[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 617 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 617

To provide humanitarian assistance and support a democratic transition 
                   in Syria, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 19, 2013

 Mr. Casey (for himself and Mr. Rubio) introduced the following bill; 
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide humanitarian assistance and support a democratic transition 
                   in Syria, 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 Democratic Transition Act of 
2013''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) In March 2011, peaceful demonstrations in Syria began 
        against the authoritarian rule of Bashar al-Assad. The regime 
        responded with terrible violence against the citizens of Syria, 
        including the use of weapons of war, torture, extrajudicial 
        killings, arbitrary executions, sexual violence, and 
        interference with access to medical treatment.
            (2) In December 2011, the Government of Syria agreed to 
        allow an Arab League observer group into the country to assess 
        the humanitarian and political situation on the ground. 
        However, on January 28, 2012, the League officially ended its 
        observer mission, citing escalating violence and the 
        intransigence of the Assad regime.
            (3) In February 2012, the group Friends of the Syrian 
        People met in Tunis and issued a declaration demanding, among 
        other things, that the Syrian regime ``allow free and unimpeded 
        access by the United Nations and humanitarian agencies to carry 
        out a full assessment of needs''.
            (4) On March 16, 2012, United Nations and League of Arab 
        States Special Envoy Kofi Annan presented a six-point peace 
        plan for Syria that called on the Government of Syria to, among 
        other things--
                    (A) commit to stop the fighting and urgently 
                achieve a United Nations-supervised cessation of 
                violence;
                    (B) cease military activity in and around civilian 
                population centers;
                    (C) work with the Envoy in an inclusive Syrian-led 
                political process;
                    (D) ensure timely provision of humanitarian 
                assistance;
                    (E) release arbitrarily detained persons;
                    (F) ensure freedom of movement for journalists; and
                    (G) respect freedom of association and the right to 
                demonstrate peacefully.
            (5) As of February 2013, the United Nations estimated that 
        nearly 70,000 people have been killed as a result of the 
        violence in Syria.
            (6) As a result of the violence, the United Nations 
        estimates that 4,000,000 people are in need of humanitarian 
        assistance, including access to food, water, shelter, and 
        medical care: the Syrian Arab Red Crescent estimates that, more 
        than 2,500,000 are internally displaced in Syria. Basic 
        services such as health care, education, electricity, and water 
        have also been cut off in some parts of the country.
            (7) Syria faces growing food insecurity, as wheat harvests 
        have declined due to drought. The United Nations has been 
        providing food aid to 1,500,000 Syrians since September 2012, 
        with the number of people requiring such aid expected to reach 
        2,500,000 people in the months following February 2013.
            (8) Millions of Syrians have fled their homes due to 
        escalating violence. According to the United Nations, there are 
        more than 1,000,000 Syrian refugees registered in Lebanon, 
        Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq, and even more who are 
        unregistered. Also according to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, 
        more than 2,500,000 Syrians are displaced within the country. 
        More than three-quarters of refugees and internally displaced 
        persons are women and children, who are particularly vulnerable 
        to economic and physical insecurity.
            (9) In January 2013, a donor pledging conference was held 
        in Kuwait, pledging an additional $1,500,000,000 in 
        humanitarian assistance to the existing $1,000,000,000 already 
        provided for Syria. The Governments of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, 
        and the United Arab Emirates each pledged $300,000,000. 
        Kuwait's ambassador to the European Union called it the 
        ``largest humanitarian pledging conference in the history of 
        the United Nations''. According to the United Nations, only 13 
        percent of the $1,500,000,000 pledged in Kuwait has been 
        received to date.
            (10) Challenges exist to ensure this assistance reaches 
        those who need it. An agreement between the United Nations and 
        the Syrian regime to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian 
        assistance in the country has allowed aid workers greater 
        access to victims of the conflict. However, staff of the 
        International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab 
        Red Crescent cite security concerns as a major obstacle to aid 
        distribution. The Government of Syria is also refusing to grant 
        visas for aid workers from countries that have criticized the 
        regime, including the United States, Canada, the United 
        Kingdom, and France.
            (11) Amnesty International's 2012 Annual Report on Syria, 
        along with the findings of other human rights groups, details a 
        number of atrocities in Syria. In November 2012, the United 
        Nations Human Rights Council's Independent International 
        Commission of Inquiry indicated that Syria's military forces 
        have employed ``killings, torture, rape and other forms of 
        sexual violence, imprisonment, or other forms of severe 
        deprivation of liberty and enforced disappearances'' to 
        maintain their hold on the country. Human Rights Watch raises 
        concerns that authorities in Syria could choose to kill 
        detainees rather than allow them to be released in the event of 
        a political transition.
            (12) As of March 2013, according to the Department of 
