I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1654 
To authorize the direct provision of defense articles, defense services, and 
related training to the Kurdistan Regional Government, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 26, 2015 
Mr. ROYCE (for himself, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. NUNES, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. 
MCCAUL, Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. 
CHABOT, Ms. MENG, Mr. POE of Texas, Ms. GABBARD, Mr. ROHR-
ABACHER, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina, Mr. 
KINZINGER of Illinois, Mr. COOK, Mr. DESANTIS, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. 
PERRY, Mr. MARINO, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. 
HUNTER, Mr. ROONEY of Florida, Mr. TURNER, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. 
ZINKE, Mr. POLIS, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. CONAWAY, 
Mr. VAN HOLLEN, and Mr. ISSA) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To authorize the direct provision of defense articles, defense 
services, and related training to the Kurdistan Regional 
Government, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Since 2011, the terrorist group now known 
as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), 
has rapidly expanded, now possessing greater fund-
ing, more personnel, and heavier weapons than any 
other terrorist force. 
(2) ISIL has threatened to continue attacking 
United States persons and interests and has an 
apocalyptic vision for a larger confrontation with the 
United States and its allies in the Middle East. 
(3) According to the United States intelligence 
community, approximately 20,000 to 30,000 ISIL 
fighters operate in Iraq and Syria, an estimated 
3,000 of which are believed to have western pass-
ports. 
(4) ISIL finances itself through looting, smug-
gling, taxes, oil sales, kidnapping, and human traf-
ficking. 
(5) According to United States officials, ISIL 
captured approximately 1,500 Humvees, a number 
of other modern armored vehicles and transport 
trucks, over 50 long-range Global Positioning Sys-
tem (GPS)-guided artillery pieces, a substantial 
number of artillery shells, a large quantity of small 
arms, approximately 4,000 heavy machine guns, and 
other weapons from the Iraqi Security Forces in 
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June 2014, and has also reportedly captured a num-
ber of other weapons and vehicles from Bashar al- 
Assad’s forces in Syria. 
(6) The rapidly deteriorating humanitarian sit-
uation in Iraq caused by ISIL advances in Iraq and 
Syria has resulted in approximately 2,000,000 refu-
gees and internally displaced people from Syria and 
Iraq taking refuge in the Iraqi Kurdistan region. 
The Kurdistan Regional Government is facing a hu-
manitarian and budget crisis while defending itself 
from ISIL. 
(7) 
The 
Kurdistan 
Regional 
Government 
(KRG) is the democratically elected government of 
the Kurdistan Region in Iraq, and Iraqi Kurds have 
been a reliable and stable partner of the United 
States. 
(8) The Iraqi constitution guarantees the right 
of Iraqi regions, such as Iraqi Kurdistan, to main-
tain ‘‘internal security forces for the region such as 
police, security forces, and guards of the region’’. 
(9) The Kurdish Peshmerga forces are officially 
organized under the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs 
and commanded by the Minister of Peshmerga, who 
reports to the President of the Kurdistan Regional 
Government. 
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(10) ISIL has positioned its forces along a 650- 
mile border with the Kurdistan Regional Govern-
ment’s Peshmerga forces. 
(11) ISIL has employed captured armored vehi-
cles, long-range artillery, and heavy weapons in at-
tacking thinly stretched Kurdish forces along the 
border. 
(12) United States airstrikes against ISIL tar-
gets have helped stall the terrorist organization’s ad-
vance on territory held by Kurdish forces, but have 
not proven to be militarily decisive against ISIL. 
(13) The United States and its allies have pro-
vided the resupply of various small arms and train-
ing to Peshmerga forces since June 2014. 
(14) Such resupply efforts, to comply with 
United States law, must be approved and coordi-
nated through the Government of Iraq. In the initial 
phase of the resupply effort, the Government of Iraq 
constrained and delayed the emergency supply of 
weapons to the Kurdistan Regional Government. 
(15) The Peshmerga forces continue to lack the 
arms and battle-ready armored vehicles necessary to 
take significant offensive action against ISIL forces, 
leading to their requests for such assistance. 
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(16) The possession of armored vehicles, anti- 
armor weapons, long-range artillery, and other weap-
ons is consistent with the Kurdistan Regional Gov-
ernment’s constitutional right to defend itself 
against the clear and present danger posed by ISIL. 
(17) A strong Peshmerga force is essential to 
countering the ISIL threat to Iraq, the region, and 
United States interests. 
(18) The longer ISIL’s sanctuary remains 
largely unchallenged, the more time it will have to 
reinforce its positions, and plan attacks against 
United States interests. 
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) defeating the Islamic State in Iraq and the 
Levant (ISIL) is critical to maintaining a unified 
Iraq in which all faiths and ethnicities are afforded 
equal protection and full integration into the Iraqi 
government and society; 
(2) the people of Kurdistan face an urgent and 
deadly threat from ISIL which the Iraqi Security 
Forces, of which the Peshmerga are a component, 
are currently unable to match in armaments; 
(3) any outstanding issues between the Govern-
ment of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Govern-
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ment should be resolved by the two parties expedi-
tiously to allow for a resumption of normal relations; 
and 
(4) ISIL’s recent advances and continued 
growth present an imminent threat to Iraqi 
Kurdistan, the rest of Iraq and the Middle East, 
and international security. 
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It shall be the policy of the United States to directly 
provide the Kurdistan Regional Government with ad-
vanced conventional weapons, training, and defense serv-
ices, on an emergency and temporary basis, to more effec-
tively partner with the United States and other inter-
national coalition members to defeat the Islamic State in 
Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). 
SEC. 4. TEMPORARY EMERGENCY AUTHORIZATION OF DE-
FENSE ARTICLES, DEFENSE SERVICES, AND 
RELATED 
TRAINING 
DIRECTLY 
TO 
THE 
KURDISTAN REGIONAL GOVERNMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The President should consult with 
the Government of Iraq in carrying out the authority pro-
vided in subsection (b). 
(b) AUTHORIZATION.— 
(1) MILITARY ASSISTANCE.—The President is 
authorized to provide defense articles, defense serv-
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ices, and related training directly to the Kurdistan 
Regional Government for the purpose of supporting 
international coalition efforts against the Islamic 
State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or any suc-
cessor group. 
(2) DEFENSE EXPORTS.—The President is au-
thorized to issue licenses authorizing United States 
exporters to export defense articles, defense services, 
and related training directly to the Kurdistan Re-
gional Government. For purposes of processing ap-
plications for such export licenses, the President is 
authorized to accept End Use Certificates approved 
by the Kurdistan Regional Government. 
(3) TYPES OF ASSISTANCE.—Assistance author-
ized under paragraph (1) and exports authorized 
under paragraph (2) may include anti-tank and anti- 
armor weapons, armored vehicles, long-range artil-
lery, crew-served weapons and ammunition, secure 
command and communications equipment, body 
armor, helmets, logistics equipment, excess defense 
articles and other military assistance that the Presi-
dent determines to be appropriate. 
(c) RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING AUTHORITIES; CON-
DITIONS OF ELIGIBILITY.— 
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(1) RELATIONSHIP
TO
EXISTING
AUTHORI-
TIES.—Assistance 
authorized 
under 
subsection 
(b)(1) and licenses for exports authorized under sub-
section (b)(2) shall be provided pursuant to the ap-
plicable provisions of the Arms Export Control Act 
(22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.) and the Foreign Assistance 
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.), notwith-
standing any requirement in such applicable provi-
sions of law that a recipient of assistance of the type 
authorized under subsection (b)(1) shall be a coun-
try or international organization. 
(2) CONDITIONS OF ELIGIBILITY.—In addition 
to such other provisions as the President may re-
quire, no defense article, defense service, or related 
training may be provided to the Kurdistan Regional 
Government under the authority of subsection (b)(1) 
or (b)(2) unless the Kurdistan Regional Government 
agrees that— 
(A) it will not provide any such defense ar-
ticle, defense service, or related training to any-
one who is not an officer, employee, or agent of 
the Kurdistan Regional Government, and 
(B) it will not use or permit the use of any 
such defense article, defense service, or related 
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training for purposes other than the purposes 
for which it was provided, 
unless the consent of the President has first been 
obtained. 
(d) REPORT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 
shall submit to the appropriate congressional com-
mittees a report on the following: 
(A) The anticipated defense articles, de-
fense services, and related training to be pro-
vided under the authority of subsections (b)(1) 
and (b)(2). 
(B) A timeline for the provision of such de-
fense articles, defense services, and related 
training. 
(C) A description of mechanisms and pro-
cedures for end-use monitoring of such defense 
articles, defense services, and related training. 
(D) How such defense articles, defense 
services, and related training would contribute 
to the foreign policy and national security of 
the United States, as well as impact security in 
the region. 
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(2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 
‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 
Committee on Appropriations, and the Com-
mittee on Armed Services of the House of Rep-
resentatives; and 
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 
the Committee on Appropriations, and the 
Committee on Armed Services of the Senate. 
(e) NOTIFICATION.—The President should provide 
notification to the Government of Iraq prior to defense 
articles, defense services, or related training being pro-
vided to the Kurdistan Regional Government under the 
authority of subsection (b)(1) or (b)(2). 
(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘de-
fense article’’, ‘‘defense service’’, and ‘‘training’’ have the 
meanings given those terms in section 47 of the Arms Ex-
port Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2794). 
(g) TERMINATION.—The authority to provide defense 
articles, defense services, and related training under sub-
section (b)(1) and the authority to issue licenses for ex-
ports authorized under subsection (b)(2) shall terminate 
on the date that is 3 years after the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
Æ 
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