Notes on 50 U.S.C. § 1512 : US Code - Notes

Search Notes on 50 U.S.C. § 1512 : US Code - Notes

(Pub. L. 91-121, title IV, Sec. 409(b), Nov. 19, 1969, 83 Stat.
209; Pub. L. 91-441, title V, Sec. 506(b)(1), Oct. 7, 1970, 84
Stat. 912; Pub. L. 96-88, title V, Sec. 509(b), Oct. 17, 1979, 93
Stat. 695.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
This Act, referred to in provision preceding par. (1), means Pub.
L. 91-121, Nov. 19, 1969, 83 Stat. 204, as amended. Provisions
authorizing the appropriation of funds are not classified to the
Code. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see
Tables.
AMENDMENTS
1970 - Pub. L. 91-441 inserted reference to the disposal of
lethal chemical or biological warfare agents in the United States.
CHANGE OF NAME
"Secretary of Health and Human Services" substituted for
"Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare" in par. (2), pursuant
to section 509(b) of Pub. L. 96-88 which is classified to section
3508(b) of Title 20, Education.
RIOT CONTROL AGENTS
Pub. L. 109-163, div. A, title XII, Sec. 1232, Jan. 6, 2006, 119
Stat. 3468, provided that:
"(a) Restatement of Policy. - It is the policy of the United
States that riot control agents are not chemical weapons and that
the President may authorize their use as legitimate, legal, and non-
lethal alternatives to the use of force that, as provided in
Executive Order No. 11850 (40 Fed. Reg. 16187) [set out below] and
consistent with the resolution of ratification of the Chemical
Weapons Convention, may be employed by members of the Armed Forces
in war in defensive military modes to save lives, including the
illustrative purposes cited in Executive Order No. 11850.
"(b) Report Required. -
"(1) In general. - Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act [Jan. 6, 2006], the President shall
submit to Congress a report on the use of riot control agents by
members of the Armed Forces.
"(2) Content. - The report required by paragraph (1) shall
include -
"(A) a description of all regulations, doctrines, training
materials, and any other information related to the use of riot
control agents by members of the Armed Forces;
"(B) a description of how the material described in
subparagraph (A) is consistent with United States policy on the
use of riot control agents;
"(C) a description of the availability of riot control
agents, and the means to use them, to members of the Armed
Forces, including members of the Armed Forces deployed in Iraq
and Afghanistan;
"(D) a description of the frequency and circumstances of the
use of riot control agents by members of the Armed Forces since
January 1, 1992, and a summary of views held by commanders of
United States combatant commands as to the utility of the use
of riot control agents by members of the Armed Forces when
compared with alternatives;
"(E) a general description of steps taken or planned to be
taken by the Department of Defense to clarify the circumstances
under which riot control agents may be used by members of the
Armed Forces; and
"(F) a brief explanation of the continuing validity of
Executive Order No. 11850 [set out below] under United States
law.
"(3) Form. - The report required by paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified
annex.
"(c) Definitions. - In this section:
"(1) Chemical weapons convention. - The term 'Chemical Weapons
Convention' means the Convention on the Prohibitions of
Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons
and on Their Destruction, with annexes, done at Paris, January
13, 1993, and entered into force April 29, 1997 (T. Doc. 103-21).
"(2) Resolution of ratification of the chemical weapons
convention. - The term 'resolution of ratification of the
Chemical Weapons Convention' means S. Res. 75, 105th Congress,
agreed to April 24, 1997, advising and consenting to the
ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention."
CHEMICAL MUNITIONS TRANSPORTATION FROM OKINAWA TO THE UNITED STATES
Pub. L. 91-672, Sec. 13, Jan. 12, 1971, 84 Stat. 2055, provided
that: "No funds authorized or appropriated pursuant to this or any
other law may be used to transport chemical munitions from the
Island of Okinawa to the United States. Such funds as are necessary
for the detoxification or destruction of the above described
chemical munitions are hereby authorized and shall be used for the
detoxification or destruction of chemical munitions only outside
the United States. For purposes of this section, the term 'United
States' means the several States and the District of Columbia."
EX ORD. NO. 11850. RENUNCIATION OF CERTAIN USES IN WAR OF CHEMICAL
HERBICIDES AND RIOT CONTROL AGENTS
Ex. Ord. No. 11850, Apr. 8, 1975, 40 F.R. 16187, provided:
The United States renounces, as a matter of national policy,
first use of herbicides in war except use, under regulations
applicable to their domestic use, for control of vegetation within
U.S. bases and installations or around their immediate defensive
perimeters, and first use of riot control agents in war except in
defensive military modes to save lives such as:
(a) Use of riot control agents in riot control situations in
areas under direct and distinct U.S. military control, to include
controlling rioting prisoners of war.
(b) Use of riot control agents in situations in which civilians
are used to mask or screen attacks and civilian casualties can be
reduced or avoided.
(c) Use of riot control agents in rescue missions in remotely
isolated areas, of downed aircrews and passengers, and escaping
prisoners.
(d) Use of riot control agents in rear echelon areas outside the
zone of immediate combat to protect convoys from civil
disturbances, terrorists and paramilitary organizations.
I have determined that the provisions and procedures prescribed
by this Order are necessary to ensure proper implementation and
observance of such national policy.
NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me as
President of the United States of America by the Constitution and
laws of the United States and as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed
Forces of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. The Secretary of Defense shall take all necessary
measures to ensure that the use by the Armed Forces of the United
States of any riot control agents and chemical herbicides in war is
prohibited unless such use has Presidential approval, in advance.
Sec. 2. The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe the rules and
regulations he deems necessary to ensure that the national policy
herein announced shall be observed by the Armed Forces of the
United States.
Gerald R. Ford.