[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 7966-7976]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              CAESAR SYRIA CIVILIAN PROTECTION ACT OF 2017

  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 1677) to halt the wholesale slaughter of the Syrian people, 
encourage a negotiated political settlement, and hold Syrian human 
rights abusers accountable for their crimes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1677

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Caesar 
     Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2017''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
Sec. 2. Sense of Congress.
Sec. 3. Statement of policy.

 TITLE I--ADDITIONAL ACTIONS IN CONNECTION WITH THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY 
                         WITH RESPECT TO SYRIA

Sec. 101. Sanctions with respect to Central Bank of Syria and foreign 
              persons that engage in certain transactions.
       Sec. 102. Prohibitions with respect to the transfer of arms 
           and related materials to Syria.
       Sec. 103. Rule of construction.
       Sec. 104. Definitions.

 TITLE II--AMENDMENTS TO SYRIA HUMAN RIGHTS ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2012

       Sec. 201. Imposition of sanctions with respect to certain 
           persons who are responsible for or complicit in human 
           rights abuses committed against citizens of Syria or 
           their family members.
       Sec. 202. Imposition of sanctions with respect to the 
           transfer of goods or technologies to Syria that are 
           likely to be used to commit human rights abuses.
       Sec. 203. Imposition of sanctions with respect to persons 
           who hinder humanitarian access.
       Sec. 204. Report on certain persons who are responsible for 
           or complicit in certain human rights abuses in Syria.

TITLE III--REPORTS AND WAIVER FOR HUMANITARIAN-RELATED ACTIVITIES WITH 
                            RESPECT TO SYRIA

       Sec. 301. Briefing on monitoring and evaluating of ongoing 
           assistance programs in Syria and to the Syrian people.
       Sec. 302. Assessment of potential methods to enhance the 
           protection of civilians.
       Sec. 303. Assistance to support entities taking actions 
           relating to gathering evidence for investigations into 
           war crimes or crimes against humanity in Syria since 
           March 2011.

        TITLE IV--SUSPENSION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO SYRIA

       Sec. 401. Suspension of sanctions with respect to Syria.
       Sec. 402. Waivers and exemptions.

       TITLE V--REGULATORY AUTHORITY, COST LIMITATION, AND SUNSET

       Sec. 501. Implementation and regulatory authorities.
       Sec. 502. Cost limitation.
       Sec. 503. Authority to consolidate reports.
       Sec. 504. Sunset.

     SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

       It is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) Bashar al-Assad's murderous actions against the people 
     of Syria have directly contributed to the deaths of more than 
     480,000 civilians, led to the destruction of more than 50 
     percent of Syria's critical infrastructure, and forced the 
     displacement of more than 14,000,000 people, precipitating 
     one of the worst humanitarian crises in more than 60 years;
       (2) international actions to protect vulnerable populations 
     from attack by uniformed and irregular forces associated with 
     the Assad regime, including Hezbollah, on land and by air, 
     including through the use of barrel bombs, chemical weapons, 
     mass starvation, industrial-scale torture and execution of 
     political dissidents, sniper attacks against pregnant women, 
     and the deliberate targeting of medical facilities, schools, 
     residential areas, and community gathering places, including 
     markets, have been insufficient to date;
       (3) Assad's use of chemical weapons, including chlorine, 
     against the Syrian people violates the Chemical Weapons 
     Convention, to which Syria is a party;
       (4) Assad's abhorrent use of chemical weapons, most 
     recently on April 4, 2017, in an attack on the town of Khan 
     Shakhyn in which more than 90 people died, including women 
     and children, and more than 600 hundred people were injured, 
     is condemned in the strongest terms;
       (5) violent attacks resulting in death, injury, 
     imprisonment or threat of prosecution against humanitarian 
     aid workers and diplomatic personnel, as well as attacks on 
     humanitarian supplies, facilities, transports, and assets, 
     and acts to impede the access and secure movement of all 
     humanitarian personnel are in violation of international 
     humanitarian law and impede the lifesaving work of 
     humanitarian organizations and diplomatic institutions; and
       (6) Assad's continued claim of leadership and war crimes in 
     Syria have served as a rallying point for the extremist 
     ideology of the Islamic State, Jabhat al-Nusra, and other 
     terrorist organizations.

     SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

       It is the policy of the United States that all diplomatic 
     and coercive economic means should be utilized to compel the 
     government of Bashar al-Assad to immediately halt the 
     wholesale slaughter of the Syrian people and to support an 
     immediate transition to a democratic government in Syria that 
     respects the rule of law, human rights, and peaceful co-
     existence with its neighbors.

 TITLE I--ADDITIONAL ACTIONS IN CONNECTION WITH THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY 
                         WITH RESPECT TO SYRIA

     SEC. 101. SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO CENTRAL BANK OF SYRIA AND 
                   FOREIGN PERSONS THAT ENGAGE IN CERTAIN 
                   TRANSACTIONS.

