Young, Shaheen Lead Bipartisan Letter to Pompeo Questioning Yemen Certification

Statement

U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), along with five other Senators, today sent a bipartisan letter to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressing concerns related to the Secretary's certification last month that the governments of Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates have taken demonstrable actions to reduce the risk of harm to civilians.

"We write with significant concerns regarding the Yemen certification you submitted last month to Congress pursuant to Section 1290 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (P.L. 115-232). While we appreciate your timely submission, after reviewing the unclassified and classified components and receiving updates from our staffs regarding the administration's September 20 briefing, we find it difficult to reconcile known facts with at least two of your certifications… In short, we are skeptical a certification that the two Governments have undertaken demonstrable actions to reduce the harm to civilians is warranted when the Saudi coalition has failed to adopt some U.S. recommendations while civilian deaths and casualties due to coalition airstrikes have increased dramatically in recent months," the Senators wrote in the letter.

The Senators expressed concern that the certification last month risked leaving the "Saudi-led coalition with the fundamental misunderstanding that the American people and their representatives in Congress are willing to accept the status quo in Yemen."

Senators Young and Shaheen worked successfully to include Section 1290 in the annual defense bill, which requires the Secretary of State to submit written, detailed, and unclassified certifications related to the efforts of the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to end the civil war, alleviate the humanitarian crisis, and protect civilians. If the Secretary of State cannot make these certifications, the law prohibits the U.S. from refueling Saudi coalition aircraft conducting missions exclusively focused on the war. The statute includes a national security waiver the administration could utilize. However, that waiver can only be utilized after the administration first identifies, in writing, why the certification cannot be made and what steps the administration plans to take to bring the Saudi and UAE governments into compliance. Secretary Pompeo submitted the first certification last month, deciding not to utilize a national security waiver. The statute requires two more certifications from the Secretary of State next year.

Last month, before the initial certification, Senators Young and Shaheen published an op-ed in the Washington Post. In the op-ed, Senators Young and Shaheen wrote, "For the sake of the United States' interests and our humanitarian principles, we hope the administration complies with the law and submits a good-faith certification by Wednesday. If that does not happen, support for the coalition in Congress may reach a breaking point as the world's worst humanitarian crisis deteriorates further."