I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 889 

To limit the use of funds to reduce the total number of members of the 

Armed Forces serving on active duty who are deployed to the Republic 

of Korea, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 30, 2019 

Mr. GALLAGHER (for himself, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mr. HURD of Texas, Mr. PANETTA, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. KIM, Mr. TAYLOR, and Mr. ROSE of New 

York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

To limit the use of funds to reduce the total number of 

members of the Armed Forces serving on active duty 

who are deployed to the Republic of Korea, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States and Re5 public of Korea Alliance Support Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS TO REDUCE THE 

2 TOTAL NUMBER OF MEMBERS OF THE 

3 ARMED FORCES SERVING ON ACTIVE DUTY 

4 WHO ARE DEPLOYED TO THE REPUBLIC OF 

5 KOREA. 

6 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con7 gress that— 

8 (1) it is in the United States national interest 

9 to maintain treaty alliances and its forward military 

10 presence in the Indo-Pacific region to deter conflict 

11 and preserve peace and security; 

12 (2) the United States fully stands behind com13 mitments to its allies in Northeast Asia as articu14 lated in the Mutual Defense Treaty Between the 

15 United States and the Republic of Korea and the 

16 Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between 

17 the United States and Japan; 

18 (3) the alliances between the United States and 

19 the Republic of Korea and between the United 

20 States and Japan form the bedrock of regional sta21 bility in the Indo-Pacific region, including with re22 spect to the threat posed by North Korea; 

23 (4) the withdrawal or significant reduction of 

24 United States Armed Forces from the Republic of 

25 Korea may risk upsetting the military balance in 

26 that region; and 


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1 (5) Congress should be consulted in advance of 

2 any significant changes to the status quo on the Ko3 rean Peninsula. 

4 (b) LIMITATION.—None of the funds made available 

5 to the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2019 may 

6 be used to reduce the total number of members of the 

7 United States Armed Forces serving on active duty who 

8 are deployed to the Republic of Korea below 22,000 un9 less— 

10 (1) the Secretary of Defense first submits to 

11 the appropriate congressional committees a report 

12 on— 

13 (A) the effect of such reduction on pre14 serving deterrence on the Korean Peninsula; 

15 (B) the anticipated reaction of North 

16 Korea to such reduction; 

17 (C) the effect of such reduction on increas18 ing incentives for the Republic of Korea to de19 velop an independent nuclear deterrent; 

20 (D) the effect of such reduction on the 

21 long-term military and economic partnership 

22 between the United States and the Republic of 

23 Korea and the United States and Japan, re24 spectively; and 


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1 (E) the effect of such reduction on the 

2 military balance between the United States and 

3 the People’s Republic of China and between the 

4 United States and the Russian Federation; 

5 (2) the Secretary of Defense, in consultation 

6 with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, first 

7 certifies to the appropriate congressional committees 

8 that— 

9 (A) such a reduction is in the national se10 curity interest of the United States and will not 

11 significantly undermine the security of United 

12 States allies in the region; 

13 (B) the Secretary has appropriately con14 sulted with allies of the United States, includ15 ing the Republic of Korea and Japan, regarding 

16 such a reduction; and 

17 (C) the Republic of Korea would be fully 

18 capable of defending itself and deterring a con19 flict on the Korean Peninsula following such a 

20 reduction; and 

21 (3) such a reduction supports and is consistent 

22 with the most current national defense strategy 

23 under section 113 of title 10, United States Code. 


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1 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE2 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘relevant congressional 

3 committees’’ means— 

4 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

5 Committee on Armed Services of the House of Rep6 resentatives; and 

7 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 

8 the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate. 

Æ 


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