IA
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. J. RES. 51
Authorizing the use of United States Armed Forces against the regime in
power in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to meet certain objectives.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 5, 1999
Mr. BATEMAN introduced the following joint resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on International Relations
JOINT RESOLUTION
Authorizing the use of United States Armed Forces against
the regime in power in the Federal Republic of Yugo-
slavia to meet certain objectives.
Whereas those who govern the Federal Republic of Yugo-
slavia have for most of this decade set upon a course of
aggression and barbarism as an instrument to perpetuate
themselves in power;
Whereas they initiated a conflict with Slovenia, Croatia, and
Bosnia-Herzegovina in pursuit of policies of extreme na-
tionalism, akin to the policies of the Nazi regime in Ger-
many;
Whereas this regime by its conduct has made it clear that it
accepted, condoned, and actively supported ethnic cleans-
ing, rape, and terrorism as instruments of their policy;
•HJ 51 IH
Whereas after the lessons of Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia-
Herzegovina were unheeded, the regime of the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia undertook an effort to brutalize
and ultimately to destroy the Albanian ethnic majority of
the formerly autonomous province of Kosovo;
Whereas the history of the Balkans region has been, and
tragically continues to be, a cauldron wherein the security
and stability of Europe is jeopardized and the possibility
of worldwide conflict is induced;
Whereas many forcefully argue that the leadership of the
United States and our North Atlantic Treaty Organiza-
tion (NATO) allies have thus far performed miserably in
their response to this crisis, and the United States is now
confronted with certain realities that include the fact that
the President as Commander-in-Chief has committed
United States Armed Forces against the Federal Repub-
lic of Yugoslavia;
Whereas although there is an argument that the ongoing con-
flict with respect to Kosovo might have been avoided by
better policies, this does not alter the fact that the con-
flict exists and the elected representatives of the people
of the United States have a duty to address that reality;
Whereas the United States Congress may choose to declare
war against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, suspend
funding with respect to military action by United States
Armed Forces against the Federal Republic of Yugo-
slavia, or authorize both the military action and the ob-
jectives in pursuit of which American lives and treasure
are committed;
Whereas although the limited choices available are not attrac-
tive and whatever fault may be assigned for why the
•HJ 51 IH
United States is where it is and what should have been
done, it would be unconscionable for the United States
Congress not to express itself with respect to the matter;
Whereas for Congress to deny the reality of where we are and
to deny funding for future military action against the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is not a supportable pol-
icy decision, nor is it logical to resolve the issue by a con-
gressional declaration of war against the Federal Repub-
lic of Yugoslavia, which includes not only the republics of
Serbia and Montenegro but the former autonomous prov-
ince of Kosovo; and
Whereas the United States and especially the members of the
United States Armed Forces need and deserve a clear ar-
ticulation of our national policies on this matter and it
is vitally important that the Congress do so: Now, there-
fore, be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This joint resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Authoriza-
tion for Use of Military Force Against the Federal Repub-
lic of Yugoslavia Resolution’’.
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF UNITED STATES
ARMED FORCES.
(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The President is authorized to
use United States Armed Forces in conjunction with the
military forces of the member nations of the North Atlan-
tic Treaty Organization (NATO) in order to achieve the
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objectives described in subsection (b). The authorization
described in the preceding sentence shall include the use
of those Armed Forces and weapons systems most likely
to achieve the objectives described in subsection (b), with
the least casualties to United States and allied forces, in-
nocent civilians, and noncombatants.
(b) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives described in this
subsection are the following:
(1) To end the ethnic cleansing and terror-
ization of the ethnic Albanian population of Kosovo
who have been forced into refugee status outside of
Kosovo or who have been displaced from their homes
by the intolerable actions of the present regime in
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
(2) To establish a practical and enforceable
agreement for the return of the ethnic Albanian citi-
zens of Kosovo to their homes with assurances that
they can do so in safety, and with respect for basic
human rights, including the right to a freely elected
government in an autonomous province of Kosovo.
SEC. 3. LIMITATIONS ON NUMBER OF GROUND FORCES DE-
PLOYED FOR PEACEKEEPING PURPOSES AND
THE COSTS THEREOF.
(a) NUMBER OF GROUND FORCES.—The President
shall work to ensure that the United States contribution