       (a) Application of Certain Measures to Central Bank of 
     Syria.--Except as provided in subsections (a) and (b) of 
     section 402, the President shall apply the measures described 
     in section 5318A(b)(5) of title 31, United States Code, to 
     the Central Bank of Syria.
       (b) Blocking Property of Foreign Persons That Engage in 
     Certain Transactions.--
       (1) In general.--Beginning on and after the date that is 30 
     days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
     President shall impose on a foreign person the sanctions 
     described in subsection (c) if the President determines that 
     such foreign person, on or after such date of enactment, 
     knowingly engages in an activity described in paragraph (2).
       (2) Activities described.--A foreign person engages in an 
     activity described in this paragraph if the foreign person--
       (A) knowingly provides significant financial, material or 
     technological support to (including engaging in or 
     facilitating a significant transaction or transactions with) 
     or provides significant financial services for--
       (i) the Government of Syria (including government entities 
     operating as a business enterprise) and the Central Bank of 
     Syria, or any of its agencies or instrumentalities; or
       (ii) a foreign person subject to sanctions pursuant to--

       (I) the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 
     U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) with respect to Syria or any other 
     provision of law that imposes sanctions with respect to 
     Syria; or
       (II) a resolution that is agreed to by the United Nations 
     Security Council that imposes sanctions with respect to 
     Syria;

       (B) knowingly--
       (i) sells or provides significant goods, services, 
     technology, information, or other support that directly and 
     significantly facilitates the maintenance or expansion of the 
     Government of Syria's domestic production of natural gas or 
     petroleum or petroleum products of Syrian origin in areas 
     controlled by the Government of Syria or associated forces;

[[Page 7967]]

       (ii) sells or provides to the Government of Syria crude oil 
     or condensate, refined petroleum products, liquefied natural 
     gas, or petrochemical products that have a fair market value 
     of $500,000 or more or that during a 12-month period have an 
     aggregate fair market value of $2,000,000 or more in areas 
     controlled by the Government of Syria or associated forces;
       (iii) sells or provides aircraft or spare parts, or 
     provides significant goods, services, or technologies 
     associated with the operation of such aircraft or air 
     carriers to any foreign person operating in areas controlled 
     by the Government of Syria or associated forces that are 
     used, in whole or in part, for military purposes; or
       (iv) sells or provides significant goods, services, or 
     technology to a foreign person operating in the shipping 
     (including ports and free trade zones), transportation, or 
     telecommunications sectors in areas controlled by the 
     Government of Syria or associated forces;
       (C) knowingly facilitates efforts by a foreign person to 
     carry out an activity described in subparagraph (A) or (B); 
     or
       (D) knowingly provides significant loans, credits, 
     including export credits, or financing to carry out an 
     activity described in subparagraph (A) or (B).
       (c) Sanctions Against a Foreign Person.--The sanctions to 
     be imposed on a foreign person described in subsection (b) 
     are the following:
       (1) In general.--The President shall exercise all of the 
     powers granted to the President under the International 
     Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the 
     extent necessary to block and prohibit all transactions in 
     property and interests in property of the foreign person if 
     such property and interests in property are in the United 
     States, come within the United States, or are or come within 
     the possession or control of a United States person.
       (2) Aliens ineligible for visas, admission, or parole.--
       (A) Visas, admission, or parole.--An alien who the 
     Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security (or 
     a designee of one of such Secretaries) knows, or has reason 
     to believe, meets any of the criteria described in subsection 
     (a) is--
       (i) inadmissible to the United States;
       (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other documentation to 
     enter the United States; and
       (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted or paroled into 
     the United States or to receive any other benefit under the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
       (B) Current visas revoked.--
       (i) In general.--The issuing consular officer, the 
     Secretary of State, or the Secretary of Homeland Security (or 
     a designee of one of such Secretaries) shall revoke any visa 
     or other entry documentation issued to an alien who meets any 
     of the criteria described in subsection (a) regardless of 
     when issued.
       (ii) Effect of revocation.--A revocation under clause (i)--

       (I) shall take effect immediately; and
       (II) shall automatically cancel any other valid visa or 
     entry documentation that is in the alien's possession.

       (3) Exception to comply with united nations headquarters 
     agreement.--Sanctions under paragraph (2) shall not apply to 
     an alien if admitting the alien into the United States is 
     necessary to permit the United States to comply with the 
     Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, 
     signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force 
     November 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the United 
     States, or other applicable international obligations.
       (4) Penalties.--The penalties provided for in subsections 
     (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency 
     Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to a person 
     that knowingly violates, attempts to violate, conspires to 
     violate, or causes a violation of regulations promulgated 
     under section 501(a) to carry out paragraph (1) of this 
     subsection to the same extent that such penalties apply to a 
     person that knowingly commits an unlawful act described in 
     section 206(a) of that Act.

     SEC. 102. PROHIBITIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE TRANSFER OF ARMS 
                   AND RELATED MATERIALS TO SYRIA.

       (a) Sanctions.--
       (1) In general.--Beginning on and after the date that is 30 
     days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
     President shall impose on a foreign person the sanctions 
     described in subsection (b) if the President determines that 
     such foreign person, on or after such date of enactment, 
     knowingly exports, transfers, or provides significant 
     financial, material, or technological support to the 
     Government of Syria to--
       (A) acquire or develop chemical, biological, or nuclear 
     weapons or related technologies;
       (B) acquire or develop ballistic or cruise missile 
     capabilities;
       (C) acquire or develop destabilizing numbers and types of 
     advanced conventional weapons; or
       (D) acquire defense articles, defense services, or defense 
     information (as such terms are defined under the Arms Export 
     Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.)), if the President 
     determines that a significant type or amount of such 
     articles, services, or information has been so acquired.
       (2) Applicability to other foreign persons.--The sanctions 
     described in subsection (b) shall also be imposed on any 
     foreign person that is a successor entity to a foreign person 
     described in paragraph (1).
       (b) Sanctions Against a Foreign Person.--The sanctions to 
     be imposed on a foreign person described in subsection (a) 
     are the following:
       (1) In general.--The President shall exercise all powers 
     granted by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act 
     (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent necessary to freeze 
     and prohibit all transactions in all property and interests 
     in property of the foreign person if such property and 
     interests in property are in the United States, come within 
     the United States, or are or come within the possession or 
     control of a United States person.
       (2) Aliens ineligible for visas, admission, or parole.--
       (A) Visas, admission, or parole.--An alien who the 
     Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security (or 
     a designee of one of such Secretaries) knows, or has reason 
     to believe, meets any of the criteria described in subsection 
     (a) is--
       (i) inadmissible to the United States;
       (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other documentation to 
     enter the United States; and
       (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted or paroled into 
     the United States or to receive any other benefit under the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
       (B) Current visas revoked.--
       (i) In general.--The issuing consular officer, the 
     Secretary of State, or the Secretary of Homeland Security (or 
     a designee of one of such Secretaries) shall revoke any visa 
     or other entry documentation issued to an alien who meets any 
     of the criteria described in subsection (a) regardless of 
     when issued.
       (ii) Effect of revocation.--A revocation under clause (i)--

       (I) shall take effect immediately; and
       (II) shall automatically cancel any other valid visa or 
     entry documentation that is in the alien's possession.

