[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 18 (Tuesday, January 29, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S748]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 66. Mr. TOOMEY (for himself, Mr. Van Hollen, and Mrs. Shaheen) 
submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 1, 
to make improvements to certain defense and security assistance 
provisions and to authorize the appropriation of funds to Israel, to 
reauthorize the United States-Jordan Defense Cooperation Act of 2015, 
and to halt the wholesale slaughter of the Syrian people, and for other 
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of subtitle D of title III, add the following:

     SEC. 336. REPORT ON UNITED STATES POLICY IN SYRIA.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) The regime of Bashar al Assad has committed gross 
     atrocities against the people of Syria.
       (2) The commission of these atrocities led to the eruption, 
     and continuation, of the Syrian civil war.
       (3) The ensuing conflict has resulted in the death of over 
     400,000 Syrian civilians.
       (4) The Syrian civil war has caused over 5,500,000 Syrians 
     to flee their country as refugees and over 6,000,000 others 
     to be displaced from their homes inside Syria.
       (5) The Assad regime has repeatedly used chemical weapons 
     against its own people.
       (6) In 2011 the Assad regime released from its prisons many 
     of the terrorists who would subsequently lead the Islamic 
     State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
       (7) ISIS has organized, executed, and inspired countless 
     terror attacks throughout the world since its emergence, 
     including in the United States.
       (8) By the end of 2014, ISIS controlled one third of the 
     territory of Syria and one third of the territory of Iraq.
       (9) Since 2014, the United States has led Operation 
     Inherent Resolve, with the help of allies, to degrade and 
     destroy ISIS.
       (10) Approximately 2,000 members of the United States Armed 
     Forces are deployed to Syria under Operation Inherent 
     Resolve.
       (11) The United States and its allies have succeeded in 
     seizing back nearly all the physical territory held by ISIS 
     in 2014.
       (12) Tens of thousands of ISIS terrorists remain in Syria 
     and Iraq despite having lost much of their territorial 
     ``Caliphate''.
       (13) The Islamic State continues to pose a threat to the 
     security of the United States and that of its allies.
       (14) Syrian Kurdish fighters in the People's Protection 
     Units, or YPG, have served as effective and trustworthy 
     allies in the fight against ISIS.
       (15) The Government of Turkey views these Kurdish forces as 
     an enemy and has expressed its intention to destroy them.
       (16) The support of the Russian and Iranian regimes in 
     Syria has been invaluable to the reinforcement of the Assad 
     government.
       (17) Russian-backed forces have directly assaulted United 
     States Armed Forces deployed in Syria on at least one 
     occasion.
       (18) The Government of Iran seeks to entrench its presence 
     in Syria as a means of supporting its terrorist proxies, like 
     Hezbollah and Hamas, and harming its enemies, like Israel.
       (19) Ensuring the existence of Israel, America's most 
     important ally in the Middle East, remains a key United 
     States interest in the region.
       (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) the pursuit of a clear, publicly-articulated strategy 
     will guide any withdrawal of United States Armed Forces in 
     Syria;
       (2) such a strategy recognizes that ISIS and al Qaeda 
     terrorists in Syria continue to pose a threat to the United 
     States and its allies;
       (3) such a strategy includes among its objectives the 
     complete degradation and long-term destruction of ISIS;
       (4) such a strategy will seek to prevent the emergence of 
     another terrorist group in Syria capable of threatening the 
     security of the United States once ISIS is defeated;
       (5) such a strategy includes the consideration of and 
     planning for the security interests of the Syrian Kurdish 
     allies of the United States;
       (6) such a strategy recognizes the destabilizing impact of 
     Iran in Syria;
       (7) such a strategy aims to ensure that Iranian-commanded 
     forces in Syria do not benefit from the withdrawal of the 
     United States Armed Forces; and
       (8) such a strategy aims to ensure that the Syrian civil 
     war ends through peaceful, political means.
       (c) Report.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to 
     Congress a report detailing United States policy in Syria.
       (2) Form.--The report required under paragraph (1) shall be 
     submitted in unclassified form but may contain a classified 
     annex.
       (d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be 
     construed as an authorization for the use of military force 
     in Syria or elsewhere.
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