S.Amdt. 2779

SA 2779. Mr. BENNET submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 2282 proposed by Mr. Inhofe (for himself and Mr. McCain)
to the bill H.R. 5515, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2019
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 X, add the following:

SEC. 1052. LONG WARS STUDY GROUP.

(a) In General.--There is hereby established a working
group to be known as the ``Long Wars Study Group'' (in this
section referred to as the ``Group'').
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of the Group is to examine United
States engagement in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq in
an effort to identify lessons learned and make
recommendations for questions to be asked prior to future
decisions by Congress to authorize the use of military force
in conflicts that have the potential to develop into an
irregular war.
(c) Composition.--
(1) Membership.--The Group shall be composed of 8 members
appointed as follows:
(A) One member appointed by the chair of the Committee on
Armed Services of the Senate.
(B) One member appointed by the ranking minority member of
the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate.
(C) One member appointed by the chair of the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate.
(D) One member appointed by the ranking minority member of
the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
(E) One member appointed by the chair of the Committee on
Armed Services of the House of Representatives.
(F) One member appointed by the ranking minority member of
the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives.
(G) One member appointed by the chair of the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.
(H) One member appointed by the ranking minority member of
the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Co-chairs.--
(A) Designation by committee chairs.--The chair of the
Committee on Armed Services of the Senate, the chair of the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the chair of
the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives, and the chair of the Committee on Foreign
Affairs of the House of Representatives shall jointly
designate one member of the Group to serve as co-chair of the
Group.
(B) Designation by ranking minority members.--The ranking
minority member of the Committee on Armed Services of the
Senate, the ranking minority member of the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate, the ranking minority member
of the Committee Armed Services of the House of
Representatives, and the ranking minority member of the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives
shall jointly designate one member of the Group to serve as
co-chair of the Group.
(3) Period of appointment; vacancies.--Members shall be
appointed for the life of the Group. Any vacancy in the Group
shall be filled in the same manner as the original
appointment.
(d) Duties.--
(1) Review.--The Group shall review United States
involvement in the conflicts in Afghanistan (including
Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Freedom's Sentinel)
and Iraq (including Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New
Dawn), including military engagement, diplomatic engagement,
training and advising of local forces, reconstruction
efforts, and foreign assistance in such conflicts.
(2) Assessment and recommendations.--The Group shall--
(A) conduct a comprehensive assessment of United States
involvement in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq,
including--
(i) United States military, diplomatic, and political
efforts in the conflicts;
(ii) the effects of the conflicts on neighboring countries;
(iii) any regional and geopolitical threats to the United
States resulting from the conflicts;
(iv) the extent to which stated United States national
objectives for the conflicts were met;
(v) the effect of United States involvement in the
conflicts on the readiness of the United States Armed Forces;
(vi) the effect of United States involvement in the
conflicts on civil-military affairs in the United States;
(vii) the implications of the use of funds for overseas
contingency operations as a mechanism for funding United
States involvement in the conflicts; and
(viii) any other matters in connection with United States
involvement in the conflicts the Group considers appropriate;
(B) identify circumstances in which a conflict presents a
significant likelihood of developing into an irregular war;
and
(C) develop recommendations based on the assessment, as
well as any other information the Group considers
appropriate, for relevant questions to be asked during future
consideration by Congress of an authorization for use
military force in conflicts that have the potential to
develop into an irregular war.
(e) Cooperation From United States Government.--
(1) In general.--The Group shall receive the full and
timely cooperation of the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary
of State, and the Director of National Intelligence in
providing the Group with analyses, briefings, and other
information necessary for the discharge of the duties of the
Group.
(2) Liaison.--The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of
State, and the Director of National Intelligence shall each
designate at least one officer or employee of their
respective organizations to serve as a liaison officer to the
Group.
(f) Report.--
(1) Final report.--Not later than two years after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Group shall submit to the
President, the Secretary of Defense, the Committee on Armed
Services of the Senate, the Committee on Armed Services of
the House of Representatives, the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate, and the Committee on Foreign Affairs
of the House of Representatives a report on the findings,
conclusions, and recommendations of the Group under this
section. The report shall do each of the following:
(A) Provide an assessment of the current security,
political, humanitarian, and economic situation in
Afghanistan and Iraq.
(B) Provide lessons learned from United States involvement
in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
(C) Provide recommendations on questions to be asked during
future consideration by Congress of an authorization for use
of military force in a conflict that has the potential to
develop into an irregular war.
(D) Address any other matters with respect to United States
involvement in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq that the
Group considers appropriate.
(2) Interim briefing.--Not later than one year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Group shall provide to
the committees of Congress referred to in paragraph (1) a
briefing on the status of its review and assessment under
subsection (d), together with a discussion of any interim
recommendations developed by the Group as of the date of the
briefing.
(3) Form of report.--The report submitted to Congress under
paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form.
(g) Termination.--The Group shall terminate six months
after the date on which it submits the report required by
subsection (f)(1).
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