       (3) Exception to comply with united nations headquarters 
     agreement.--Sanctions under paragraph (2) shall not apply to 
     an alien if admitting the alien into the United States is 
     necessary to permit the United States to comply with the 
     Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, 
     signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force 
     November 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the United 
     States, or other applicable international obligations.
       (4) Penalties.--A person that violates, attempts to 
     violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of any 
     regulation, license, or order issued to carry out this 
     section shall be subject to the penalties set forth in 
     subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International 
     Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same 
     extent as a person that commits an unlawful act described in 
     subsection (a) of that section.

     SEC. 103. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

       Nothing in this title shall be construed to limit the 
     authority of the President pursuant to the International 
     Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).

     SEC. 104. DEFINITIONS.

       In this title:
       (1) Admitted; alien.--The terms ``admitted'' and ``alien'' 
     have the meanings given such terms in section 101 of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101).
       (2) Financial, material, or technological support.--The 
     term ``financial, material, or technological support'' has 
     the meaning given such term in section 542.304 of title 31, 
     Code of Federal Regulations, as such section was in effect on 
     the date of the enactment of this Act.
       (3) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means any 
     citizen or national of a foreign country, or any entity not 
     organized solely under the laws of the United States or 
     existing solely in the United States.
       (4) Government of syria.--The term ``Government of Syria'' 
     has the meaning given such term in section 542.305 of title 
     31, Code of Federal Regulations, as such section was in 
     effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.
       (5) Knowingly.--The term ``knowingly'' has the meaning 
     given such term in section 566.312 of title 31, Code of 
     Federal Regulations, as such section was in effect on the 
     date of the enactment of this Act.
       (6) Person.--The term ``person'' means an individual or 
     entity.
       (7) Petroleum or petroleum products of syrian origin.--The 
     term ``petroleum or petroleum products of Syrian origin'' has 
     the meaning given such term in section 542.314 of title 31, 
     Code of Federal Regulations, as such section was in effect on 
     the date of the enactment of this Act.
       (8) Significant transaction or transactions; significant 
     financial services.--A transaction or transactions or 
     financial services shall be determined to be a significant 
     for purposes of this section in accordance with section 
     566.404 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, as such 
     section was in effect on the date of the enactment of this 
     Act.
       (9) Syria.--The term ``Syria'' has the meaning given such 
     term in section 542.316 of title 31, Code of Federal 
     Regulations, as such

[[Page 7968]]

     section was in effect on the date of the enactment of this 
     Act.
       (10) United states person.--The term ``United States 
     person'' means any United States citizen, permanent resident 
     alien, entity organized under the laws of the United States 
     (including foreign branches), or any person in the United 
     States.

 TITLE II--AMENDMENTS TO SYRIA HUMAN RIGHTS ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2012

     SEC. 201. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN 
                   PERSONS WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OR COMPLICIT IN 
                   HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES COMMITTED AGAINST CITIZENS 
                   OF SYRIA OR THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS.

       (a) In General.--Section 702(c) of the Syria Human Rights 
     Accountability Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8791(c)) is amended to 
     read as follows:
       ``(c) Sanctions Described.--
       ``(1) In general.--The President shall exercise all powers 
     granted by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act 
     (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent necessary to freeze 
     and prohibit all transactions in all property and interests 
     in property of a person on the list required by subsection 
     (b) if such property and interests in property are in the 
     United States, come within the United States, or are or come 
     within the possession or control of a United States person.
       ``(2) Aliens ineligible for visas, admission, or parole.--
       ``(A) Visas, admission, or parole.--An alien who the 
     Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security (or 
     a designee of one of such Secretaries) knows, or has reason 
     to believe, meets any of the criteria described in subsection 
     (b) is--
       ``(i) inadmissible to the United States;
       ``(ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other documentation 
     to enter the United States; and
       ``(iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted or paroled into 
     the United States or to receive any other benefit under the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
       ``(B) Current visas revoked.--
       ``(i) In general.--The issuing consular officer, the 
     Secretary of State, or the Secretary of Homeland Security (or 
     a designee of one of such Secretaries) shall revoke any visa 
     or other entry documentation issued to an alien who meets any 
     of the criteria described in subsection (b) regardless of 
     when issued.
       ``(ii) Effect of revocation.--A revocation under clause 
     (i)--

       ``(I) shall take effect immediately; and
       ``(II) shall automatically cancel any other valid visa or 
     entry documentation that is in the alien's possession.

