S.Amdt. 4621

SA 4621. Mrs. ERNST (for herself, Mr. Corker, and Mrs. Boxer)
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her 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 C of title XII, add the following:

SEC. 1224. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE PESHMERGA OF THE
KURDISTAN REGION OF IRAQ.

It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Peshmerga of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq have been
one of the most effective fighting forces in the military
campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham
(ISIS);
(2) the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham poses an acute
threat to the people and territorial integrity of Iraq,
including the Kurdistan Region, and the security and
stability of the Middle East;
(3) the severe budget shortfalls faced by both the
Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government are
hindering the effort to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and
al-Sham;
(4) the $415,000,000 pledged by the Department of Defense
to the Peshmerga in April 2016, in coordination with the
Government of Iraq, in addition to the $65,000,000 already
provided from the Iraq Train and Equip Fund, should be a
priority for the Department as part of the continued support
for the Peshmerga in the fight against the Islamic State of
Iraq and al-Sham;
(5) the Peshmerga should receive all weapons and equipment
that the United States agrees to provide uninterrupted and in
a timely manner;
(6) the Peshmerga require medium and heavy weaponry that
will allow them to defend the Peshmerga and their coalition
advisers against the increased use of vehicle-borne
improvised explosive devices by the Islamic State of Iraq and
al-Sham; and
(7) increased assistance to ensure the Peshmerga can
continue to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham is
vital to the liberation of Mosul, Iraq, to enhance the combat
medicine and logistical capabilities of the Peshmerga, for
the defense of internally displaced persons and refugees, and
for the defense of the coalition advisers of the Peshmerga.
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