,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hhi  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,january #cj1        
#bjai,mr4 ,gallagher 7for himself1 ,mr4 
,malinowski1 ,mr4 ,hurd of ,texas1 ,mr4 
,panetta1 ,ms4 ,stefanik1 ,mr4 ,kim1    
,mr4 ,taylor1 and ,mr4 ,rose of ,new    
,york7 introduced the following bill2   
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,armed ,services1 and in addition to the
 ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 for a 
period to be subsequently determined by 
the ,speaker1 in each case for          
consideration of such provisions as fall
 within the jurisdiction of the         
committee concerned  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
limit the use of funds to reduce the    
total number of members of the ,armed   
,forces serving on active duty who are  
deployed to the ,republic of ,korea1 and
 for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title  
,this ,act may be cited as the ,united  
,states and ,republic of ,korea         
,alliance ,support ,act4  #b4           
,limitation on use of funds to reduce   

the total number of members of the      
,armed ,forces serving on active duty   
who are deployed to the ,republic of    
,korea  7a7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is  
the sense of ,congress that--  7#a7 it  
is in the ,united ,states national      
interest to maintain treaty alliances   
and its forward military presence in the
 ,indo-,pacific region to deter conflict
 and preserve peace and security2  7#b7 
the ,united ,states fully stands behind 
commitments to its allies in ,northeast 
,asia as articulated in the ,mutual     
,defense ,treaty ,between the ,united   
,states and the ,republic of ,korea and 
the ,treaty of ,mutual ,cooperation and 
,security between the ,united ,states   
and ,japan2  7#c7 the alliances between 
the ,united ,states and the ,republic of
 ,korea and between the ,united ,states 
and ,japan form the bedrock of regional 
stability in the ,indo-,pacific region1 
including with respect to the threat    
posed by ,north ,korea2  7#d7 the       
withdrawal or significant reduction of  

,united ,states ,armed ,forces from the 
,republic of ,korea may risk upsetting  
the military balance in that region2 and
  7#e7 ,congress should be consulted in 
advance of any significant changes to   
the status quo on the ,korean           
,peninsula4  7b7 ,limitation ,none of   
the funds made available to the         
,department of ,defense for fiscal year 
#bjai may be used to reduce the total   
number of members of the ,united ,states
 ,armed ,forces serving on active duty  
who are deployed to the ,republic of    
,korea below #bb1jjj unless--  7#a7 the 
,secretary of ,defense first submits to 
the appropriate congressional committees
 a report on-- 7,a7 the effect of such  
reduction on preserving deterrence on   
the ,korean ,peninsula2  7,b7 the       
anticipated reaction of ,north ,korea to
 such reduction2  7,c7 the effect of    
such reduction on increasing incentives 
for the ,republic of ,korea to develop  
an independent nuclear deterrent2  7,d7 
the effect of such reduction on the     

long-term military and economic         
partnership between the ,united ,states 
and the ,republic of ,korea and the     
,united ,states and ,japan1             
respectively2 and  7,e7 the effect of   
such reduction on the military balance  
between the ,united ,states and the     
,people's ,republic of ,china and       
between the ,united ,states and the     
,russian ,federation2  7#b7 the         
,secretary of ,defense1 in consultation 
with the ,chairman of the ,joint ,chiefs
 of ,staff1 first certifies to the      
appropriate congressional committees    
that--  7,a7 such a reduction is in the 
national security interest of the       
,united ,states and will not            
significantly undermine the security of 
,united ,states allies in the region2   
7,b7 the ,secretary has appropriately   
consulted with allies of the ,united    
,states1 including the ,republic of     
,korea and ,japan1 regarding such a     
reduction2 and  7,c7 the ,republic of   
,korea would be fully capable of        

defending itself and deterring a        
conflict on the ,korean ,peninsula      
following such a reduction2 and  7#c7   
such a reduction supports and is        
consistent with the most current        
national defense strategy under section 
#aac of title #aj1 ,united ,states      
,code4  7c7 ,appropriate congressional  
committees defined ,in this section1 the
 term relevant congressional committees 
means-- 7#a7 the ,committee on ,foreign 
,affairs and the ,committee on ,armed   
,services of the ,house of              
,representatives2 and  7#b7 the         
,committee on ,foreign ,relations and   
the ,committee on ,armed ,services of   
the ,senate4