       ``(3) Penalties.--A person that violates, attempts to 
     violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of this 
     section or any regulation, license, or order issued to carry 
     out this section shall be subject to the penalties set forth 
     in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the 
     International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) 
     to the same extent as a person that commits an unlawful act 
     described in subsection (a) of that section.
       ``(4) Regulatory authority.--The President shall, not later 
     than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
     section, promulgate regulations as necessary for the 
     implementation of this section.
       ``(5) Exception to comply with united nations headquarters 
     agreement.--Sanctions under paragraph (2) shall not apply to 
     an alien if admitting the alien into the United States is 
     necessary to permit the United States to comply with the 
     Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, 
     signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force 
     November 21, 1947, between the United Nations and the United 
     States, or other applicable international obligations.
       ``(6) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section shall 
     be construed to limit the authority of the President pursuant 
     to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 
     1701 et seq.), relevant Executive orders, regulations, or 
     other provisions of law.''.
       (b) Serious Human Rights Abuses Described.--Section 702 of 
     the Syria Human Rights Accountability Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 
     8791) is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(d) Serious Human Rights Abuses Described.--In subsection 
     (b), the term `serious human rights abuses' includes--
       ``(1) the deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure 
     to include schools, hospitals, markets, and other 
     infrastructure that is essential to human life, such as power 
     and water systems; and
       ``(2) the deliberate diversion, hindering, or blocking of 
     access for humanitarian purposes, including access across 
     conflict lines and borders.''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsections (a) 
     and (b) shall take effect on the date of the enactment of 
     this Act and shall apply with respect to the imposition of 
     sanctions under section 702(a) of the Syria Human Rights 
     Accountability Act of 2012 on after such date of enactment.

     SEC. 202. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE 
                   TRANSFER OF GOODS OR TECHNOLOGIES TO SYRIA THAT 
                   ARE LIKELY TO BE USED TO COMMIT HUMAN RIGHTS 
                   ABUSES.

       Section 703(b)(2)(C) of the Syria Human Rights 
     Accountability Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8792(b)(2)(C)) is 
     amended--
       (1) in clause (i), by striking ``or'' at the end;
       (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting a semicolon; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(iii) any article--

       ``(I) designated by the President for purposes of the 
     United States Munitions List under section 38(a)(1) of the 
     Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778(a)(1)); and
       ``(II) with respect to which the President determines is 
     significant for purposes of the imposition of sanctions under 
     subsection (a); or

       ``(iv) other goods or technologies that the President 
     determines may be used by the Government of Syria to commit 
     human rights abuses against the people of Syria.''.

     SEC. 203. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO PERSONS WHO 
                   HINDER HUMANITARIAN ACCESS.

       (a) In General.--The Syria Human Rights Accountability Act 
     of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8791 et seq.) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating sections 705 and 706 as sections 706 
     and 707, respectively;
       (2) by inserting after section 704 the following:

     ``SEC. 705. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO PERSONS 
                   WHO HINDER HUMANITARIAN ACCESS.

       ``(a) In General.--The President shall impose sanctions 
     described in section 702(c) with respect to each person on 
     the list required by subsection (b).
       ``(b) List of Persons Who Hinder Humanitarian Access.--
       ``(1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date 
     of the enactment of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act 
     of 2017, the President shall submit to the appropriate 
     congressional committees a list of persons that the President 
     determines have engaged in deliberate diversion, hindering, 
     or blocking of access for humanitarian purposes for the 
     United Nations, its specialized agencies and implementing 
     partners, national and international nongovernmental 
     organizations, and all other actors engaged in humanitarian 
     relief activities in Syria, including through the deliberate 
     targeting of such humanitarian actors and activities in Syria 
     and across conflict lines and borders.
       ``(2) Updates of list.--The President shall submit to the 
     appropriate congressional committees an updated list under 
     paragraph (1)--
       ``(A) not later than 300 days after the date of the 
     enactment of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2017 
     and every 180 days thereafter; and
       ``(B) as new information becomes available.
       ``(3) Form.--The list required by paragraph (1) shall be 
     submitted in unclassified form but may contain a classified 
     annex.''; and
       (3) in section 706 (as so redesignated), by striking ``or 
     704'' and inserting ``704, or 705''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for the 
     Syria Human Rights Accountability Act of 2012 is amended by 
     inserting after the item relating to section 704 the 
     following new item:

``Sec. 705. Imposition of sanctions with respect to persons who hinder 
              humanitarian access.''.

     SEC. 204. REPORT ON CERTAIN PERSONS WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR 
                   OR COMPLICIT IN CERTAIN HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN 
                   SYRIA.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the 
     appropriate congressional committees a detailed report with 
     respect to whether each person described in subsection (c) 
     meets the requirements described in section 702(b) of the 
     Syria Human Rights Accountability Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 
     8791(b)) for purposes of inclusion on the list of persons who 
     are responsible for or complicit in certain human rights 
     abuses under such section.
       (b) Justification.--The President shall include in the 
     report required by subsection (a) a description of the 
     reasons why any of the persons described in subsection (c) do 
     not meet the requirements described in section 702(b) of the 
     Syria Human Rights Accountability Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 
     8791(b)), including information on whether sufficient 
     credible evidence of responsibility for such abuses was found 
     or whether any of the persons described in subsection (c) 
     have been designated pursuant to--
       (1) Executive Order 13572 of April 29, 2011 (76 Fed. Reg. 
     24787; relating to blocking property of certain persons with 
     respect to human rights abuses in Syria);
       (2) Executive Order 13573 of May 18, 2011 (76 Fed. Reg. 
     29143; relating to blocking property of senior officials of 
     the Government of Syria);
       (3) Executive Order 13582 of August 17, 2011 (76 Fed. Reg. 
     52209; relating to blocking property of the Government of 
     Syria and prohibiting certain transactions with respect to 
     Syria); or
       (4) Executive Order 13606 of April 22, 2012 (77 Fed. Reg. 
     24571; relating to blocking the property and suspending entry 
     into the United States of certain persons with respect to 
     grave human rights abuses by the Governments of Iran and 
     Syria via information technology).

