SA 2966. Mr. KERRY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 1585, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2008 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle C of title XV, add the following:
SEC. 1535. POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES ON A VOTE BY THE PARLIAMENT OF IRAQ ON THE UNITED STATES MILITARY MISSION IN IRAQ.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Section 1314(d) of the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-28; 121 Stat. 125) states that ``he President of the United States, in respecting the sovereign rights of the nation of Iraq, shall direct the orderly redeployment of elements of U.S. forces from Iraq, if the components of the Iraqi government, acting in strict accordance with their respective powers given by the Iraqi Constitution, reach a consensus as recited in a resolution, directing a redeployment of U.S. forces''.
(2) President George W. Bush stated on April 24, 2007, that if the Government of Iraq ``said get out now, we're tired of the coalition presence, U.S.'s presence is counterproductive, we would leave''.
(3) In May 2007, a majority of the members of the Parliament of Iraq reportedly signed draft legislation calling for a timetable for the withdrawal of United States forces from Iraq.
(b) Policy of the United States.--It shall be the policy of the United States to request that the Prime Minister of Iraq submit to the Parliament of Iraq a resolution stating that it is in the interests of the people of Iraq to transition the United States military mission in Iraq to (1) training, equipping, and providing logistic support to the Iraqi Security Forces, (2) engaging in targeted counterterrorism operations against al Qaeda, al Qaeda-affiliated groups, and other international terrorist organizations, and (3) protecting United States and Coalition personnel and infrastructure, and redeploy United States forces not necessary to complete such missions by not later than nine months after the date of the enactment of this Act.SA 2967. Mr. KERRY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 1585, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2008 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle C of title XV, add the following:
SEC. 1535. CONDITIONING OF UNITED STATES SUPPORT FOR GOVERNMENT OF IRAQ ON MEETING KEY POLITICAL BENCHMARKS.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) On November 27, 2006, Prime Minister of Iraq Nuri al-Maliki stated that ``he crisis is political, and the ones who can stop the cycle of aggravation and bloodletting of innocents are the politicians''.
(2) On January 7, 2007, President George W. Bush stated in a speech to the Nation that the purpose of sending more troops to Iraq was to provide ``breathing space'' to the Iraqis to achieve national reconciliation, and that ``America will hold the Iraqi government to the benchmarks it has announced''.
(3) On September 4, 2007, the Government Accountability Office reported that the Government of Iraq had met only one of the eight legislative benchmarks necessary for political reconciliation.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the United States strategy in Iraq should be conditioned on the Government of Iraq meeting key political benchmarks, as told to members of Congress by the President, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and reflected in the commitments of the Government of Iraq to the United States and to the international community, including--
(1) forming a Constitutional Review Committee and then completing the constitutional review;
(2) enacting and implementing legislation on de-Ba'aathification;
(3) enacting and implementing legislation to ensure the equitable distribution of hydrocarbon resources of the people of Iraq without regard to the sect or ethnicity of recipients, and enacting and implementing legislation to ensure that the energy resources of Iraq benefit Sunni Arabs, Shia Arabs, Kurds, and other Iraqi citizens in an equitable manner; and
(4) enacting and implementing legislation establishing an Independent High Electoral Commission, provincial elections law, provincial council authorities, and a date for provincial elections.
(c) Comptroller General Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress an independent report setting forth--
(1) the status of the achievement by the Government of Iraq of each of the benchmarks described in subsection (a)(3); and
(2) the Comptroller General's assessment of whether or not each benchmark has been met.
(d) Withdrawal of Political Support.--If in the report under subsection (c) the Comptroller General determines that the Government of Iraq has not met each of the benchmarks described in subsection (a)(3), the United States shall immediately withdraw political support for the Government of Iraq under Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and support efforts by the Iraqi Parliament to form a new government. Vote on that!
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