[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 346 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 346

  Condemning the use of toxic chemicals as weapons in the Syrian Arab 
                               Republic.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 25, 2015

  Mr. Yoho (for himself, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Wilson of 
  South Carolina, Mr. Cook, Mr. Ribble, Mr. Issa, and Mr. Clawson of 
Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Condemning the use of toxic chemicals as weapons in the Syrian Arab 
                               Republic.

Whereas, as a result of over four years of civil war in the Syrian Arab 
        Republic, Syrian deaths have climbed to more than 230,000 deaths, and 
        more than 6,000,000 Syrians have been displaced;
Whereas the United Nations Mission to Investigate Allegations of the Use of 
        Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab Republic released its report on 
        September 16, 2013, confirming that surface-to-surface rockets 
        containing the nerve agent Sarin were used in the Ghouta area of 
        Damascus on August 21, 2013, an attack which killed over 1,400 people 
        according to a United States Government assessment;
Whereas the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) 
        Executive Council adopted a decision on September 27, 2013, which 
        required Syria to destroy its chemical weapons program by June 30, 2014;
Whereas a White House statement on August 18, 2014, marking the end of 
        destruction operations on the MV Cape Ray said that ``serious questions 
        remain with respect to the omissions and discrepancies in Syria's 
        declaration to the OPCW and about continued allegations of use'';
Whereas chlorine gas attacks in northern Syria have been repeatedly reported 
        since mid-April 2014;
Whereas although chlorine is not required to be declared or destroyed under the 
        Chemical Weapons Convention, its use in warfare is still prohibited 
        under the Convention;
Whereas the OPCW established a Fact-Finding Mission to investigate allegations 
        of the use of weaponized chlorine;
Whereas in the OPCW's second report released on September 10, 2014, the 
        investigators concluded they have ``compelling confirmation'' that a 
        toxic chemical was used ``systematically and repeatedly'' as a weapon 
        against villages in northern Syria and that ``chlorine, either pure or 
        in mixture'' was used in attacks on the villages of Talmanes, Al 
        Tamanah, and Kafr Zeta;
Whereas, on March 6, 2015, the United Nations Security Council adopted 
        Resolution 2209 (2015), condemning the use of chlorine gas as a weapon 
        in Syria and that those responsible for the use of chemical weapons 
        including chlorine must be held accountable;
Whereas in a June 16, 2015, hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, 
        United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Samantha 
        Power, testified that there are alarming and grave reports that the 
        Assad regime has been turning chlorine into a chemical weapon;
Whereas Secretary of State John Kerry stated on June 16, 2015, that he was 
        ``absolutely certain'' that the Assad regime has used chlorine against 
        his people;
Whereas despite the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2209, 
        the Assad regime has continued its chlorine attacks;
Whereas chemical weapons, including chlorine, are but one of the many heinous 
        and violent methods with which the Assad regime kills its own citizens;
Whereas barrel bombs dropped from helicopters are the primary method of delivery 
        for the Assad regime's chemical weapons;
Whereas the Assad regime's control over Syrian airspace facilitates his regime's 
        use of chlorine gas against his citizens; and
Whereas Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey stated in a 
        letter to Congress that a no-fly zone would result in ``the near total 
        elimination of the regime's ability to bomb opposition strongholds and 
        sustain its forces by air'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns the Assad regime for its atrocities against 
        the Syrian people, including its use of chlorine as a weapon;
            (2) condemns the use of any toxic chemical, including 
        chlorine, as a weapon in the Syrian Arab Republic;
            (3) maintains that those who have engaged in such unlawful 
        actions should be held accountable by the international 
        community and urges the President to report to Congress on the 
        use of chemical weapons, including chlorine, in Syria;
            (4) maintains that no party in Syria should use, develop, 
        produce, acquire, stockpile, retain, or transfer chemical 
        weapons, including weapons employing chlorine;
            (5) calls on the Administration to--
                    (A) continue offering material support to 
                appropriate programs and individuals collecting 
                evidence of the use of chemical weapons inside of 
                Syria;
                    (B) assist in the cataloguing and preservation of 
                evidence of use and responsibility of use of chemical 
                weapons; and
                    (C) facilitate the future transfer of evidence of 
                the use of chemical weapons to an appropriate legal 
                forum for use in prosecuting those responsible for the 
                illegal use of chemical weapons; and
            (6) urges the international community to establish a 
        comprehensive strategy regarding Syria which may include the 
        possibility of establishing a no-fly zone in Syria.
                                 <all>