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Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Feb 16, 2017
Military Humanitarian Operations Act of 2017
This bill defines a "military humanitarian operation" as one involving the deployment of members or weapons systems of the U.S. Armed Forces where hostile activities are reasonably anticipated with the aim of preventing or responding to a humanitarian catastrophe or addressing a threat posed to international peace and security, including:
operations undertaken pursuant to the principle of the "responsibility to protect" in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1674 (2006);
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operations specifically authorized by the Security Council or other international organizations; and
unilateral deployments and deployments made in coordination with international organizations, treaty-based organizations, or coalitions formed to address specific humanitarian catastrophes.
Such term excludes a military operation undertaken for other purposes, including to respond to, repel, or prevent attacks on the United States.
The President may not deploy members of the Armed Forces into the territory, airspace, or waters of a foreign country for a military humanitarian operation not previously authorized by statute unless: (1) the President submits to Congress a formal request for authorization to use such members for the operation, and (2) Congress enacts a specific authorization for such use of forces.
People & committees
Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT] · R–UT
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Introduced in Senate
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Source last updated: Aug 11, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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