Authorization for Use of Military Force to defend America’s Allies Resolution of 2022
Latest action. Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Authorization for Use of Military Force to defend America's Allies Resolution of 2022
This joint resolution authorizes the President, upon making a determination that Russia has used chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons in the territory of Ukraine, to use the Armed Forces as necessary and appropriate to (1) protect U.S. national security interests with respect to Ukraine, and (2) assist in defending and restoring the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
No later than 48 hours after exercising such authority, the President shall make available to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate the President's determination that reliance by the United States on further diplomatic or other peaceful means alone either (1) will not adequately protect U.S. national security interests with respect to Ukraine, or (2) is not likely to defend and restore Ukraine's territorial integrity.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on April 28, 2022. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this joint resolution could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 28, 2022: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
What is a joint resolution, exactly?
A joint resolution travels the same road as a bill: both chambers pass it and the President signs it, and it then has the same force as any other law. The label is largely a matter of custom, often used for narrow or time-limited measures.
One exception matters. A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution is not sent to the President at all. It goes to the states, and three quarters of them have to ratify it.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 117th Congress (2021-22), 362 of the 15,242 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) introduced it on April 28, 2022. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on April 28, 2022, 1643 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 1643 days ago, on April 28, 2022.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 117th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2023 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers