grants Congress the sole power to 

10 declare war. 


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1 (2) President George Washington, in a letter to 

2 William Moultrie dated August 28, 1793, wrote that 

3 ‘‘[t]he constitution vests the power of declaring war 

4 in Congress; therefore no offensive expedition of im5 portance can be undertaken until after they shall 

6 have deliberated upon the subject and authorized 

7 such a measure’’. 

8 (3) Alexander Hamilton wrote in Examination 

9 Number 1 of the Hamilton Papers, dated December 

10 17, 1801, that ‘‘ ‘[t]he Congress shall have the 

11 power to declare war’; the plain meaning of which is, 

12 that it is the peculiar and exclusive duty of Con13 gress, when the nation is at peace, to change that 

14 state into a state of war’’. 

15 (4) Iran is the leading state sponsor of ter16 rorism in the Middle East and a pernicious trouble17 maker in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

18 (5) Missile tests by Iran have led to escalating 

19 tensions with Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United 

20 States, and the United Nations. 

21 (6) Iran has threatened to shutdown crucial 

22 maritime lines of communication, putting United 

23 States and international naval assets, as well as 

24 global energy assets, at risk. 


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1 (7) Since 1979, Iran has been ruled by Islamic 

2 theocrats who use the Quran to justify the suppres3 sion of domestic political freedom and the denial of 

4 civil and human rights. 

5 (8) A war with Iran would also endanger 

6 United States assets, personnel, and foreign policy 

7 objectives throughout the region, including in Iraq, 

8 Afghanistan, and Israel. 

9 (9) On June 22, 2018, President Trump 

10 tweeted that Iran ‘‘[w]ill suffer consequences the 

11 likes of which few throughout history have ever suf12 fered before’’. 

13 (10) A May 5, 2019, statement from National 

14 Security Advisor Ambassador John Bolton said that 

15 any attack on America or its allies, by Iran or its 

16 proxies, ‘‘will be met with unrelenting force’’. 

17 (11) Loose talk of war and belligerent rhetoric 

18 increases the risk of miscalculation by either side 

19 and unsettles United States allies. 

20 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON REQUIREMENT TO OBTAIN 

21 CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL PRIOR TO EN22 GAGING IN HOSTILITIES WITHIN THE IS23 LAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN. 

24 It is the sense of Congress that specific congressional 

25 approval is required, and has not been provided as of the 


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1 date of the enactment of this joint resolution, to authorize 

2 the United States Armed Forces to engage in hostilities 

3 within the sovereign Islamic Republic of Iran. 

4 SEC. 4. PRIOR NOTICE REQUIREMENT BEFORE ENTRY INTO 

5 HOSTILITIES WITHIN IRAN. 

6 Prior to the introduction of the Armed Forces into 

7 the sovereign Islamic Republic of Iran, the President shall 

8 submit to Congress a report, in classified or unclassified 

9 form, that includes— 

10 (1) the circumstances necessitating the intro11 duction of the Armed Forces; 

12 (2) the constitutional and legislative authority 

13 under which such introduction took place; and 

14 (3) the estimated scope and duration of the 

15 hostilities or involvement. 

Æ 


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