Title: Urging the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to honor their partnership with the United States.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution urges the Persian Gulf partners of the United States, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, to (1) work together with the United States to increase oil production to stabilize energy markets, (2) recognize U.S. contributions to their security, and (3) honor their lasting friendship with the United States.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1112 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1112

  Urging the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to 
            honor their partnership with the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 12, 2022

Mr. Malinowski (for himself, Ms. Spanberger, Mr. Allred, Mr. Kim of New 
  Jersey, Mr. Lieu, and Ms. Wild) submitted the following resolution; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Urging the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to 
            honor their partnership with the United States.

Whereas the United States, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab 
        Emirates have traditionally had a close partnership based on mutual 
        interests, security cooperation, the stability of oil markets, 
        information sharing, economic development, and other forms of 
        cooperation;
Whereas, on October 31, 1950, President Harry Truman stated that Saudi Arabia's 
        ``steadfast loyalty and good will, alike in times of stress as in days 
        of happiness and well-being, have ever been sources of pride and 
        pleasure to me and to the American people'';
Whereas, on May 24, 1977, President Jimmy Carter said, ``I don't believe there 
        is any other nation with whom we've had better friendship and a deeper 
        sense of cooperation than we've found in Saudi Arabia. . .Saudi Arabia 
        is a nation which has grown in many ways in the last few years in world 
        importance. Their supplies of energy are crucial to the well-being of 
        people in many nations. They produce their own oil for world consumption 
        beyond the level which perhaps would be best for them.'';
Whereas, on February 11, 1985, President Ronald Reagan said, ``The friendship 
        and cooperation between our governments and people are precious jewels 
        whose value we should never underestimate. The positive nature of our 
        relations demonstrates that cultural differences, as distinct as our 
        own, need not separate or alienate peoples from one another.'';
Whereas, on March 10, 2006, President George W. Bush stated, ``In order to win 
        the war on terror, we have got to strengthen our relationships and 
        friendships with moderate Arab countries in the Middle East. UAE is a 
        committed ally in the war on terror. They are a key partner for our 
        military in a critical region.'';
Whereas, on March 9, 2016, then Vice President Joe Biden underscored the strong 
        bilateral relationship between the United States and the United Arab 
        Emirates, calling the bond between the United Arab Emirates and the 
        United States ``one of the most significant in the region'';
Whereas, on April 21, 2016, President Barack Obama said, ``The fact of the 
        matter is, is that the friendship and cooperation that exist between the 
        United States and the Gulf countries has been consistent for decades. 
        During the course of our administration, the GCC countries have 
        extensively cooperated with us on counterterrorism, on curbing the 
        financing of terrorist activities.'';
Whereas the United States came to the aid of Persian Gulf allies following 
        Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990, including more 
        than 500,000 American troops deployed to Saudi Arabia as part of 
        Operation Desert Shield, protecting the territorial integrity of the 
        Kingdom and further solidifying the relationship between the United 
        States and Persian Gulf allies;
Whereas, like Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait that threatened the security 
        of United States Persian Gulf allies, Russian President Vladimir Putin 
        is executing a war of choice by invading Ukraine that threatens to upend 
        70 years of international laws and norms;
Whereas, since 1979, the United States has sold over $138,000,000,000 to Saudi 
        Arabia and over $26,000,000,000 to the United Arab Emirates in weapons, 
        defense services, and military training to assist both countries combat 
        security risks in the region, including from terrorism, nonstate actors, 
        and neighboring countries;
Whereas, since 2015, the United States has assisted the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 
        and the United Arab Emirates defend their territorial integrity against 
        Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, and other threats emanating from 
        Yemen, including al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula;
Whereas, following the September 14, 2019, attack on the Abqaiq oil facilities 
        in Saudi Arabia, the United States deployed approximately 3,000 troops 
        to Saudi Arabia, including fighter squadrons, an air expeditionary wing, 
        and other air defense personnel and equipment;
Whereas, in June 2021, President Joe Biden reported to Congress that there were 
        approximately 2,700 United States military forces in the Kingdom, 
        deployed and ``operating in coordination with the Government of the 
        Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, provide air and missile defense capabilities 
        and support the operation of United States fighter aircraft'';
Whereas, on September 11, 2021, Department of Defense Spokesman John Kirby said, 
        ``The Defense Department continues to maintain tens of thousands of 
        forces and a robust force posture in the Middle East representing some 
        of our most advanced air power and maritime capabilities, in support of 
        U.S. national interests and our regional partnerships.'';
Whereas the State Department licenses contractors that maintain and sustain the 
        Saudi Royal Air Force amid hostilities in Yemen and its continued 
        bombing campaign against Ansar Allah;
Whereas the United States currently has 2,000 American troops at Al-Dhafra Air 
        Base, United Arab Emirates, including drones and advanced F-35 fighters, 
        in order to assist the United Arab Emirates defend its territory;
Whereas, on January 24, 2022, and January 31, 2022, United States personnel 
        assisted the United Arab Emirates intercept ballistic missiles fired by 
        Ansar Allah in Yemen with United States-administered Patriot missile 
        defense batteries;
Whereas there are many factors contributing to the high price of oil, including 
        structural market issues that predate Russia's invasion of Ukraine and 
        uncertainty about global demand;
Whereas the agreement between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting 
        Countries (OPEC), led primarily by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and 
        Russia to maintain a steady, limited increase in monthly petroleum 
        production is also a major factor in the rising price of gasoline 
        worldwide;
Whereas, despite their close and long-lasting strategic relationship with the 
        United States, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have chosen not 
        to increase petroleum outputs beyond OPEC-agreed levels amid a major 
        increase in global fuel prices;
Whereas attempts by the White House to engage with United States Gulf partners 
        on potentially increasing petroleum production have gone unanswered, 
        with reports suggesting that the leaders of Saudi Arabia and United Arab 
        Emirates refused calls with President Joe Biden on the issue;
Whereas Article 2.B of OPEC's founding charter states ``the Organization shall 
        devise ways and means of ensuring the stabilization of prices in 
        international oil markets with a view to eliminating harmful and 
        unnecessary fluctuations'';
Whereas, following a decline in demand after the outbreak of the COVID-19 
        pandemic and a request from President Donald Trump, Saudi Arabia made 
        drastic changes to crude oil production and output in the face of 
        previous crises, including finalizing an OPEC deal in April 2020 that 
        slashed 9,700,000 barrels a day, or close to 10 percent of the world's 
        output;
Whereas, while the United States and the world move toward expanding the use of 
        clean energy, petroleum production should increase in the short term to 
        mitigate rising oil prices;
Whereas Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are understood by experts to 
        be the only countries with the ability to increase production that could 
        be felt by consumers worldwide;
Whereas Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have approximately a combined 
        additional 1,800,000 to 3,000,000 barrels a day of spare production 
        capacity; and
Whereas activating their spare production would increase supply more rapidly 
        than currently projected and help stabilize global crude prices: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives urges the Persian Gulf 
partners of the United States, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 
and the United Arab Emirates, to--
            (1) honor their lasting friendship with the United States;
            (2) recognize the United States contributions to their 
        security; and
            (3) work together with the United States in good faith to 
        increase oil production to stabilize energy markets.
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