        State, the United States Government has provided nearly 
        $385,000,000 in humanitarian assistance to support those 
        affected by the violence in Syria. On February 28, 2013, the 
        United States Government announced its plans to provide an 
        additional $63,000,000 in non-lethal assistance to the Syrian 
        Opposition Coalition and the Supreme Military Council.
            (13) On February 18, 2013, the Council of the European 
        Union called on the Syrian regime to allow the delivery of 
        humanitarian assistance to reach all those in need and amended 
        their sanctions against the regime to allow greater non-lethal 
        support and technical assistance to the opposition for the 
        protection of civilians.
            (14) The February 26, 2013, communique by the Friends of 
        the Syrian People International Working Group on Sanctions 
        ``called on all states to take steps, in their own capacity, by 
        imposing, at a minimum, an asset freeze on senior Syrian regime 
        officials involved in the repression, as well as an asset 
        freeze on, and restrictions on transactions with banks tied 
        with the Syrian regime such as the Central Bank of Syria, the 
        Commercial Bank of Syria and the Syrian International Islamic 
        Bank''.
            (15) According to the Unclassified Report to Congress on 
        the Acquisition of Technology Relating to Weapons of Mass 
        Destruction and Advanced Conventional Munitions Covering 1 
        January to 31 December 2011, ``Syria has had a [chemical 
        weapons] program for many years and has a stockpile of CW 
        agents, which can be delivered by aerial bombs, ballistic 
        missiles, and artillery rockets.'' In a hearing before the 
        Committee on Armed Services of the Senate in March 2012, 
        Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey 
        testified that the magnitude of Syria's chemical weapons 
        arsenal was ``100 times more than we experienced in Libya''. 
        The Government of Syria's stockpiles are thought to include 
        mustard, sarin, and VX gases.
            (16) There are concerns about the existence of numerous 
        rebel militias and their role in Syria during a post-transition 
        period. On June 30, 2012, during an international meeting on 
        Syria in Geneva, Special Envoy Kofi Annan said, ``A transition 
        must be implemented in a climate of safety for all, stability 
        and calm, including completion of withdrawals and the 
        disarming, demobilization and reintegration of armed groups.''
            (17) According to reports, the Government of Iran provides 
        resources and military training to groups such as Jaysh al-
        Shi'ite. These groups also receive military training from 
        Hezbollah and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States--
            (1) to strongly condemn the ongoing violence and widespread 
        human rights violations perpetrated against the Syrian people 
        by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad;
            (2) to support civilians and innocent victims of the 
        conflict in Syria, particularly women and children who are 
        displaced and vulnerable to physical and psychological 
        exploitation;
            (3) to assist the people of Syria in meeting basic needs, 
        including access to food, health care, shelter, and clean 
        drinking water;
            (4) to affirm the neutrality of medical professionals 
        providing humanitarian assistance and health care on a non-
        political basis and to condemn attacks against such personnel 
        or interference in the provision of medical care;
            (5) to support efforts of democratically oriented political 
        opposition groups in Syria to agree upon a political transition 
        plan that is inclusive and protects the rights of all minority 
        ethnic groups in the country;
            (6) to work with the international community, including 
        multilateral organizations and host countries, to support 
        Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, and 
        other host countries;
            (7) to welcome the pledges of humanitarian assistance made 
        by the Governments of Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, 
        China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Morocco, New 
        Zealand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, 
        and members of the European Union, and to encourage prompt 
        delivery of those pledges which will contribute to meeting the 
        needs of the victims of this conflict, and to encourage all 
        donors to coordinate with the United Nations;
            (8) to support efforts to identify, recover, and dispose of 
        chemical weapons and other conventional and unconventional 
        weapons stockpiled in Syria;
            (9) that the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary 
        and Opposition Forces (SOC) is the sole and legitimate 
        representative of the Syrian people;
            (10) to support the National Coalition for Syrian 
        Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (SOC) efforts to establish 
        a transitional government;
            (11) to support transparent and impartial judicial 
        processes, in which Syrians have a leading voice, for all those 
        who have committed gross violations of human rights and 
        international law, while noting that the majority of these 
        violations have been committed by the Assad regime;
            (12) to help ensure that, once a stable transitional 
        government is established in Syria, it is committed to 
        multiparty democracy, open and transparent governance, respect 
        for human rights and religious freedom, protection of refugees 
        and asylees, promoting peace and stability with its neighbors, 
        enhancing the rule of law, and rehabilitating and reintegrating 
        former combatants; and
            (13) to affirm that the end of the Assad regime is in the 
        national security interests of the United States, as it would 
        weaken the position of Iran and Hezbollah in the region and 
        allow for the return of displaced persons currently seeking 
        refuge in host countries.

SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE TO THE SYRIAN PEOPLE.

    (a) Authority.--The President is authorized, notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, to furnish, on such terms and conditions as the 
President may determine, assistance in order to--
            (1) provide enhanced support for humanitarian activities 
        taking place in and outside Syria, including the provision of 
        food, shelter, water, health care, and medical supplies;
            (2) support efforts for a peaceful resolution of the 
        conflict in Syria as well as the establishment of an inclusive 
        representative form of government in Syria;
            (3) continue to encourage the participation of all groups, 
        including women, business leaders, civil society organizations, 
        traditional and religious leaders, and minority groups in 
        efforts for a peaceful resolution of the conflict and political 
        transition in Syria;
            (4) encourage the Arab League and other international 
        bodies to insist that transitional and future governments are 
        committed to multiparty democracy, open and transparent 
        governance, respect for human rights and religious freedom, 
        ending the violence throughout the country, promoting peace and 
        stability with Syria's neighbors, enhancing the rule of law and 
        combating corruption, and rehabilitating and reintegrating 
        former combatants;
            (5) contribute seed funding to establish a Syria 
        Reconstruction Fund, which would leverage contributions from 
        other international donors and be used for the physical 
        reconstruction and re-establishment of basic services in Syria 
        after the cessation of the conflict and the fall of the Assad 
        regime;
            (6) contribute future capacity building for legitimate 
        governing institutions after a political transition takes place 
        in Syria;
            (7) support post-transition efforts, including programs for 
        demobilizing and reintegrating former combatants; and
            (8) expand the public awareness-raising campaign of the 
        United States Government about United States humanitarian 
        assistance efforts through both English-language and regional 
        traditional media sources, as well as social or new media 
        sources.
    (b) Funding.--
            (1) Fiscal years 2014 and 2015.--Of the amounts made 
        available to carry out the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 
        U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) for fiscal years 2014 and 2015, such sums 
        as may be necessary should be allocated for bilateral 
        assistance programs in Syria.
            (2) Future funding.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
        Department of State should submit a budget request for fiscal 
        year 2015 that contains an appropriate increase in bilateral 
        and multilateral assistance for Syria based on progress toward 
        accomplishing the policy objectives described in section 3.
            (3) Availability.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the 
        authorization of appropriations under paragraphs (1) and (2)--
                    (A) are authorized to remain available until 
                expended; and
                    (B) are in addition to funds otherwise available 
                for such purposes.
    (c) Coordination With Other Donor Nations.--The United States 
should work with other donor nations, on a bilateral and multilateral 
basis, to increase international contributions to the people of Syria 
and accomplish the policy objectives described in section 3.
    (d) Branding Requirement.--
            (1) In general.--All assistance made available under this 
        section shall be identified as being ``From the American 
        People'' if the relevant Assistant Secretary of State, in 
        consultation with the implementing partner, determines that 
        such identification would not--
                    (A) jeopardize the safety or impartiality of 
                implementing partners that deliver the assistance;
                    (B) jeopardize the health and safety of the 
                intended beneficiaries;
                    (C) compromise the intrinsic independence or 
                neutrality of a program or materials where implementing 
                partner independence or neutrality is inherently 
                important to the success of the effort;
                    (D) undermine United States efforts to empower the 
                democratically inclined political opposition; or
                    (E) otherwise render the provision of assistance 
                impracticable.
            (2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection shall 
        be construed as prohibiting the identification of assistance 
        with a contractor or grantee's own organizational brand or 
        logo, subject to any standards or regulations that the 
        President may establish.
    (e) Notification Requirement.--
            (1) In general.--In cases where the authority in this 
        section is relied upon to overcome applicable restrictions on 
        the provision of assistance to Syria, obligation of such funds 
        shall be subject to the regular 15-day notification procedures.
            (2) Waiver.--Notification under paragraph (1) may be waived 
        if failure to do so would pose a substantial risk to human 
        health or welfare, in which case notification shall be provided 
        as early as practicable, but in no event later than 3 days 
        after taking the action to which such notification requirement 
        was applicable. The waiver shall be accompanied by an 
        explanation of the emergency circumstances necessitating the 
        waiver.

SEC. 5. INCREASING ASSISTANCE TO THE NATIONAL COALITION FOR SYRIAN 
              REVOLUTIONARY AND OPPOSITION FORCES.

    (a) Authority.--The President is authorized, notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, to furnish assistance, and make contributions, 
in order to--
            (1) increase the provision of training to and build the 
        capacity of the Syrian Opposition Coalition and the Assistance 
        Coordination Unit to enhance their ability to provide basic 
        services to the people of Syria and establish the beginnings of 
        a functioning government;
            (2) provide training in international humanitarian law and 
        the law of armed conflict to members of the Syrian Opposition 
        Coalition and Free Syrian Army;
            (3) provide non-lethal equipment and training, including 
        training and equipment related to chemical weapons and 
        equipment such as body armor, night vision equipment, and 
        communications equipment, to vetted members of the Free Syrian 
        Army, to improve their ability to conduct operations and 
        provide security for convoys of humanitarian assistance inside 
        Syria;
            (4) provide special operations training to vetted members 
        of the Free Syrian Army; and
            (5) allocate additional Department of State personnel to 
        conduct thorough vetting of opposition individuals receiving 
        aid.
    (b) Funding for Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015.--Of the amounts made 
available to carry out the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 
2151 et seq.) for fiscal years 2014 and 2015, such sums as may be 
necessary should be allocated to build the capacity of the Coalition 
for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces.
    (c) Notification Requirement.--
            (1) In general.--In cases where the authority in this 
        section is relied upon to overcome applicable restrictions on 
        the provision of assistance to Syria, obligation of such funds 
        shall be subject to the regular 15-day notification procedures.
            (2) Waiver.--Notification under paragraph (1) may be waived 
        if failure to do so would pose a substantial risk to human 
        health or welfare, in which case notification shall be provided 
        as early as practicable, but in no event later than 3 days 
        after taking the action to which such notification requirement 
        was applicable. The waiver shall be accompanied by an 
        explanation of the emergency circumstances necessitating the 
        waiver.

