HR 2956 EHRFS
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2956
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 16, 2007
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
AN ACT
To require the Secretary of Defense to commence the reduction of the number of United States Armed Forces in Iraq to a limited presence by April 1, 2008, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107-243), enacted into law on October 16, 2002, authorized the President to use the Armed Forces as the President determined necessary and appropriate in order to defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by the Government of Iraq at that time;
(2) the Government of Iraq which was in power at the time the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 was enacted into law has been removed from power and its leader indicted, tried, convicted, and executed by the new freely-elected democratic Government of Iraq;
(3) the current Government of Iraq does not pose a threat to the United States or its interests; and
(4) after more than four years of valiant efforts by members of the Armed Forces and United States civilians, the Government of Iraq must now be responsible for Iraq's future course.
SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF ARMED FORCES IN IRAQ AND TRANSITION TO A LIMITED PRESENCE OF THE ARMED FORCES IN IRAQ.
(a) Requirement- The Secretary of Defense shall commence the reduction of the number of Armed Forces in Iraq beginning not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and shall complete the reduction and transition to a limited presence of the Armed Forces in Iraq by not later than April 1, 2008.
(b) Reduction and Transition To Be Carried Out in a Safe and Orderly Manner- The reduction of the number of Armed Forces in Iraq and transition to a limited presence of the Armed Forces in Iraq required by subsection (a) shall be implemented in a safe and orderly manner, with maximum attention paid to protection of the Armed Forces that are being redeployed from Iraq.
(c) Reduction and Transition to Further Comprehensive Strategy- The reduction of the number of Armed Forces in Iraq and transition to a limited presence of the Armed Forces in Iraq required by subsection (a) shall further be implemented as part of the comprehensive United States strategy for Iraq required by section 4 of this Act.
SEC. 4. COMPREHENSIVE UNITED STATES STRATEGY FOR IRAQ.
(a) Strategy Required- Not later than January 1, 2008, the President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a comprehensive United States strategy for Iraq.
(b) Matters To Be Included- The strategy required by subsection (a) shall include the following:
(1) A discussion of United States national security interests in Iraq and the broader Middle East region and the diplomatic, political, economic, and military components of a comprehensive strategy to maintain and advance such interests as the Armed Forces are redeployed from Iraq pursuant to section 3 of this Act.
(2) A justification of the minimum force levels required to protect United States national security interests in Iraq after April 1, 2008, including a description of the specific missions of the Armed Forces to be undertaken. The justification shall include--
(A) the projected number of Armed Forces necessary to carry out the missions;
(B) the projected annual cost of the missions; and
(C) the expected duration of the missions.
(3) As part of the justification required by paragraph (2), the President shall, at a minimum, address whether it is necessary for the Armed Forces to carry out the following missions:
(A) Protecting United States diplomatic facilities and United States citizens, including members of the Armed Forces who are engaged in carrying out other missions.
(B) Serving in roles consistent with customary diplomatic positions.
(C) Engaging in actions to disrupt and eliminate al-Qaeda and its affiliated organizations in Iraq.
(D) Training and equipping members of the Iraqi Security Forces.
(4) Specific plans for diplomatic initiatives to engage United States allies and others in the region to bring stability to Iraq.
(c) Update of Strategy- Not later than July 1, 2008, and every 90 days thereafter, the President shall transmit to the appropriate congressional committees an update of the strategy required by subsection (a), including a description of the number of Armed Forces deployed to Iraq and the missions for which such Armed Forces are so deployed.
(d) Form- The strategy required by subsection (a) and each update of the strategy required by subsection (c) shall be transmitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex, if necessary.
(e) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined- In this section, the term `appropriate congressional committees' means--
(1) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Appropriations, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Appropriations, and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
SEC. 5. ARMED FORCES DEFINED.
In this Act, the term `Armed Forces' has the meaning given the term in section 101 of title 10, United States Code.
Passed the House of Representatives July 12, 2007.
Attest:
Clerk.110th CONGRESS1st SessionH. R. 2956AN ACTTo require the Secretary of Defense to commence the reduction of the number of United States Armed Forces in Iraq to a limited presence by April 1, 2008, and for other purposes
LORRAINE C. MILLER,
Clerk.
U.S. Congress - Text of H.R.2956 as Referred in Senate Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act
