[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 196 (Wednesday, December 12, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H10109]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CAESAR SYRIA CIVILIAN PROTECTION ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Kinzinger) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. KINZINGER. Mr. Speaker, we have got a lot of really important 
issues we talk about every day out here. I want to talk about something 
that is happening a few thousand miles away but affects us all. I want 
to talk about what is going on in Syria.
  Mr. Speaker, I remember back, I think, in 2011 being in Israel and 
standing in the Golan Heights and looking over towards Syria, and our 
guide at the time made the comment that there is a little disturbance 
over there. There was some concern about where that was going to lead, 
and we all know what has happened since.
  There is a lot of attention focused on Yemen right now, but in Syria 
there are 500,000 Syrian civilians who have been killed by a brutal 
dictator, Bashar al-Assad, 50,000 of which are children. Some of those 
children, in spectacular displays, were murdered by the use of chemical 
weapons, and I give great credit to our President and this 
administration for responding, as an America that believes in morals 
and strength should, by bombing and destroying some of the facilities 
that did that and holding to our red line.
  But the war hasn't stopped, and the egregious nature of the war 
continues. I actually believe that the nature of that war is creating 
another generation of terrorists, people who feel that they don't have 
hope, people who feel that they don't have opportunity. And when hope 
and opportunity don't exist, people turn to extremes, and this is one 
case.
  I want to talk specifically, though, about a really sad situation, a 
lady from Chicago, an American citizen, Layla Shweikani, who was 
murdered by the Assad regime. She was Chicago born and, a few years 
ago, basically made the decision that she had a passion for the people 
of Syria and decided to go and be an aide worker in Eastern Ghouta.
  Two years ago she disappeared. We know that she was put into Assad's 
prison camps and tortured for 10 months--an American, by the way--
before being transferred to a military court.
  Unfortunately, a few weeks ago our worst fears were confirmed: Miss 
Layla was actually tortured to death and executed on December 28, 2016, 
the first American we know who was tortured and killed by Bashar al-
Assad.
  We know there are other Americans in captivity, and we know this is 
something that needs to be addressed.
  Mr. Speaker, there are some in our Government, in this Chamber and in 
the other Chamber, that express sympathy to Bashar al-Assad and believe 
the antiquated theory that oppression of civilians is the only way to 
prevent terrorism.
  I would argue that, in an age of information, in an age of knowledge, 
oppression only leads to more terrorists. Oppression leads to 
hopelessness, to a lack of opportunity, and to turning to the only 
option they know at that time, which may be ISIS or al-Qaida, because 
they don't see any other opportunity or hope.
  Mr. Speaker, these people in our Government who express sympathy, 
while I believe that is something they have to answer with their 
creator ultimately someday, I am curious now what the response of 
everybody is when we find out that an American woman was tortured and 
killed in the prison camps of Assad.
  We have a bill called the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act. 
Caesar was a brave hero from Syria who took tens of thousands of 
pictures of torture victims of Assad, smuggled them to the United 
States, brought them in front of my committee in Foreign Affairs, and 
showed some of these pictures.
  There was an act that would sanction many members of the regime that 
was passed unanimously out of Foreign Affairs, passed out of the House, 
largely supported in the Senate, and is being held up by a junior 
Senator from Kentucky.

  I call on the other side of this blessed Capitol to pass the Caesar 
Syrian Civilian Protection Act. I call on the administration--as they 
said they support this--to sign this, put this on the Resolute desk.
  We talk a lot about the importance of women and equality, and I 
couldn't agree more; but in that debate, I think it is important to 
remember that, in Syria, an American civilian woman was tortured to 
death.
  We look in places like Afghanistan and know the oppression of women 
that occurred there. We know that America stands for something greater, 
and it is not just through the use of the military but through what we 
believe and what we stand for and the light that we shine.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a terrible situation, Miss Layla's death, but 
let us learn from it and let us go forward, and let the people of Syria 
be free.

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