SEC. 6. IMPOSITION AND CONDITIONAL TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Account; correspondent account; payable-through 
        account.--The terms ``account'', ``correspondent account'', and 
        ``payable-through account'' have the meanings given those terms 
        in section 5318A of title 31, United States Code.
            (2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Finance, the Committee on 
                Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and the Committee 
                on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Ways and Means, the Committee 
                on Financial Services, and the Committee on Foreign 
                Affairs of the House of Representatives.
            (3) Foreign financial institution.--The term ``foreign 
        financial institution'' has the meaning of that term as 
        determined by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to section 
        104(i) of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and 
        Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8513(i)).
    (b) Imposition of Sanctions With Respect to the Central Bank of 
Syria and Other Syrian Financial Institutions.--
            (1) In general.--The President should prohibit the opening, 
        and prohibit or impose strict conditions on the maintaining, in 
        the United States of a correspondent account or a payable-
        through account by a foreign financial institution that the 
        President determines has knowingly conducted any significant 
        arms sale to the Government of Bashar al Assad through the 
        Central Bank of Syria or another Syrian financial institution 
        designated by the Secretary of the Treasury for the imposition 
        of sanctions pursuant to the International Emergency Economic 
        Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) or any Syrian individual or 
        entity added after April 28, 2011, and before the date of the 
        enactment of this Act to the Specially Designated Nationals 
        List maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the 
        Department of the Treasury.
            (2) Exception for humanitarian transactions.--The President 
        may not impose sanctions under paragraph (1) on a foreign 
        financial institution for engaging in a transaction with the 
        Central Bank of Syria for the sale of food, medicine, medical 
        devices, donations intended to relieve human suffering, or non-
        lethal aid to the people of Syria.
            (3) Applicability.--Paragraph (1) applies with respect to 
        financial transactions commenced on or after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.
            (4) Waiver.--
                    (A) In general.--The President may waive the 
                application of paragraph (1) with respect to a foreign 
                financial institution for a period of not more than 180 
                days, and may renew that waiver for additional periods 
                of not more than 180 days, if the President determines 
                and reports to the appropriate congressional committees 
                that the waiver is necessary to the national security 
                interest of the United States.
                    (B) Form.--A report submitted pursuant to 
                subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in unclassified 
                form, but may contain a classified annex.
    (c) Termination of Sanctions.--
            (1) In general.--The requirements under subsection (b) to 
        impose sanctions shall no longer have force or effect with 
        respect to Syria if the President determines and certifies to 
        the appropriate congressional committees that the termination 
        of such sanctions is in the national security interest of the 
        United States.
            (2) Notification requirement.--Upon making the 
        certification described in paragraph (1), the President shall 
        submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 
        assessing--
                    (A) the extent to which Bashar al-Assad or members 
                of his regime control Syrian territory;
                    (B) the existence and capability of a democratic 
                transitional government to control Syrian territory and 
                provide basic services to the Syrian people;
                    (C) whether the transitional government supports 
                acts of terrorism or has committed human rights 
                violations; and
                    (D) whether the transitional government is 
                cooperating with the United States Government in 
                locating, securing, and removing conventional and 
                unconventional weapons.

SEC. 7. INCREASING CONTRIBUTIONS AND OTHER HUMANITARIAN AND DEVELOPMENT 
              ASSISTANCE THROUGH INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS.

    (a) In General.--The President should instruct the United States 
permanent representative or executive director, as the case may be, to 
the United Nations voluntary agencies, including the World Food 
Program, the United Nations Development Program, United Nations 
Children's Fund, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 
and other appropriate international organizations such as the 
International Committee of the Red Cross to use the voice and vote of 
the United States to support additional humanitarian and development 
assistance for the people of Syria in order to accomplish the policy 
objectives described in section 3. The President is authorized, 
notwithstanding any other provision of law, to permit the United States 
to vote and take action in favor of the provision of assistance for 
Syria at any international financial institution in order to support 
the transition to peace, democracy, and sustainable development in 
Syria.
    (b) Notification Requirement.--
            (1) In general.--In cases where the authority in this 
        section is relied upon to overcome applicable restrictions on 
        the provision of assistance to Syria, obligation of such funds 
        shall be subject to the regular 15-day notification procedures.
            (2) Waiver.--Notification under paragraph (1) may be waived 
        if failure to do so would pose a substantial risk to human 
        health or welfare, in which case notification shall be provided 
        as early as practicable, but in no event later than 3 days 
        after taking the action to which such notification requirement 
        was applicable. The waiver shall be accompanied by an 
        explanation of the emergency circumstances necessitating the 
        waiver.

