Preservation of the United States Military Chain of Command Act of 1999

Preservation of the United States Military Chain of Command Act of 1999 - Prohibits U.S. armed forces from being placed under the command or control of any foreign national for participation in a United Nations (UN) operation: (1) unless the President certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that such forces will not be involved in combat; or (2) if the operation is authorized under chapter VII of the UN Charter. Prohibits U.S. armed forces from participating in conjunction with or in support of a UN operation unless specified requirements are met. Requires the Secretary of Defense to report biannually to the appropriate congressional committees on the service units of U.S. armed forces under the operational or tactical control of a foreign national, whether in an established regional alliance like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or in an ad hoc military coalition.

[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1607 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1607

  To ensure that the United States Armed Forces are not endangered by 
 placement under foreign command for military operations of the United 
                    Nations, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 21, 1999

 Mr. Ashcroft introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To ensure that the United States Armed Forces are not endangered by 
 placement under foreign command for military operations of the United 
                    Nations, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Preservation of the United States 
Military Chain of Command Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) United Nations peacekeeping and peace enforcement 
        operations inherently involve improvised command and control 
        structures that function poorly under the pressure of combat 
        situations, endangering the lives of personnel engaged in the 
        operations and undermining the objectives of the missions 
        involved.
            (2) The United Nations bureaucracy is poorly structured to 
        organize and administer complex military operations involving 
        combat.
            (3) A tested and reliable command structure is as essential 
        to the safety of members of the United States Armed Forces as 
        sophisticated weaponry and professional training.
            (4) To protect the integrity of the United States military 
        chain of command and ensure the highest possible level of 
        security for the United States Armed Forces, the United States 
        should not participate in military operations commanded or 
        controlled by the United Nations.

SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON PLACEMENT OF ARMED FORCES UNDER FOREIGN COMMAND 
              FOR A UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPING OR PEACE ENFORCEMENT 
              OPERATION.

    (a) Limitation on Placement for Operations Generally.--Members of 
the United States Armed Forces may not be placed under the command or 
operational control of any foreign national for participation in a 
United Nations operation unless the President certifies to the 
appropriate congressional committees that such members will not be 
involved in combat.
    (b) Prohibition on Placement for Certain Operations.--Members of 
the United States Armed Forces may not be placed under the command or 
operational control of any foreign national for participation in a 
United Nations operation authorized under chapter VII of the United 
Nations Charter.

SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON PARTICIPATION OF ARMED FORCES IN UNITED NATIONS 
              PEACEKEEPING OR PEACE ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Members of the United States Armed Forces may not 
participate in conjunction with or in support of a United Nations 
operation unless the following requirements are met:
            (1) The President has certified to the appropriate 
        congressional committees that the proposed participation of 
        such members in conjunction with or in support of the operation 
        is in the national security interests of the United States.
            (2) The President has certified to the appropriate 
        congressional committees that the United Nations has not 
        imposed or sought to impose any constraints on United States 
        participation in conjunction with or in support of the 
        operation, including limitations on the use of force by the 
        United States Armed Forces, the composition of the United 
        States Armed Forces participating in the operation, or tactics 
        employed by the United States Armed Forces to achieve mission 
        objectives, which could endanger the lives of the members of 
        the United States Armed Forces participating in the operation.
            (3) The President has certified to the appropriate 
        congressional committees that the United Slates Armed Forces 
        participating in conjunction with or in support of the 
        operation are fully equipped to defend themselves, to the 
        extent possible, under any contingency in the operation.
            (4) The Secretary of Defense has submitted to the 
        appropriate congressional committees a report identifying the 
        mission and structure of the operation, including an 
        identification of United States military objectives in the 
        operation, an overview of the United States Armed Forces to be 
        deployed to meet such objectives, and an assessment of 
        potential difficulties in command and control, logistics, and 
        interoperability of personnel and equipment which could 
        endanger the mission and the lives of members of the United 
        States Armed Forces.
    (b) Deadline for Meeting Requirements.--(1) Except as provided in 
paragraph (2), the requirements in subsection (a) shall be met with 
respect to the participation of the members of the United States Armed 
Forces in a United Nations operation not fewer than 15 days before the 
commencement of the participation of such members in the operation.
    (2) The President may, upon determining that an emergency exists 
which prevents meeting the requirements in subsection (a) within the 
time otherwise provided for in paragraph (1), meet the requirements at 
a later time, but in no event later than 48 hours after the 
commencement of the participation concerned.
    (c) Monthly Reports.--While members of the United States Armed 
Forces are participating in conjunction with or in support of a United 
Nations operation, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the 
appropriate congressional committees on a monthly basis an assessment 
of the following:
            (1) United States military objectives in the operation and 
        whether such objectives are being met.
            (2) The personnel strength of the operation, whether any 
        shortfall in such strength exists, and whether such shortfall, 
        if any, endangers members of the United States Armed Forces 
        participating in the operation.
            (3) An assessment of difficulties encountered in command 
        and control, logistics, and interoperability of personnel and 
        equipment.
            (4) Any combat activity of the operation and the 
        performance of command and control structures, logistical 
        operations, and interoperability of personnel and equipment 
        under such circumstances.

SEC. 5. BIANNUAL REPORTS ON ARMED FORCES UNDER FOREIGN COMMAND.

    (a) Reports Required.--Not later than January 1, 2000, and every 
six months thereafter, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the 
appropriate congressional committees a report on the service of units 
of the United States Armed Forces under the operational or tactical 
control of a foreign national, whether in an established regional 
alliance such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or in an ad hoc 
military coalition.
    (b) Elements.--Each report under subsection (a) shall set forth, 
for the six-month period ending on the date of the report, the 
following:
            (1) A description of the manner in which members of the 
        United States Armed Forces served under foreign nationals.
            (2) A description of any breakdown in the chain of command 
        during such service.
            (3) An analysis of any difficulties in the interoperability 
        of equipment and personnel in training and combat operations 
        during such service.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) United nations operation.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``United Nations 
                operation'' means a United Nations peacekeeping or 
                peace enforcement operation authorized and commanded or 
                controlled by the United Nations.
                    (B) Exclusion.--The term does not include an 
                operation authorized but not administered by the United 
                Nations.
            (2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the following:
                    (A) The Committees on Appropriations, Armed 
                Services, and Foreign Relations of the Senate.
                    (B) The Committees on Appropriations, Armed 
                Services, and International Relations of the House of 
                Representatives.
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