[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1828 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.1828

                       One Hundred Eighth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
           the seventh day of January, two thousand and three


                                 An Act


 
To halt Syrian support for terrorism, end its occupation of Lebanon, and 
  stop its development of weapons of mass destruction, and by so doing 
 hold Syria accountable for the serious international security problems 
        it has caused in the Middle East, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Syria Accountability and Lebanese 
Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
        (1) On June 24, 2002, President Bush stated ``Syria must choose 
    the right side in the war on terror by closing terrorist camps and 
    expelling terrorist organizations''.
        (2) United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 (September 
    28, 2001) mandates that all states ``refrain from providing any 
    form of support, active or passive, to entities or persons involved 
    in terrorist acts'', take ``the necessary steps to prevent the 
    commission of terrorist acts'', and ``deny safe haven to those who 
    finance, plan, support, or commit terrorist acts''.
        (3) The Government of Syria is currently prohibited by United 
    States law from receiving United States assistance because it has 
    repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism, as 
    determined by the Secretary of State for purposes of section 
    6(j)(1) of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 
    2405(j)(1)) and other relevant provisions of law.
        (4) Although the Department of State lists Syria as a state 
    sponsor of terrorism and reports that Syria provides ``safe haven 
    and support to several terrorist groups'', fewer United States 
    sanctions apply with respect to Syria than with respect to any 
    other country that is listed as a state sponsor of terrorism.
        (5) Terrorist groups, including Hizballah, Hamas, Palestinian 
    Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, 
    and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine--General 
    Command, maintain offices, training camps, and other facilities on 
    Syrian territory, and operate in areas of Lebanon occupied by the 
    Syrian armed forces and receive supplies from Iran through Syria.
        (6) United Nations Security Council Resolution 520 (September 
    17, 1982) calls for ``strict respect of the sovereignty, 
    territorial integrity, unity and political independence of Lebanon 
    under the sole and exclusive authority of the Government of Lebanon 
    through the Lebanese Army throughout Lebanon''.
        (7) Approximately 20,000 Syrian troops and security personnel 
    occupy much of the sovereign territory of Lebanon exerting undue 
    influence upon its government and undermining its political 
    independence.
        (8) Since 1990 the Senate and House of Representatives have 
    passed seven bills and resolutions which call for the withdrawal of 
    Syrian armed forces from Lebanon.
        (9) On March 3, 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell declared 
    that it is the objective of the United States to ``let Lebanon be 
    ruled by the Lebanese people without the presence of [the Syrian] 
    occupation army''.
        (10) Large and increasing numbers of the Lebanese people from 
    across the political spectrum in Lebanon have mounted peaceful and 
    democratic calls for the withdrawal of the Syrian Army from 
    Lebanese soil.
        (11) Israel has withdrawn all of its armed forces from Lebanon 
    in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 425 
    (March 19, 1978), as certified by the United Nations Secretary 
    General.
        (12) Even in the face of this United Nations certification that 
    acknowledged Israel's full compliance with Security Council 
    Resolution 425, Syrian- and Iranian-supported Hizballah continues 
    to attack Israeli outposts at Shebaa Farms, under the pretense that 
    Shebaa Farms is territory from which Israel was required to 
    withdraw by Security Counsel Resolution 425, and Syrian- and 
    Iranian-supported Hizballah and other militant organizations 
    continue to attack civilian targets in Israel.
        (13) Syria will not allow Lebanon--a sovereign country--to 
    fulfill its obligation in accordance with Security Council 
    Resolution 425 to deploy its troops to southern Lebanon.
        (14) As a result, the Israeli-Lebanese border and much of 
    southern Lebanon is under the control of Hizballah, which continues 
    to attack Israeli positions, allows Iranian Revolutionary Guards 
    and other militant groups to operate freely in the area, and 
    maintains thousands of rockets along Israel's northern border, 
    destabilizing the entire region.
        (15) On February 12, 2003, Director of Central Intelligence 
    George Tenet stated the following with respect to the Syrian- and 
    Iranian-supported Hizballah: ``[A]s an organization with capability 
    and worldwide presence [it] is [al Qaeda's] equal if not a far more 
    capable organization * * * [T]hey're a notch above in many 
    respects, in terms of in their relationship with the Iranians and 
    the training they receive, [which] puts them in a state-sponsored 
    category with a potential for lethality that's quite great.''.
        (16) In the State of the Union address on January 29, 2002, 
    President Bush declared that the United States will ``work closely 
    with our coalition to deny terrorists and their state sponsors the 
    materials, technology, and expertise to make and deliver weapons of 
    mass destruction''.
        (17) The Government of Syria continues to develop and deploy 
    short- and medium-range ballistic missiles.
        (18) According to the December 2001 unclassified Central 
    Intelligence Agency report entitled ``Foreign Missile Developments 
    and the Ballistic Missile Threat through 2015'', ``Syria maintains 
    a ballistic missile and rocket force of hundreds of FROG rockets, 
    Scuds, and SS-21 SRBMs [and] Syria has developed [chemical weapons] 
    warheads for its Scuds''.
        (19) The Government of Syria is pursuing the development and 
    production of biological and chemical weapons and has a nuclear 
    research and development program that is cause for concern.
        (20) According to the Central Intelligence Agency's 
    ``Unclassified Report to Congress on the Acquisition of Technology 
    Relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced Conventional 
    Munitions'', released January 7, 2003: ``[Syria] already holds a 
    stockpile of the nerve agent sarin but apparently is trying to 
    develop more toxic and persistent nerve agents. Syria remains 
    dependent on foreign sources for key elements of its [chemical 
    weapons] program, including precursor chemicals and key production 
    equipment. It is highly probable that Syria also is developing an 
    offensive [biological weapons] capability.''.
        (21) On May 6, 2002, the Under Secretary of State for Arms 
    Control and International Security, John Bolton, stated: ``The 
    United States also knows that Syria has long had a chemical warfare 
    program. It has a stockpile of the nerve agent sarin and is engaged 
    in research and development of the more toxic and persistent nerve 
    agent VX. Syria, which has signed but not ratified the [Biological 
    Weapons Convention], is pursuing the development of biological 
    weapons and is able to produce at least small amounts of biological 
    warfare agents.''.
        (22) According to the Central Intelligence Agency's 
    ``Unclassified Report to Congress on the Acquisition of Technology 
    Relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced Conventional 
    Munitions'', released January 7, 2003: ``Russia and Syria have 
    approved a draft cooperative program on cooperation on civil 
    nuclear power. In principal, broader access to Russian expertise 
    provides opportunities for Syria to expand its indigenous 
    capabilities, should it decide to pursue nuclear weapons.''.
        (23) Under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear 
    Weapons (21 UST 483), which entered force on March 5, 1970, and to 
    which Syria is a party, Syria has undertaken not to acquire or 
    produce nuclear weapons and has accepted full scope safeguards of 
    the International Atomic Energy Agency to detect diversions of 
    nuclear materials from peaceful activities to the production of 
    nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.
        (24) Syria is not a party to the Chemical Weapons Convention or 
    the Biological Weapons Convention, which entered into force on 
    April 29, 1997, and on March 26, 1975, respectively.
        (25) Syrian President Bashar Assad promised Secretary of State 
    Powell in February 2001 to end violations of Security Council 
    Resolution 661, which restricted the sale of oil and other 
    commodities by Saddam Hussein's regime, except to the extent 
    authorized by other relevant resolutions, but this pledge was never 
    fulfilled.
        (26) Syria's illegal imports and transshipments of Iraqi oil 
    during Saddam Hussein's regime earned Syria $50,000,000 or more per 
    month as Syria continued to sell its own Syrian oil at market 
    prices.
        (27) Syria's illegal imports and transshipments of Iraqi oil 
    earned Saddam Hussein's regime $2,000,000 per day.
        (28) On March 28, 2003, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld 
    warned: ``[W]e have information that shipments of military supplies 
    have been crossing the border from Syria into Iraq, including 
    night-vision goggles * * * These deliveries pose a direct threat to 
    the lives of coalition forces. We consider such trafficking as 
    hostile acts, and will hold the Syrian government accountable for 
    such shipments.''.
        (29) According to Article 23(1) of the United Nations Charter, 
    members of the United Nations are elected as nonpermanent members 
    of the United Nations Security Council with ``due regard being 
    specially paid, in the first instance to the contribution of 
    members of the United Nations to the maintenance of international 
    peace and security and to other purposes of the Organization''.
        (30) Despite Article 23(1) of the United Nations Charter, Syria 
    was elected on October 8, 2001, to a 2-year term as a nonpermanent 
    member of the United Nations Security Council beginning January 1, 
    2002, and served as President of the Security Council during June 
    2002 and August 2003.
        (31) On March 31, 2003, the Syrian Foreign Minister, Farouq al-
    Sharra, made the Syrian regime's intentions clear when he 
    explicitly stated that ``Syria's interest is to see the invaders 
    defeated in Iraq''.
        (32) On April 13, 2003, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld 
    charged that ``busloads'' of Syrian fighters entered Iraq with 
    ``hundreds of thousands of dollars'' and leaflets offering rewards 
    for dead American soldiers.
        (33) On September 16, 2003, the Under Secretary of State for 
    Arms Control and International Security, John Bolton, appeared 
    before the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia of the 
    Committee on International Relations of the House of 
    Representatives, and underscored Syria's ``hostile actions'' toward 
    coalition forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Under Secretary 
    Bolton added that: ``Syria allowed military equipment to flow into 
    Iraq on the eve of and during the war. Syria permitted volunteers 
    to pass into Iraq to attack and kill our service members during the 
    war, and is still doing so * * * [Syria's] behavior during 
    Operation Iraqi Freedom underscores the importance of taking 
    seriously reports and information on Syria's WMD capabilities.''.
        (34) During his appearance before the Committee on 
    International Relations of the House of Representatives on 
    September 25, 2003, Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, III, Administrator 
    of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, stated that out of 
    the 278 third-country nationals who were captured by coalition 
    forces in Iraq, the ``single largest group are Syrians''.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
        (1) the Government of Syria should immediately and 
    unconditionally halt support for terrorism, permanently and openly 
    declare its total renunciation of all forms of terrorism, and close 
    all terrorist offices and facilities in Syria, including the 
    offices of Hamas, Hizballah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular 
    Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Popular Front for 
    the Liberation of Palestine--General Command;
        (2) the Government of Syria should--
            (A) immediately and unconditionally stop facilitating 
        transit from Syria to Iraq of individuals, military equipment, 
        and all lethal items, except as authorized by the Coalition 
        Provisional Authority or a representative, internationally 
        recognized Iraqi government;
            (B) cease its support for ``volunteers'' and terrorists who 
        are traveling from and through Syria into Iraq to launch 
        attacks; and
            (C) undertake concrete, verifiable steps to deter such 
        behavior and control the use of territory under Syrian control;
        (3) the Government of Syria should immediately declare its 
    commitment to completely withdraw its armed forces, including 
    military, paramilitary, and security forces, from Lebanon, and set 
    a firm timetable for such withdrawal;
        (4) the Government of Lebanon should deploy the Lebanese armed 
    forces to all areas of Lebanon, including South Lebanon, in 
    accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 520 
    (September 17, 1982), in order to assert the sovereignty of the 
    Lebanese state over all of its territory, and should evict all 
    terrorist and foreign forces from southern Lebanon, including 
    Hizballah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards;
        (5) the Government of Syria should halt the development and 
    deployment of medium- and long-range surface-to-surface missiles 
    and cease the development and production of biological and chemical 
    weapons;
        (6) the Governments of Lebanon and Syria should enter into 
    serious unconditional bilateral negotiations with the Government of 
    Israel in order to realize a full and permanent peace;
        (7) the United States should continue to provide humanitarian 
    and educational assistance to the people of Lebanon only through 
    appropriate private, nongovernmental organizations and appropriate 
    international organizations, until such time as the Government of 
    Lebanon asserts sovereignty and control over all of its territory 
    and borders and achieves full political independence, as called for 
    in United Nations Security Council Resolution 520; and
        (8) as a violator of several key United Nations Security 
    Council resolutions and as a nation that pursues policies which 
    undermine international peace and security, Syria should not have 
    been permitted to join the United Nations Security Council or serve 
    as the Security Council's President, and should be removed from the 
    Security Council.

SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States that--
        (1) Syria should bear responsibility for attacks committed by 
    Hizballah and other terrorist groups with offices, training camps, 
    or other facilities in Syria, or bases in areas of Lebanon occupied 
    by Syria;
        (2) the United States will work to deny Syria the ability to 
    support acts of international terrorism and efforts to develop or 
    acquire weapons of mass destruction;
        (3) the Secretary of State will continue to list Syria as a 
    state sponsor of terrorism until Syria ends its support for 
    terrorism, including its support of Hizballah and other terrorist 
    groups in Lebanon and its hosting of terrorist groups in Damascus, 
    and comes into full compliance with United States law relating to 
    terrorism and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 
    (September 28, 2001);
        (4) the full restoration of Lebanon's sovereignty, political 
    independence, and territorial integrity is in the national security 
    interest of the United States;
        (5) Syria is in violation of United Nations Security Council 
    Resolution 520 (September 17, 1982) through its continued 
    occupation of Lebanese territory and its encroachment upon 
    Lebanon's political independence;
        (6) Syria's obligation to withdraw from Lebanon is not 
    conditioned upon progress in the Israeli-Syrian or Israeli-Lebanese 
    peace process but derives from Syria's obligation under Security 
    Council Resolution 520;
        (7) Syria's acquisition of weapons of mass destruction and 
    ballistic missile programs threaten the security of the Middle East 
    and the national security interests of the United States;
        (8) Syria will be held accountable for any harm to Coalition 
    armed forces or to any United States citizen in Iraq if the 
    government of Syria is found to be responsible due to its 
    facilitation of terrorist activities and its shipments of military 
    supplies to Iraq; and
        (9) the United States will not provide any assistance to Syria 
    and will oppose multilateral assistance for Syria until Syria ends 
    all support for terrorism, withdraws its armed forces from Lebanon, 
    and halts the development and deployment of weapons of mass 
    destruction and medium- and long-range surface-to-surface ballistic 
    missiles.