[[Page 7969]]

       (c) Persons Described.--The persons described in this 
     subsection are the following:
       (1) Bashar Al-Assad.
       (2) Asma Al-Assad.
       (3) Rami Makhlouf.
       (4) Bouthayna Shaaban.
       (5) Walid Moallem.
       (6) Ali Al-Salim.
       (7) Wael Nader Al-Halqi.
       (8) Jamil Hassan.
       (9) Suhail Hassan.
       (10) Ali Mamluk.
       (11) Muhammed Khadour, Deir Ez Zor Military and Security.
       (12) Jamal Razzouq, Security Branch 243.
       (13) Munzer Ghanam, Air Force Intelligence.
       (14) Daas Hasan Ali, Branch 327.
       (15) Jassem Ali Jassem Hamad, Political Security.
       (16) Samir Muhammad Youssef, Military Intelligence.
       (17) Ali Ahmad Dayoub, Air Force Intelligence.
       (18) Khaled Muhsen Al-Halabi, Security Branch 335.
       (19) Mahmoud Kahila, Political Security.
       (20) Zuhair Ahmad Hamad, Provincial Security.
       (21) Wafiq Nasser, Security Branch 245.
       (22) Qussay Mayoub, Air Force Intelligence.
       (23) Muhammad Ammar Sardini, Political Security.
       (24) Fouad Hammouda, Military Security.
       (25) Hasan Daaboul, Branch 261.
       (26) Yahia Wahbi, Air Force Intelligence.
       (27) Okab Saqer, Security Branch 318.
       (28) Husam Luqa, Political Security.
       (29) Sami Al-Hasan, Security Branch 219.
       (30) Yassir Deeb, Political Security.
       (31) Ibrahim Darwish, Security Branch 220.
       (32) Nasser Deeb, Political Security.
       (33) Abdullatif Al-Fahed, Security Branch 290.
       (34) Adeeb Namer Salamah, Air Force Intelligence.
       (35) Akram Muhammed, State Security.
       (36) Reyad Abbas, Political Security.
       (37) Ali Abdullah Ayoub, Syrian Armed Forces.
       (38) Fahd Jassem Al-Freij, Defense Ministry.
       (39) Issam Halaq, Air Force.
       (40) Ghassan Al-Abdullah, General Intelligence Directorate.
       (41) Maher Al-Assad, Republican Guard.
       (42) Fahad Al-Farouch.
       (43) Rafiq Shahada, Military Intelligence.
       (44) Loay Al-Ali, Military Intelligence.
       (45) Nawfal Al-Husayn, Military Intelligence.
       (46) Muhammad Zamrini, Military Intelligence.
       (47) Muhammad Mahallah, Military Intelligence.
       (d) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be 
     submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified 
     annex if necessary.
       (e) Definition.--In this section, the term ``appropriate 
     congressional committees'' means--
       (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on 
     Financial Services, the Committee on Ways and Means, and the 
     Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives; 
     and
       (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on 
     Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Committee on 
     Finance, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.

TITLE III--REPORTS AND WAIVER FOR HUMANITARIAN-RELATED ACTIVITIES WITH 
                            RESPECT TO SYRIA

     SEC. 301. BRIEFING ON MONITORING AND EVALUATING OF ONGOING 
                   ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS IN SYRIA AND TO THE SYRIAN 
                   PEOPLE.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State and the 
     Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
     Development shall brief the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 
     the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign 
     Relations of the Senate on the monitoring and evaluation of 
     ongoing assistance programs in Syria and for the Syrian 
     people, including assistance provided through multilateral 
     organizations.
       (b) Matters To Be Included.--The briefing required by 
     subsection (a) shall include--
       (1) the specific project monitoring and evaluation efforts, 
     including measurable goals and performance metrics for 
     assistance in Syria;
       (2) a description of the memoranda of understanding entered 
     into by the Department of State, the United States Agency for 
     International Development, and their respective Inspectors 
     General and the multilateral organizations through which 
     United States assistance will be delivered that formalize 
     requirements for the sharing of information between such 
     entities for the conduct of audits, investigations, and 
     evaluations; and
       (3) the major challenges to monitoring and evaluating such 
     programs.

     SEC. 302. ASSESSMENT OF POTENTIAL METHODS TO ENHANCE THE 
                   PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the 
     appropriate congressional committees a report that--
       (1) assesses the potential effectiveness, risks, and 
     operational requirements of the establishment and maintenance 
     of a no-fly zone over part or all of Syria, including--
       (A) the operational and legal requirements for United 
     States and coalition air power to establish a no-fly zone in 
     Syria;
       (B) the impact a no-fly zone in Syria would have on 
     humanitarian and counterterrorism efforts in Syria and the 
     surrounding region; and
       (C) the potential for force contributions from other 
     countries to establish a no-fly zone in Syria;
       (2) assesses the potential effectiveness, risks, and 
     operational requirements for the establishment of one or more 
     safe zones in Syria for internally displaced persons or for 
     the facilitation of humanitarian assistance, including--
       (A) the operational and legal requirements for United 
     States and coalition forces to establish one or more safe 
     zones in Syria;
       (B) the impact one or more safe zones in Syria would have 
     on humanitarian and counterterrorism efforts in Syria and the 
     surrounding region; and
       (C) the potential for contributions from other countries 
     and vetted non-state actor partners to establish and maintain 
     one or more safe zones in Syria;
       (3) assesses the potential effectiveness, risks, and 
     operational requirements of other non-military means to 
     enhance the protection of civilians, especially civilians who 
     are in besieged areas, trapped at borders, or internally 
     displaced; and
       (4) describes the Administration's plan for recruitment, 
     training, and retention of partner forces, including--
       (A) identification of the United States partner forces 
     operating on the ground;
       (B) the primary source of strength for each armed actor 
     engaged in hostilities;
       (C) the capabilities, requirements, and vulnerabilities of 
     each armed actor;
       (D) the United States role in mitigating vulnerabilities of 
     partner forces; and
       (E) the Administration's measures of success for partner 
     forces, including--
       (i) increasing Syrian civilian security; and
       (ii) working toward an end to the conflict in Syria.
       (b) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be 
     submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified 
     annex if necessary.
       (c) Consultation.--The report required by subsection (a) 
     shall be informed by consultations with the Department of 
     State, the United States Agency for International 
     Development, the Department of Defense, and international and 
     local organizations operating in Syria or in neighboring 
     countries to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people.
       (d) Definition.--In this section, the term ``appropriate 
     congressional committees'' means--
       (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
     Armed Services of the House of Representatives; and
       (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
     Armed Services of the Senate.

     SEC. 303. ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT ENTITIES TAKING ACTIONS 
                   RELATING TO GATHERING EVIDENCE FOR 
                   INVESTIGATIONS INTO WAR CRIMES OR CRIMES 
                   AGAINST HUMANITY IN SYRIA SINCE MARCH 2011.

       (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, the Secretary of State, acting through the Assistant 
     Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and the 
     Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law 
     Enforcement Affairs, is authorized to provide assistance to 
     support entities that are conducting criminal investigations, 
     building Syrian investigative capacity, supporting 
     prosecutions in national courts, collecting evidence and 
     preserving the chain of evidence for eventual prosecution 
     against those who have committed war crimes or crimes against 
     humanity in Syria, including the aiding and abetting of such 
     crimes by foreign governments and organizations supporting 
     the Government of Syria, since March 2011.
       (b) Briefing.--Not later than one year after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall brief 
     the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
     Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
     Senate on assistance provided under subsection (a).

        TITLE IV--SUSPENSION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO SYRIA

     SEC. 401. SUSPENSION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO SYRIA.

       (a) Suspension of Sanctions.--
       (1) Negotiations not concluding in agreement.--If the 
     President determines that internationally recognized 
     negotiations to resolve the violence in Syria have not 
     concluded in an agreement or are likely not to conclude in an 
     agreement, the President may suspend, as appropriate, in 
     whole or in part, the imposition of sanctions otherwise 
     required under this Act or any amendment made by this Act for 
     a period not to exceed 120 days, and renewable for additional 
     periods not to exceed 120 days, if the President submits to 
     the appropriate congressional committees in writing a 
     determination and

[[Page 7970]]

     certification that the Government of Syria has ended military 
     attacks against and gross violations of the human rights of 
     the Syrian people, specifically--
       (A) the air space over Syria is no longer being utilized by 
     the Government of Syria and associated forces to target 
     civilian populations through the use of incendiary devices, 
     including barrel bombs, chemical weapons, and conventional 
     arms, including air-delivered missiles and explosives;
       (B) areas besieged by the Assad regime and associated 
     forces, including Hezbollah and irregular Iranian forces, are 
     no longer cut off from international aid and have regular 
     access to humanitarian assistance, freedom of travel, and 
     medical care;
       (C) the Government of Syria is releasing all political 
     prisoners forcibly held within the Assad regime prison 
     system, including the facilities maintained by various 
     security, intelligence, and military elements associated with 
     the Government of Syria and allowed full access to the same 
     facilities for investigations by appropriate international 
     human rights organizations; and
       (D) the forces of the Government of Syria and associated 
     forces, including Hezbollah, irregular Iranian forces, and 
     Russian government air assets, are no longer engaged in 
     deliberate targeting of medical facilities, schools, 
     residential areas, and community gathering places, including 
     markets, in flagrant violation of international norms.
       (2) Negotiations concluding in agreement.--
       (A) Initial suspension of sanctions.--If the President 
     determines that internationally recognized negotiations to 
     resolve the violence in Syria have concluded in an agreement 
     or are likely to conclude in an agreement, the President may 
     suspend, as appropriate, in whole or in part, the imposition 
     of sanctions otherwise required under this Act or any 
     amendment made by this Act for a period not to exceed 120 
     days if the President submits to the appropriate 
     congressional committees in writing a determination and 
     certification that--
       (i) in the case in which the negotiations are likely to 
     conclude in an agreement--

       (I) the Government of Syria, the Syrian High Negotiations 
     Committee or its internationally-recognized successor, and 
     appropriate international parties are participating in 
     direct, face-to-face negotiations; and
       (II) the suspension of sanctions under this Act or any 
     amendment made by this Act is essential to the advancement of 
     such negotiations; and

