HRES 240 United States House · 118th Congress

Condemning recent actions taken by the Russian military to down a United States Air Force drone.

HRES 240 is a non-binding House resolution condemning Russia for downing a U.S. Air Force drone in the Black Sea. It states that Russian Su-27 jets acted recklessly by bumping into the drone while it was operating safely in international airspace, causing it to crash-land. The resolution specifically condemns the Russian military's actions and declares that Russia's attempts to recover the drone pose a threat to U.S. national security. As a symbolic measure, it does not create new laws or affect any specific group.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2023

Committee Review

Mar 2023

House Passage

Apr 2023

Senate Passage

President

Introduced Mar 21, 2023 Last action Apr 17, 2023

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced in House → Engrossed in House · 2 edits · Apr 17, 2023

MINOR

The engrossed version of HRES 240 adds specificity to the incident description by naming the MQ-9 Reaper drone and the March 14, 2023 date, and replaces a statement about Russian recovery attempts being a national security threat with a forward-looking declaration that the United States will not be deterred from operating drones in the Black Sea region. This shifts the resolution's tone from warning about Russian actions to asserting continued U.S. operational freedom.

Scope change

The resolution's operative section shifts from a defensive posture (warning about Russian recovery attempts as a threat) to an assertive one (committing to continued U.S. drone operations in the Black Sea region).

SCOPE

Section (2) was changed from recognizing that Russian attempts to recover the drone are a threat to U.S. national security, to reaffirming that the United States will not be deterred from operating U.S. drones in international airspace in the Black Sea region due to Russia's reckless behavior.

TECHNICAL

The first Whereas clause now specifies the drone type (MQ-9 Reaper) and the exact date of the incident (March 14, 2023), adding factual detail not present in the introduced version.

Floor votes · House Apr 17, 2023

How they voted

410–0

Passed · 24 other

Total votes 434

Apr 17, 2023

D Democratic213

198 Yea 15

92% Yea

I Independent1

1 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican220

211 Yea 9

95% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 17, 2023

Introduced

On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 410 - 0 (Roll no. 184). (text: CR H1738)

lower

Apr 17, 2023

Lower · Passed

Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 410 - 0 (Roll no. 184). (text: CR H1738)

lower

Apr 17, 2023

Introduced

Mr. Mast moved to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, as amended.

lower

Mar 21, 2023

Committee

Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

lower

Mar 21, 2023

Introduced

Introduced in House

lower

1 primary · 3 co-sponsors