S.Amdt. 4171

SA 4171. Mr. PERDUE (for himself and Mr. Johnson) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 2943, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2017 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 E of title XII, add the following:

SEC. 1236. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON RUSSIAN MILITARY AGGRESSION.

(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) On May 25, 1972, the United States and the Soviet Union
signed the Agreement Between the Government of The United
States of America and the Government of The Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics on the Prevention of Incidents On and
Over the

[[Page S3202]]

High Seas (the ``Agreement''). Russia and the United States
remain parties to the Agreement.
(2) Article IV of the Agreement provides that ``Commanders
of aircraft of the Parties shall use the greatest caution and
prudence in approaching aircraft and ships of the other Party
operating on and over the high seas, and . . . shall not
permit simulated attacks by the simulated use of weapons
against aircraft and ships, or performance of various
aerobatics over ships''.
(3) On January 25, 2016, a Russian Su-27 air-superiority
fighter flew within 15 feet of a United States Air Force RC-
135U aircraft flying a routine patrol in international
airspace over the Black Sea.
(4) On April 11, 2016, the USS DONALD COOK, an Arleigh-
Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, was repeatedly buzzed
by Russian Su-24 attack aircraft while operating in the
Baltic Sea. United States officials described the low-passes
as having a ``simulated attack profile''.
(5) On April 12, 2014, a Russian Su-24 again conducted
close-range low altitude passes for about 90 minutes near the
DONALD COOK.
(6) The United States European Command expressed ``deep
concerns'' about the April 11 and 12, 2016, Russian close-
range passes over the DONALD COOK and stated that the
maneuvers were ``unprofessional and unsafe''.
(7) On April 14, 2016, a Russian Su-27 barrel-rolled over a
United States reconnaissance aircraft operating in
international airspace over the Baltic Sea, at one point
coming within 50 feet of the United States plane. The
Pentagon condemned the maneuver as ``erratic and
aggressive''.
(8) On April 20, 2016, Russian Permanent Representative to
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Alexander
Grushko accused United States military aircraft and vessels
operating in international waters as attempting ``to exercise
military pressure on Russia'' and promised to ``take all
necessary measures [and] precautions, to compensate for these
attempts to use military force''.
(9) On April 29, 2016, another Russian Su-27 performed
another barrel-roll over a United States Air Force RC-135
reconnaissance plane, this time coming within approximately
100 feet of the aircraft.
(10) The commander of the United States Cyber Command,
Admiral Mike Rogers, warned Congress during a Senate hearing
that Russia and China can now launch crippling cyberattacks
on the electric grid and other critical infrastructures of
the United States.
(11) Russia's military build-up and increasing Anti-Access/
Area Denial capabilities in Kaliningrad and its expanded
operations in the Black Sea, the eastern Mediterranean Sea,
and in Syria aim to deny United States access to key areas of
Eurasia and often pose direct challenges to stated United
States interests.
(12) The United States has determined that in 2015, Russia
continued to be in violation of obligations under the Treaty
between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics on the Elimination of their Intermediate-
Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (the ``INF Treaty''), signed
in Washington, D.C. on December 8, 1987, and entered into
force June 1, 1988, not to possess, produce, or flight-test a
ground-launched cruise missile with a range capability of 500
km to 5,500 km, or to possess or produce launchers of such
missiles.
(13) Russia is adding multiple, independently targetable
reentry vehicles or MIRVs to existing deployed road-mobile
SS-27 and submarine-launched SS-N-32 missiles thereby
doubling the number of its strategic nuclear warheads and
exceeding the 1,550 permitted under the Treaty between the
United States of America and the Russian Federation on
Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of
Strategic Offensive Arms (the ``New START Treaty''), signed
April 8, 2010, and entered into force February 5, 2011
(14) General Philip Breedlove, Commander of United States
European Command, stated that ``we face a resurgent and
aggressive Russia, and as we have continued to witness these
last two years, Russia continues to seek to extend its
influence on its periphery and beyond''.
(b) Sense of Congress.--Congress--
(1) condemns the recent dangerous and unprofessional
Russian intercepts of United States-flagged aircraft and
vessels;
(2) calls on the Government of the Russian Federation to
cease provocative military maneuvers that endanger United
States forces and those of its allies;
(3) calls on the United States, its European allies, and
the international community to continue to apply pressure on
the Government of the Russian Federation to cease its
provocative international behavior; and
(4) reaffirms the right of the United States to operate
military aircraft and vessels in international airspace and
waters.
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