I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2829 

To clarify that Congress has not provided authorization for the use of military 

force against Iran. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 17, 2019 

Mr. LEVIN of Michigan (for himself and Mr. MASSIE) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To clarify that Congress has not provided authorization for 

the use of military force against Iran. 

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 ‘‘AUMF Clarification 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The 2001 Authorization for Use of Military 

9 Force (Public Law 107–40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note) 

10 authorizes the President to use ‘‘necessary and apVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:33 May 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2829.IH H2829

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 2829 IH

1 propriate force against those nations, organizations, 

2 or persons he determines planned, authorized, com3 mitted, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred 

4 on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organiza5 tions or persons’’. 

6 (2) Iran and Al Qaeda historically have been 

7 adversaries. A 2018 analysis of declassified docu8 ments obtained during the 2011 raid on Osama bin 

9 Laden’s compound found that ‘‘[Al Qaeda] views 

10 Iran as a hostile entity’’ and ‘‘examined documents 

11 provide no evidence of cooperation between [Al 

12 Qaeda] and Iran on planning or carrying out ter13 rorist attacks’’. 

14 (3) The Authorization for Use of Military Force 

15 Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107– 

16 243; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note) authorizes the President 

17 ‘‘to use the Armed Forces of the United States as 

18 he determines to be necessary and appropriate in 

19 order to (1) defend the national security of the 

20 United States against the continuing threat posed by 

21 Iraq; and (2) enforce all relevant United Nations Se22 curity Council resolutions regarding Iraq’’. 

23 (4) On May 5, 2019, National Security Advisor 

24 Ambassador John Bolton announced the deployment 

25 of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 2829 IH

1 and a bomber task force to the United States Cen2 tral Command region as a response ‘‘to a number of 

3 troubling and escalatory indications and warnings’’ 

4 from Iran and ‘‘to send a clear and unmistakable 

5 message to the Iranian regime that any attack on 

6 United States interests or on those of our allies will 

7 be met with unrelenting force’’. 

8 (5) Congress has not authorized the use of mili9 tary force against Iran. 

10 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

11 It is the sense of Congress that Congress has not au12 thorized the use of military force against Iran under the 

13 Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Res14 olution of 2002 (Public Law 107–243; 50 U.S.C. 1541 

15 note), the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public 

16 Law 107–40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note), or any other provision 

17 of law enacted before the date of the enactment of this 

18 Act. 

19 SEC. 4. CLARIFICATION. 

20 Nothing in the Authorization for Use of Military 

21 Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107– 

22 243; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note), the Authorization for Use of 

23 Military Force (Public Law 107–40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 

24 note), or any other provision of law enacted before the 

25 date of the enactment of this Act may be construed to 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 2829 IH

1 provide authorization for the use of military force against 

2 Iran. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS