II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 308 

To prohibit an escalation in United States military forces in Iraq without 

prior authorization by Congress. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 16, 2007 

Mr. DODD introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To prohibit an escalation in United States military forces 

in Iraq without prior authorization by Congress. 

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

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress makes the following findings: 

5 (1) On October 10, 2002, Congress adopted 

6 House Joint Resolution 114 (107th Congress), the 

7 Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq 

8 Resolution of 2002, at the request of the President. 


bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS
2 

•S 308 IS

1 (2) On October 16, 2002, House Joint Resolu2 tion 114 (107th Congress) was signed into law by 

3 President George W. Bush as Public Law 107–243. 

4 (3) On March 19, 2003, United States forces 

5 entered Iraq to carry out Operation Iraqi Freedom. 

6 (4) Congress honors the valor and sacrifice of 

7 United States forces in Iraq and will always endeav8 or to ensure that there are sufficient resources made 

9 available to support them while they are there. 

10 (5) On March 22, 2003, President George W. 

11 Bush stated in a radio address that the objective of 

12 Operation Iraqi Freedom was ‘‘to disarm Iraq of 

13 weapons of mass destruction, to end Saddam Hus14 sein’s support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi 

15 people’’. 

16 (6) On April 19, 2003, the government of Sad17 dam Hussein in Iraq was deposed. 

18 (7) On December 15, 2005, Iraq held demo19 cratic elections to select a new government pursuant 

20 to a constitution endorsed in a referendum con21 ducted on October 15, 2005. 

22 (8) On February 22, 2006, insurgents attacked 

23 the Askariya Shrine in Samarra, Iraq, an event that 

24 ignited a wave of sectarian violence that has escaVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:59 Jan 17, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S308.IS S308

bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS
3 

•S 308 IS

1 lated over the ensuing months and resulted in the 

2 deaths of more than 16,000 Iraqis during 2006. 

3 (9) On May 21, 2006, the government of Prime 

4 Minister Nouri al-Maliki took office in Iraq. 

5 (10) Efforts by Iraqi and United States forces 

6 in the summer and autumn of 2006, Operation To7 gether Forward and Operation Together Forward II, 

8 have failed to halt sectarian conflict in the Baghdad 

9 area of Iraq. 

10 (11) On October 5, 2006, Senator John War11 ner, a coauthor of House Joint Resolution 114 

12 (107th Congress), stated that ‘‘the resolution (H.J. 

13 Res. 114) in my judgment was drawn up at a time 

14 when none of us, from the President on down, could 

15 ever envision the seriousness of this situation now, 

16 in terms of sectarian violence, and—and I under17 line—just the possibility of a civil war.’’. He further 

18 stated that ‘‘therefore it seems to me Congress 

19 should focus on a dramatic change if our troops are 

20 to be employed in that type of combat. We would 

21 have to go back and focus on what we have done 

22 and determine whether or not we have to do any23 thing further to support the President’’. 

24 (12) On December 6, 2006, the Iraq Study 

25 Group made 79 recommendations to address the onVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:59 Jan 17, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S308.IS S308

bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS
4 

•S 308 IS

1 going conflict in Iraq. Among the most important of 

2 the recommendations is a call for ‘‘new and en3 hanced diplomatic and political efforts in Iraq and 

4 the region, and a change in the primary mission of 

5 U.S. forces in Iraq that will enable the United 

6 States to begin to move its combat forces out of Iraq 

7 responsibly’’. 

8 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON ESCALATION OF UNITED STATES 

9 MILITARY FORCES IN IRAQ WITHOUT PRIOR 

10 AUTHORIZATION BY CONGRESS. 

11 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the levels 

12 of United States military forces in Iraq may not exceed 

13 the levels of such forces in Iraq as of January 16, 2007, 

14 without specific authority in statute enacted by Congress 

15 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


bajohnson on PROD1PC77 with BILLS