To provide limitations on the transfer of air-to-ground munitions from the United States to Saudi Arabia

In this resolution: The term munitions means any United States bomb or missile designed as a Category IV item on the United States Munitions List pursuant to section 38(a)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act ( (22 U.S.C. 2778(a)(1)) ). The term means the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Armed Services, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate. The term means any sale of United States defense articles or services authorized pursuant to the Arms Export Control Act ( (22 U.S.C. 2751) et seq.). The term means groups designated by the United States as foreign terrorist organizations pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( (8 U.S.C. 1189) ) or Specially Designated Global Terrorists pursuant to Executive Order 13224 ( (50 U.S.C. 1701) note). The term means any sale notified to Congress pursuant to subsection (b) or (c) of section 36 of the Arms Export Control Act ( (22 U.S.C. 2776) ). No transfer to Saudi Arabia of United States air-to-ground munitions may occur until the President makes the certification described under section 3. Any notification to Congress made on or after the date of the enactment of this resolution with respect to a proposed sale to Saudi Arabia of air-to-ground munitions shall be accompanied by the certification described under section 3. The certification described under this section is a certification by the President to the appropriate congressional committees as follows: The Government of Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners are taking all feasible precautions to reduce the risk of harm to civilians and civilian objects to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law, which includes minimizing harm to civilians, discriminating between civilian objects and military objectives, and exercising proportional use of force in the course of military actions it pursues for the purpose of legitimate self-defense as described in section 4 of the Arms Export Control Act ( (22 U.S.C. 2754) ). The Government of Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners are making demonstrable efforts to facilitate the flow of critical humanitarian aid and commercial goods, including commercial fuel and commodities not subject to sanction or prohibition under United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216 (2015). The Government of Saudi Arabia is taking effective measures to target designated foreign terrorist organizations, including al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and affiliates of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant as part of its military operations in Yemen. Prior to any transfer of United States air-to-ground munitions to Saudi Arabia pursuant to an authorized sale to Saudi Arabia of air-to-ground munitions or the notification to Congress of a proposed sale to Saudi Arabia of air-to-ground munitions, the President or the President's designee shall provide a briefing to the appropriate congressional committees. The briefing shall includeâ€” a description of the nature, content, costs, and purposes of any United States support for the Government of Saudi Arabiaâ€™s coalition military operations in Yemen on or after March 26, 2015; an assessment of whether the Government of Saudi Arabiaâ€™s military operations in Yemen on or after March 26, 2015, constitute legitimate self-defense; an assessment of whether the Government of Saudi Arabiaâ€™s coalition operations have deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure in Yemen on or after March 26, 2015, and whether the armed forces of the Government of Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners have taken all possible steps to comply with the rules of distinction, proportionality, and precautions, as regulated by Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts, done at Geneva June 8, 1977; an assessment of whether the armed forces of Saudi Arabia have used United States-origin munitions in any attacks against civilians or civilian infrastructure in Yemen on or after March 26, 2015, and the effect of such attacks on the United States credibility in the region; an assessment of the effect of Saudi Arabiaâ€™s military operations in Yemen on its ability to contribute to United States efforts to defeat al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant; and an assessment on how the transfer of major defense equipment to Saudi Arabia contributes to United States foreign policy and national security objectives in the region. The briefing required under subsection (a) shall be conducted in an unclassified forum but may be conducted in a classified setting as required. This resolution shall cease to have effect three years after the date of the enactment of this resolution, unless renewed.

Summary: This joint resolution prohibits the transfer to Saudi Arabia of U.S. air-to-ground munitions until the President certifies to Congress that: (1) Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners are taking all feasible precautions to reduce the risk of civilian harm and exercising proportional use of force in the course of military actions and are making demonstrable efforts to facilitate the flow of critical humanitarian aid and commercial goods; and (2) Saudi Arabia is taking effective measures to target designated foreign terrorist organizations, including al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and affiliates of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, as part of its military operations in Yemen.