SEC. 5. PENALTIES AND AUTHORIZATION.

    (a) Penalties.--Until the President makes the determination that 
Syria meets all the requirements described in paragraphs (1) through 
(4) of subsection (d) and certifies such determination to Congress in 
accordance with such subsection--
        (1) the President shall prohibit the export to Syria of any 
    item, including the issuance of a license for the export of any 
    item, on the United States Munitions List or Commerce Control List 
    of dual-use items in the Export Administration Regulations (15 CFR 
    part 730 et seq.); and
        (2) the President shall impose two or more of the following 
    sanctions:
            (A) Prohibit the export of products of the United States 
        (other than food and medicine) to Syria.
            (B) Prohibit United States businesses from investing or 
        operating in Syria.
            (C) Restrict Syrian diplomats in Washington, D.C., and at 
        the United Nations in New York City, to travel only within a 
        25-mile radius of Washington, D.C., or the United Nations 
        headquarters building, respectively.
            (D) Prohibit aircraft of any air carrier owned or 
        controlled by Syria to take off from, land in, or overfly the 
        United States.
            (E) Reduce United States diplomatic contacts with Syria 
        (other than those contacts required to protect United States 
        interests or carry out the purposes of this Act).
            (F) Block transactions in any property in which the 
        Government of Syria has any interest, by any person, or with 
        respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the 
        United States.
    (b) Waiver.--The President may waive the application of subsection 
(a)(1), (a)(2), or both if the President determines that it is in the 
national security interest of the United States to do so and submits to 
the appropriate congressional committees a report containing the 
reasons for the determination.
    (c) Authority To Provide Assistance To Syria.--If the President--
        (1) makes the determination that Syria meets the requirements 
    described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (d) and 
    certifies such determination to Congress in accordance with such 
    subsection;
        (2) determines that substantial progress has been made both in 
    negotiations aimed at achieving a peace agreement between Israel 
    and Syria and in negotiations aimed at achieving a peace agreement 
    between Israel and Lebanon; and
        (3) determines that the Government of Syria is strictly 
    respecting the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity, and 
    political independence of Lebanon under the sole and exclusive 
    authority of the Government of Lebanon through the Lebanese army 
    throughout Lebanon, as required under paragraph (4) of United 
    Nations Security Council Resolution 520 (1982),
then the President is authorized to provide assistance to Syria under 
chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (relating to 
development assistance).
    (d) Certification.--A certification under this subsection is a 
certification transmitted to the appropriate congressional committees 
of a determination made by the President that--
        (1) the Government of Syria has ceased providing support for 
    international terrorist groups and does not allow terrorist groups, 
    such as Hamas, Hizballah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular 
    Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Popular Front for 
    the Liberation of Palestine--General Command to maintain facilities 
    in territory under Syrian control;
        (2) the Government of Syria ended its occupation of Lebanon 
    described in section 2(7) of this Act;
        (3) the Government of Syria has ceased the development and 
    deployment of medium- and long-range surface-to-surface ballistic 
    missiles, is not pursuing or engaged in the research, development, 
    acquisition, production, transfer, or deployment of biological, 
    chemical, or nuclear weapons, has provided credible assurances that 
    such behavior will not be undertaken in the future, and has agreed 
    to allow United Nations and other international observers to verify 
    such actions and assurances; and
        (4) the Government of Syria has ceased all support for, and 
    facilitation of, all terrorist activities inside of Iraq, including 
    preventing the use of territory under its control by any means 
    whatsoever to support those engaged in terrorist activities inside 
    of Iraq.

SEC. 6. REPORT.

    (a) Report.--Not later than 6 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and every 12 months thereafter until the 
conditions described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 5(d) are 
satisfied, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate 
congressional committees a report on--
        (1) Syria's progress toward meeting the conditions described in 
    paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 5(d);
        (2) connections, if any, between individual terrorists and 
    terrorist groups which maintain offices, training camps, or other 
    facilities on Syrian territory, or operate in areas of Lebanon 
    occupied by the Syrian armed forces, and terrorist attacks on the 
    United States or its citizens, installations, or allies; and
        (3) how the United States is increasing its efforts against 
    Hizballah and other terrorist organizations supported by Syria.
    (b) Form.--The report submitted under subsection (a) shall be in 
unclassified form but may include a classified annex.

SEC. 7. DEFINITION OF APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.

    In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
means the Committee on International Relations of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.