SEC. 8. INCREASING BILATERAL ASSISTANCE TO COUNTRIES THAT HOST SYRIAN 
              REFUGEES.

    (a) Authority.--The President should increase bilateral funding to 
countries, including Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, and Lebanon, which 
have experienced an influx of refugees from Syria.
    (b) Funding for Fiscal Years 2014 and 2015.--Of the amounts made 
available to carry out the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 
2151 et seq.) for fiscal years 2014 and 2015, such sums as may be 
necessary should be allocated for bilateral refugee assistance programs 
in the countries surrounding Syria.

SEC. 9. COORDINATION OF INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR SYRIA.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State should work with the 
appropriate United Nations agencies, the International Committee of the 
Red Cross, regional organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and 
the broader international community to convene an international donors 
group to maximize resources and efficiently provide humanitarian 
assistance to the people of Syria.
    (b) Purpose.--The Secretary of State should take steps to ensure 
donor groups coordinate resources for the following activities in Syria 
and the region:
            (1) Providing humanitarian relief to civilians impacted by 
        the violence in Syria and Syrian refugees in host countries.
            (2) Supporting inclusive post-transitional governance and 
        the establishment of the rule of law.
            (3) Supporting disarmament, demobilization, and 
        reintegration of combatants and members of militias.
    (c) Annual Report.--The Department of State shall submit a report 
on the specific programs, projects, and activities funded by the donors 
group and implemented by humanitarian organizations during the 
preceding year, including an evaluation of the results of such 
programs, projects, and activities.

SEC. 10. SECURING WEAPONS IN SYRIA.

    (a) Transition Plan.--The United States should work with regional 
partners to develop a plan, to be implemented in the event of a 
political transition, to--
            (1) identify and secure conventional and unconventional 
        weapons stockpiles in Syria;
            (2) recover and dispose of all unconventional weapons 
        stockpiled in Syria, with particular attention to chemical 
        weapons; and
            (3) prevent the illicit sale or transfer of conventional 
        and unconventional weapons out of Syria in order to preclude 
        regional weapons proliferation.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
Department of State should submit a budget request for fiscal year 2014 
that contains an increase in bilateral nonproliferation, demining, and 
anti-terrorism assistance for Syria toward accomplishing the policy 
objectives described in this section.
    (c) Authority.--The President is authorized, notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, to furnish, assistance in order to conduct 
activities in support of the purposes of this section.
    (d) Notification Requirement.--
            (1) In general.--In cases where the authority in this 
        section is relied upon to overcome applicable restrictions on 
        the provision of assistance to Syria, obligation of such funds 
        shall be subject to the regular 15-day notification procedures.
            (2) Waiver.--Notification under paragraph (1) may be waived 
        if failure to do so would pose a substantial risk to human 
        health or welfare, in which case notification shall be provided 
        as early as practicable, but in no event later than 3 days 
        after taking the action to which such notification requirement 
        was applicable. The waiver shall be accompanied by an 
        explanation of the emergency circumstances necessitating the 
        waiver.

SEC. 11. REPORT ON HUMANITARIAN AND STABILIZATION EFFORTS IN SYRIA.

    Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
and annually thereafter, the President shall submit to Congress a 
detailed report on the implementation of this Act, including a 
description of--
            (1) progress made as a result of humanitarian and 
        stabilization efforts, including refugee assistance to those 
        affected by the violence in Syria;
            (2) progress made toward establishing an inclusive, 
        democratic government that protects the rights of all Syrians; 
        and
            (3) key challenges, gaps, and obstacles to further 
        enhancing stability and peace in Syria, including between Syria 
        and its neighbors.
                                 <all>