Whereas on November 17, 2008, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari and United States Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker signed the Agreement Between the United States of America and the Republic of Iraq on the Withdrawal of United States Forces from Iraq and the Organization of Their Activities During Their Temporary Presence in Iraq (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Agreement’’);
Whereas the procedure followed by the Government of Iraq required the Agreement to be submitted to and approved by Parliament, the national legislature of the Republic of Iraq, which approved the Agreement in December 2008;
in contrast the Agreement has not been submitted by the President to the United States Congress for approval as contemplated by the Constitution;
Whereas the Agreement contemplates a timetable that could leave United States troops in Iraq until December 31, 2011, which would cost American taxpayers more than $360 billion based on current spending levels, money that can be drawn from the United States Treasury only by a congressionally authorized appropriation of funds;
Whereas the Agreement undermines the constitutional powers of the next president by subjecting United States military operations to the approval of the Iraqi government, notwithstanding that throughout history, United States troops have been subjected to foreign control in peace-keeping operations only where authorized under treaties ratified by the Senate;
Whereas the Agreement subjects thousands of private military contractors to Iraqi courts in the event that they are charged with crimes but does not specify the law to be applied or the procedural safeguards that must be observed by Iraqi courts to ensure due process and equal justice; and
Whereas President Bush’s claim that he alone is empowered by the Constitution to negotiate and conclude detailed arrangements that will institutionalize the bilateral relationship between the United States and Iraq without any involvement of the Congress reflects a profound misreading of the Constitution: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that—
(1) the Agreement Between the United States of America and the Republic of Iraq on the Withdrawal of United States Forces from Iraq and the Organization of Their Activities During Their Temporary Presence in Iraq (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Agreement’’) is not a genuine Status of Forces Agreement and lacks the force of law because it was formalized in a manner inconsistent with the requirements of the United States Constitution;
(2) Congress should consider the Agreement to be advisory in nature and should not be legally bound nor obligated to appropriate any of the funds necessary to carry out the terms of the Agreement;
(3) the House of Representatives should conduct hearings during the 111th Congress to determine, inter alia, whether to authorize and fund the Agreement or to reject the Agreement to the extent that it—
(A) contemplates the United States maintaining United States troops in Iraq until Dec. 31, 2011, at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars to the United States Treasury;
(B) subjects United States military operations to ‘‘the approval of the Iraqi government’’, by giving operational control to ‘‘joint mobile operations command centers’’ controlled by a joint American-Iraqi committee; and
(C) subjects thousands of private military contractors to Iraqi courts in the event that they are charged with serious crimes but does not specify what crimes are to be deemed ‘‘serious’’ and does not address the law to be applied or the procedural safeguards that must be observed by Iraqi courts to ensure due process and equal justice; and
(4) the House of Representatives should conduct hearings during the 111th Congress to determine the impact, if any, of the Agreement on the status of the nearly 50,000 Iraqi nationals held in preventive detention by the Iraqi Government and United States forces as well as any such foreign nationals in Iraq who have been designated as ‘‘protected persons’’ under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Whereas the procedure followed by the Government of Iraq required the Agreement to be submitted to and approved by Parliament, the national legislature of the Republic of Iraq, which approved the Agreement in December 2008;
in contrast the Agreement has not been submitted by the President to the United States Congress for approval as contemplated by the Constitution;
Whereas the Agreement contemplates a timetable that could leave United States troops in Iraq until December 31, 2011, which would cost American taxpayers more than $360 billion based on current spending levels, money that can be drawn from the United States Treasury only by a congressionally authorized appropriation of funds;
Whereas the Agreement subjects thousands of private military contractors to Iraqi courts in the event that they are charged with crimes but does not specify the law to be applied or the procedural safeguards that must be observed by Iraqi courts to ensure due process and equal justice; and
Whereas President Bush’s claim that he alone is empowered by the Constitution to negotiate and conclude detailed arrangements that will institutionalize the bilateral relationship between the United States and Iraq without any involvement of the Congress reflects a profound misreading of the Constitution: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that—
(1) the Agreement Between the United States of America and the Republic of Iraq on the Withdrawal of United States Forces from Iraq and the Organization of Their Activities During Their Temporary Presence in Iraq (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Agreement’’) is not a genuine Status of Forces Agreement and lacks the force of law because it was formalized in a manner inconsistent with the requirements of the United States Constitution;
(2) Congress should consider the Agreement to be advisory in nature and should not be legally bound nor obligated to appropriate any of the funds necessary to carry out the terms of the Agreement;
(3) the House of Representatives should conduct hearings during the 111th Congress to determine, inter alia, whether to authorize and fund the Agreement or to reject the Agreement to the extent that it—
(A) contemplates the United States maintaining United States troops in Iraq until Dec. 31, 2011, at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars to the United States Treasury;
(B) subjects United States military operations to ‘‘the approval of the Iraqi government’’, by giving operational control to ‘‘joint mobile operations command centers’’ controlled by a joint American-Iraqi committee; and
(C) subjects thousands of private military contractors to Iraqi courts in the event that they are charged with serious crimes but does not specify what crimes are to be deemed ‘‘serious’’ and does not address the law to be applied or the procedural safeguards that must be observed by Iraqi courts to ensure due process and equal justice; and
(4) the House of Representatives should conduct hearings during the 111th Congress to determine the impact, if any, of the Agreement on the status of the nearly 50,000 Iraqi nationals held in preventive detention by the Iraqi Government and United States forces as well as any such foreign nationals in Iraq who have been designated as ‘‘protected persons’’ under the Fourth Geneva Convention.
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