       (ii) the Government of Syria has demonstrated a commitment 
     to a significant and substantial reduction in attacks on and 
     violence against the Syrian people by the Government of Syria 
     and associated forces.
       (B) Renewal of suspension of sanctions.--The President may 
     renew a suspension of sanctions under subparagraph (A) for 
     additional periods not to exceed 120 days if, for each such 
     additional period, the President submits to the appropriate 
     congressional committees in writing a determination and 
     certification that--
       (i) the conditions described in clauses (i) and (ii) of 
     subparagraph (A) are continuing to be met;
       (ii) the renewal of the suspension of sanctions is 
     essential to implementing an agreement described in 
     subparagraph (A) or making progress toward concluding an 
     agreement described in subparagraph (A);
       (iii) the Government of Syria and associated forces have 
     ceased attacks against Syrian civilians; and
       (iv) the Government of Syria has publicly committed to 
     negotiations for a transitional government in Syria and 
     continues to demonstrate that commitment through sustained 
     engagement in talks and substantive and verifiable progress 
     towards the implementation of such an agreement.
       (3) Briefing and reimposition of sanctions.--
       (A) Briefing.--Not later than 30 days after the President 
     submits to the appropriate congressional committees a 
     determination and certification in the case of a renewal of 
     suspension of sanctions under paragraph (2)(B), and every 30 
     days thereafter, the President shall provide a briefing to 
     the appropriate congressional committees on the status and 
     frequency of negotiations described in paragraph (2).
       (B) Re-imposition of sanctions.--If the President provides 
     a briefing to the appropriate congressional committees under 
     subparagraph (A) with respect to which the President 
     indicates a lapse in negotiations described in paragraph (2) 
     for a period that equals or exceeds 90 days, the sanctions 
     that were suspended under paragraph (2)(B) shall be re-
     imposed and any further suspension of such sanctions is 
     prohibited.
       (4) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``appropriate 
     congressional committees'' means--
       (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on 
     Financial Services, the Committee on Ways and Means, and the 
     Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives; 
     and
       (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on 
     Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Committee on 
     Finance, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.
       (b) Sense of Congress To Be Considered for Determining a 
     Transitional Government in Syria.--It is the sense of 
     Congress that a transitional government in Syria is a 
     government that--
       (1) is taking verifiable steps to release all political 
     prisoners and is providing full access to Syrian prisons for 
     investigations by appropriate international human rights 
     organizations;
       (2) is taking verifiable steps to remove former senior 
     Syrian Government officials who are complicit in the 
     conception, implementation, or cover up of war crimes, crimes 
     against humanity, or human rights abuses and any person 
     subject to sanctions under any provision of law from 
     government positions;
       (3) is in the process of organizing free and fair elections 
     for a new government--
       (A) to be held in a timely manner and scheduled while the 
     suspension of sanctions or the renewal of the suspension of 
     sanctions under this section is in effect; and
       (B) to be conducted under the supervision of 
     internationally recognized observers;
       (4) is making tangible progress toward establishing an 
     independent judiciary;
       (5) is demonstrating respect for and compliance with 
     internationally recognized human rights and basic freedoms as 
     specified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
       (6) is taking steps to verifiably fulfill its commitments 
     under the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Treaty on the 
     Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and is making tangible 
     progress toward becoming a signatory to Convention on the 
     Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of 
     Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their 
     Destruction, entered into force March 26, 1975, and adhering 
     to the Missile Technology Control Regime and other control 
     lists, as necessary;
       (7) has halted the development and deployment of ballistic 
     and cruise missiles; and
       (8) is taking verifiable steps to remove from positions of 
     authority within the intelligence and security services as 
     well as the military those who were in a position of 
     authority or responsibility during the conflict and who under 
     the authority of their position were implicated in or 
     implicit in the torture, extrajudicial killing, or execution 
     of civilians, to include those who were involved in 
     decisionmaking or execution of plans to use chemical weapons.

     SEC. 402. WAIVERS AND EXEMPTIONS.

       (a) Exemptions.--The following activities and transactions 
     shall be exempt from sanctions authorized under this Act or 
     any amendment made by this Act:
       (1) Any activity subject to the reporting requirements 
     under title V of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 
     3091 et seq.), or to any authorized intelligence activities 
     of the United States.
       (2) Any transaction necessary to comply with United States 
     obligations under--
       (A) the Agreement between the United Nations and the United 
     States of America regarding the Headquarters of the United 
     Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered 
     into force November 21, 1947;
       (B) the Convention on Consular Relations, done at Vienna 
     April 24, 1963, and entered into force March 19, 1967; or
       (C) any other international agreement to which the United 
     States is a party.
       (b) Humanitarian, Stabilization, and Democracy Assistance 
     Waiver.--
       (1) Statement of policy.--It shall be the policy of the 
     United States to fully utilize the waiver authority under 
     this subsection to ensure that adequate humanitarian relief 
     or support for stabilization and democracy promotion is 
     provided to the Syrian people.
       (2) Waiver.--Except as provided in paragraph (5) and 
     subsection (d), the President may waive, on a case-by-case 
     basis, for a period not to exceed one year, and renewable for 
     additional periods not to exceed one year, the application of 
     sanctions authorized under this Act with respect to a person 
     if the President submits to the appropriate congressional 
     committees a written determination that the waiver is 
     necessary for purposes of providing humanitarian or 
     stabilization assistance or support for democracy promotion 
     to the people of Syria.
       (3) Content of written determination.--A written 
     determination submitted under paragraph (2) with respect to a 
     waiver shall include a description of all notification and 
     accountability controls that have been employed in order to 
     ensure that the activities covered by the waiver are 
     humanitarian or stabilization assistance or support for 
     democracy promotion and do not entail any activities in Syria 
     or dealings with the Government of Syria not reasonably 
     related to humanitarian or stabilization assistance or 
     support for democracy promotion.
       (4) Clarification of permitted activities under waiver.--
     The President may not impose sanctions authorized under this 
     Act against a humanitarian organization for--
       (A) engaging in a financial transaction relating to 
     humanitarian assistance or for humanitarian purposes pursuant 
     to a waiver issued under paragraph (2);
       (B) transporting goods or services that are necessary to 
     carry out operations relating to humanitarian assistance or 
     humanitarian purposes pursuant to such a waiver; or

[[Page 7971]]

