IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 77 
Directing the President pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution 
to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities in the Syrian 
Arab Republic that have not been authorized by Congress. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 21, 2019 
Ms. GABBARD submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Directing the President pursuant to section 5(c) of the War 
Powers Resolution to remove United States Armed 
Forces from hostilities in the Syrian Arab Republic that 
have not been authorized by Congress. 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), 
SECTION 1. REMOVAL OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES 
FROM HOSTILITIES IN THE SYRIAN ARAB RE-
PUBLIC THAT HAVE NOT BEEN AUTHORIZED 
BY CONGRESS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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•HCON 77 IH 
(1) Congress has the sole power to declare war 
under article I, section 8 of the Constitution. 
(2) Congress has not declared war with respect 
to, or provided any specific statutory authorization 
for, United States military participation in any ac-
tivity related to securing, guarding, possessing, prof-
iting off of, or developing the oil fields of the Syrian 
Arab Republic. 
(3) President Donald Trump stated on October 
27, 2019, regarding Syria that ‘‘we are leaving sol-
diers to secure the oil. Now, we may have to fight 
for the oil. That’s OK. Maybe somebody else wants 
the oil, in which case they have a hell of a fight.’’ 
and that ‘‘it can help us, because we should be able 
to take some also. And what I intend to do, perhaps, 
is make a deal with an ExxonMobil or one of our 
great companies to go in there and do it properly. 
Right now it’s not big. It’s big oil underground but 
it’s not big oil up top.’’. 
(4) When asked by CNN on October 28, 2019, 
whether the United States will prevent any Russian 
or Syrian Government forces from gaining access to 
the oil, Secretary of Defense Esper said, ‘‘The short 
answer is yes, it presently does.’’. 
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•HCON 77 IH 
(5) Section 8(c) of the War Powers Resolution 
(50 U.S.C. 1547(c)) defines the introduction of 
United States Armed Forces to include ‘‘the assign-
ment of members of such armed forces to command, 
coordinate, participate in the movement of, or ac-
company the regular or irregular military forces of 
any foreign country or government when such mili-
tary forces are engaged, or there exists an imminent 
threat that such forces will become engaged, in hos-
tilities.’’. 
(6) Section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution 
(50 U.S.C. 1544(c)) states that ‘‘at any time that 
United States Armed Forces are engaged in hos-
tilities outside the territory of the United States, its 
possessions and territories without a declaration of 
war or specific statutory authorization, such forces 
shall be removed by the President if the Congress so 
directs’’. 
(b) REMOVAL OF ARMED FORCES.—Pursuant to sec-
tion 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 
1544(c)), Congress hereby directs the President to remove 
United States Armed Forces from hostilities in the Syrian 
Arab Republic, except for United States Armed Forces en-
gaged in operations directed at al Qaeda or associated 
forces, not later than 60 days after the date of the adop-
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•HCON 77 IH 
tion of this concurrent resolution, unless a declaration of 
war or specific authorization for such use of United States 
Armed Forces has been enacted into law. 
(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this con-
current resolution may be construed— 
(1) to limit, expand, or otherwise modify the 
scope of the Authorization for Use of Military Force 
(Public Law 107–40; 50 U.S.C. 1541 note); or 
(2) consistent with section 8(a)(1) of the War 
Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C. 1547(a)(1)), to au-
thorize the use of military force. 
Æ 
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