H. Res. 599 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
November 13, 2017. 
Whereas the United States has longstanding strategic inter-
ests in promoting security and stability in the Arabian 
Peninsula; 
Whereas the United States has a strategic partnership with 
the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, in-
cluding Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates; 
Whereas in 2014, after years of violence and insurgency, Ira-
nian-supported Houthi rebels seized the Yemeni capital 
city of Sana’a, deposing the legitimate, internationally 
recognized Government of Yemen and further desta-
bilizing Yemen and the region; 
Whereas the Saudi-led Arab Coalition launched a military 
intervention in 2015 against the Houthi-Saleh alliance in 
response to the deposition of the legitimate Government 
of Yemen and Houthi-Saleh territorial gains in and 
around the port of Aden; 
Whereas the United States has longstanding strategic inter-
ests in Yemen, including ensuring freedom of navigation 
at the Bab al Mandab strait and countering the threats 
from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Al- 
Qaeda franchises, and the Yemen affiliate of the Islamic 
State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS);
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Whereas al-Qaeda was responsible for the bombing of the 
USS Cole in Aden, Yemen, in October 2000, which killed 
17 United States sailors, and for multiple successful and 
unsuccessful terrorist attacks internationally; 
Whereas in April 2015, the United Nations Security Council 
adopted United Nations Security Council Resolution 
2216 by 14 affirmative votes to none against, with one 
abstention (by the Russian Federation), imposing sanc-
tions on individuals undermining the stability of Yemen, 
and demanded that the Houthis withdraw from all areas 
seized during the latest conflict, relinquish arms seized 
from military and security institutions, cease all actions 
falling exclusively within the authority of the legitimate 
Government of Yemen and fully implement previous Se-
curity Council resolutions; 
Whereas Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has 
transferred increasingly sophisticated weapons systems to 
the Houthis, who have in turn shot missiles into Saudi 
Arabia from positions in northern Yemen; 
Whereas in addition to weapons, Iran is reportedly providing 
Afghan and Shi’ite Arab specialists to train Houthi units 
and act as logistical advisers; 
Whereas the Iranian-supported Houthis have attacked coali-
tion or coalition-affiliated maritime targets multiple 
times, an American ship twice, and other shipping, forc-
ing the United States to respond with a combination of 
diplomacy and calibrated military strikes against three 
radar facilities in Houthi-controlled territory; 
Whereas the United States has participated in intelligence co-
operation since 2015 and, pursuant to a cross-servicing 
agreement, has provided midair refueling services to
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Saudi-led Arab Coalition warplanes conducting aerial 
bombings in Yemen against the Houthi-Saleh alliance, Al 
Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and in support 
of freedom of navigation threatened by Iranian-backed 
Houthi forces; 
Whereas, according to the United Nations Office of the High 
Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 10,000 Yemeni 
civilians have been killed in this conflict since 2015; 
Whereas the Saudi-led Arab Coalition has worked to improve 
their targeting processes and capabilities aimed at reduc-
ing unintended civilian casualties, and convened a Joint 
Incident Assessment Team to investigate the coalition’s 
adherence to the laws of armed conflict; 
Whereas the war in Yemen has contributed to a humani-
tarian crisis in Yemen, leading to an April 2017 an-
nouncement by the World Food Program that Yemen is 
on the brink of ‘‘full-scale famine’’, with approximately 
7,000,000 Yemenis, including 2,200,000 children, being 
classified as ‘‘severely food insecure’’; 
Whereas over 500,000 new cholera cases have been detected 
in Yemen, and approximately 2,000 people have died 
from cholera-related issues; 
Whereas the United States remains the largest donor of hu-
manitarian assistance in Yemen; 
Whereas parties to the conflict continue to obstruct access by 
journalists and humanitarian organizations seeking to 
provide assistance; 
Whereas according to the Department of State’s Country Re-
ports on Terrorism 2016, the conflict between Saudi-led 
Arab Coalition and the Houthi-Saleh alliance is counter-
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productive to ongoing efforts by the United States to 
pursue Al Qaeda and its associated forces; 
Whereas according to the intelligence community’s (as such 
term is defined in section 3(4) of the National Security 
Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4))) 2017 Worldwide 
Threat Assessment, ‘‘AQAP and ISIS’s branch in Yemen 
have exploited the conflict and the collapse of government 
authority to gain new recruits and allies and expand their 
influence’’; and 
Whereas to date, Congress has not enacted specific legislation 
authorizing the use of military force against parties par-
ticipating in the Yemeni civil war that are not otherwise 
subject to the Authorization of Use of Military Force 
(Public Law 107–40) or the Authorization of Use of Mili-
tary Force in Iraq (Public Law 107–243): Now, there-
fore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) expresses the urgent need for a political solution 
in Yemen consistent with United Nations Security Coun-
cil Resolution 2216 (UNSCR 2216), or otherwise agreed 
to by the parties; 
(2) denounces the conduct of activities in Yemen 
and areas affected by the conflict that are, directly or in-
directly, inconsistent with the laws of armed conflict, in-
cluding the deliberate targeting of civilian populations or 
the use of civilians as human shields; 
(3) calls on all parties to the conflict to increase ef-
forts to adopt all necessary and appropriate measures to
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prevent civilian casualties and to increase humanitarian 
access; 
(4) supports the Saudi-led Arab Coalition’s commit-
ments to abide by their no-strike list and restricted tar-
get list and improve their targeting capabilities; 
(5) condemns Iranian activities in Yemen in viola-
tion of UNSCR 2216, and calls on all responsible coun-
tries to take appropriate and necessary measures against 
the Government of Iran, including the interdiction of 
Iranian weapons to the Houthis, and the bilateral and 
multilateral application of sanctions against Iran for its 
violations of UNSCR 2216; 
(6) encourages other governments to join in pro-
viding the resources necessary to address the humani-
tarian crisis; and 
(7) calls on all parties to the conflict to allow for 
unobstructed access for humanitarian organizations, 
human rights investigators, medical relief personnel, and 
journalists. 
Attest: 
Clerk.