       (C) having incidental contact, in the course of providing 
     humanitarian assistance or aid for humanitarian purposes 
     pursuant to such a waiver, with individuals who are under the 
     control of a foreign person subject to sanctions under this 
     Act or any amendment made by this Act unless the organization 
     or its officers, members, representatives or employees have 
     engaged in (or the President knows or has reasonable ground 
     to believe is engaged in or is likely to engage in) conduct 
     described in section 212(a)(3)(B)(iv)(VI) of the Immigration 
     and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(iv)(VI)).
       (5) Exception to waiver authority.--The President may not 
     exercise the waiver authority under paragraph (2) with 
     respect to a foreign person who has (or whose officers, 
     members, representatives or employees have) engaged in (or 
     the President knows or has reasonable ground to believe is 
     engaged in or is likely to engage in) conduct described in 
     section 212(a)(3)(B)(iv)(VI) of the Immigration and 
     Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(iv)(VI)).
       (c) Waiver.--
       (1) In general.--The President may, for periods not to 
     exceed 120 days, waive the application of sanctions under 
     this Act with respect to a foreign person if the President 
     certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that 
     such waiver is vital to the national security interests of 
     the United States.
       (2) Consultation.--
       (A) Before waiver issued.--Not later than 5 days before the 
     issuance of a waiver under paragraph (1) is to take effect, 
     the President shall notify and brief the appropriate 
     congressional committees on the status of the foreign 
     person's involvement in activities described in this Act.
       (B) After waiver issued.--Not later than 90 days after the 
     issuance of a waiver under paragraph (1), and every 120 days 
     thereafter if the waiver remains in effect, the President 
     shall brief the appropriate congressional committees on the 
     status of the foreign person's involvement in activities 
     described in this Act.
       (3) Definition.--In this subsection, the term ``appropriate 
     congressional committees'' means--
       (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on 
     Financial Services, the Committee on Ways and Means, and the 
     Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives; 
     and
       (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on 
     Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Committee on 
     Finance, and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.
       (d) Codification of Certain Services in Support of 
     Nongovernmental Organizations' Activities Authorized.--
       (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
     section 542.516 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations 
     (relating to certain services in support of nongovernmental 
     organizations' activities authorized), as in effect on the 
     day before the date of the enactment of this Act, shall--
       (A) remain in effect on and after such date of enactment; 
     and
       (B) in the case of a nongovernmental organization that is 
     authorized to export or reexport services to Syria under such 
     section on the day before such date of enactment, shall apply 
     to such organization on and after such date of enactment to 
     the same extent and in the same manner as such section 
     applied to such organization on the day before such date of 
     enactment.
       (2) Exception.--Section 542.516 of title 31, Code of 
     Federal Regulations, as codified under paragraph (1), shall 
     not apply with respect to a foreign person who has (or whose 
     officers, members, representatives or employees have) engaged 
     in (or the President knows or has reasonable ground to 
     believe is engaged in or is likely to engage in) conduct 
     described in section 212(a)(3)(B)(iv)(VI) of the Immigration 
     and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(iv)(VI)).
       (e) Strategy Required.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to the 
     appropriate congressional committees a report containing a 
     strategy to ensure that humanitarian organizations can access 
     financial services to ensure the safe and timely delivery of 
     assistance to communities in need in Syria.
       (2) Consideration of data from other countries and 
     nongovernmental organizations.--In preparing the strategy 
     required by paragraph (1), the President shall consider 
     credible data already obtained by other countries and 
     nongovernmental organizations, including organizations 
     operating in Syria.
       (3) Form.--The strategy required by paragraph (1) shall be 
     submitted in unclassified form but may contain a classified 
     annex.

       TITLE V--REGULATORY AUTHORITY, COST LIMITATION, AND SUNSET

     SEC. 501. IMPLEMENTATION AND REGULATORY AUTHORITIES.

       (a) Implementation Authority.--The President may exercise 
     all authorities provided to the President under sections 203 
     and 205 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act 
     (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) for purposes of carrying out this 
     Act and the amendments made by this Act.
       (b) Regulatory Authority.--The President shall, not later 
     than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
     promulgate regulations as necessary for the implementation of 
     this Act and the amendments made by this Act.
       (c) Briefing to Congress.--Not less than 10 days before the 
     promulgation of regulations under subsection (a), the 
     President shall brief the appropriate congressional 
     committees on the proposed regulations and the provisions of 
     this Act and the amendments made by this Act that the 
     regulations are implementing.
       (d) Definition.--In this section, the term ``appropriate 
     congressional committees'' means--
       (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
     Financial Services of the House of Representatives; and
       (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
     Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.

     SEC. 502. COST LIMITATION.

       No additional funds are authorized to carry out the 
     requirements of this Act and the amendments made by this Act. 
     Such requirements shall be carried out using amounts 
     otherwise authorized.

     SEC. 503. AUTHORITY TO CONSOLIDATE REPORTS.

       (a) In General.--Any reports required to be submitted to 
     the appropriate congressional committees under this Act or 
     any amendment made by this Act that are subject to a deadline 
     for submission consisting of the same unit of time may be 
     consolidated into a single report that is submitted to 
     appropriate congressional committees pursuant to such 
     deadline. The consolidated reports shall contain all 
     information required under this Act or any amendment made by 
     this Act, in addition to all other elements mandated by 
     previous law.
       (b) Definition.--In this section, the term ``appropriate 
     congressional committees'' means--
       (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
     Financial Services of the House of Representatives; and
       (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 
     Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.

     SEC. 504. SUNSET.

       This Act shall cease to be effective beginning on December 
     31, 2021.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Royce) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to 
include any extraneous material in the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by commending the gentleman from 
New York (Mr. Engel), the ranking member, for his leadership in 
authoring this critical legislation. Mr. Engel has long been the voice 
on Syria, and I must mention that the outline that he has given in 
terms of the initial problems when we saw those citizens on the streets 
of Damascus, walking, saying, ``Peaceful, peaceful,'' and then, as we 
saw on CNN, the automatic weapons open up and saw the Assad regime mow 
those civilians down--he was the first to begin to ring the alarm. I 
wish this body, and previous administrations as well, had done more to 
heed his calls.
  For 6 years, we have watched the Syrian regime launch wave after wave 
of unrelenting destruction on the people of Syria. