H. Res. 691
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,
June 25, 2004.
Whereas in April 2003, the United States Armed Forces and
other Coalition forces liberated the people of Iraq from
the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein;
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 1483
(May 22, 2003) and the laws and usages of war author-
ized the Coalition Provisional Authority to govern Iraq on
a temporary basis;
Whereas the Coalition Provisional Authority established an
Iraqi Governing Council, broadly representative of the
major geographic, ethnic, and religious groupings of Iraq,
as well as a Cabinet, to assist in the governing of Iraq,
and the Council was recognized by many members of the
international community as a legitimate voice of the Iraqi
people;
Whereas the United States and other Coalition members, in
response to the desire of the Iraqi people for early self-
government, worked with the Iraqi Governing Council to
accelerate the transfer of power to the Iraqi people, with
sovereignty to be transferred no later than the end of
June 2004;
Whereas the Coalition Provisional Authority and the Iraqi
Governing Council on March 8, 2004, agreed upon a Law
•HRES 691 EH
of Administration for the State of Iraq for the Transi-
tional Period that strongly protects the civil and political
rights of Iraqis;
Whereas that Law and its Annex provide for a transition of
power to an Iraqi Interim Government, for elections by
the end of January 2005, for a Transitional National As-
sembly, which shall form an Iraqi Transitional Govern-
ment and provide for the drafting and adoption of a per-
manent constitution, and, by the end of 2005, for a gov-
ernment chosen under the new constitution;
Whereas the Iraqi people have begun electing local officials
in parts of Iraq under Coalition auspices and will have
the opportunity to express their will in free and meaning-
ful national elections for the first time in Iraq’s history;
Whereas the United Nations Secretary General appointed a
Special Adviser to conduct political consultations aimed
at putting in place an Interim Government to assume
sovereignty over Iraq;
Whereas the Iraqi Governing Council made recommendations
about the composition of the Interim Government, after
which, when the recommendations were accepted by the
Coalition Provisional Authority, the Council dissolved
itself;
Whereas on June 8, 2004, the United Nations Security
Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1546, welcoming
the formation and forthcoming ‘‘assumption of full re-
sponsibility and authority by a fully sovereign and inde-
pendent Interim Government of Iraq’’ and authorizing
the multinational force under unified command to con-
tinue its activities;
•HRES 691 EH
Whereas the Coalition Provisional Authority will dissolve at
the end of June 2004 and will not be replaced;
Whereas members of the United States Armed Forces, a total
force consisting of active, reserve, and National Guard
personnel, have performed their mission with great skill
and courage, in the process being awarded at least 18
Distinguished Service Crosses, 6 Distinguished Flying
Crosses, 133 Silver Stars, 16,551 Bronze Stars, and
4,161 Purple Hearts;
Whereas, as of June 23, 2004, 833 members of the United
States Armed Forces, approximately 100 members of the
Coalition forces, and many members of the Iraqi security
services, have given their lives to advance the cause of
liberty in Iraq, and thousands of members of the United
States Armed Forces and Coalition forces, and many
members of the Iraqi security services, have suffered
wounds for that cause;
Whereas the families of American soldiers, sailors, airmen,
Marines, and Coast Guardsmen have made and continue
to make enormous sacrifices for their country;
Whereas in addition, Coalition forces, civilians employed by
or assisting the Coalition Provisional Authority, the Iraqi
government and its employees, international organiza-
tions, and American and other international volunteers,
as well as large numbers of ordinary Iraqis, have made
and continue to make enormous efforts to reconstruct the
country and improve the lives of the Iraqi people;
Whereas Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, III, Presidential
Envoy to Iraq and Administrator of the Coalition Provi-
sional Authority, has ably advanced the international coa-
lition’s goals in Iraq of transforming Iraq into a safe, se-
•HRES 691 EH
country and commitment to the highest ideals and tradi-
tions of the American people;
(4) expresses its gratitude to the families of United
States Armed Forces personnel, especially the families of
those who have lost loved ones in Operation Iraqi Free-
dom and of those wounded in the service of their coun-
try, for their sacrifices;
(5) expresses its condolences to the families of the
innocent Iraqis who have been killed or wounded during
the conflict, including those who were victimized by the
illegal and terrorist tactics of the enemy, and despite the
concerted efforts by the Coalition forces to minimize ci-
vilian casualties;
(6) expresses its gratitude to the Coalition forces,
the Coalition Provisional Authority, the Iraqi Governing
Council, the current Iraqi cabinet and government offi-
cials, and the many international bodies and voluntary
organizations which have come to the aid of the people
of Iraq in an effort to help them address the con-
sequences of decades of misrule by the former regime of
Saddam Hussein, as well as to the families of those men-
tioned in this paragraph, who have been lost in Iraq;
(7) offers its continued support to the United
States Armed Forces, civilians associated with the
United States Government, Coalition forces, and Iraqi
•HRES 691 EH
security forces who continue to bear the burden of at-
tacks from former regime elements, foreign and Iraqi
terrorists, and other criminals who are attempting to un-
dermine the interests of the Iraqi people and thwart
their evident desire to live in peace;
(8) calls on the entire international community to
promote the welfare of the Iraqi people by rendering, in
addition to the generous assistance provided by the
American people and, in varying degrees, by some na-
tions, immediate, tangible, and generous assistance to
the Iraqi people in the reconstruction of their nation, in-
cluding, in response to requests from the Iraqi govern-
ment coordinated with the command of the multinational
forces, forces capable of assisting in the provision of se-
curity to the Iraqi people;
(9) reaffirms—
(A) that the United States Armed Forces oper-
ating in Iraq after June 30, 2004, will remain
under the full authority, direction, and control of
their American commanders; and
(B) the need to ensure that such Armed
Forces will possess all necessary authority to fulfill
their mission effectively and to provide for their
operational safety; and
•HRES 691 EH
(10) urges the people of the United States and of
other countries to celebrate, on June 30, 2004, the res-
toration of freedom to the people of Iraq through the ef-
forts of the peoples of the United States, the Coalition,
and Iraq.
Attest:
Clerk.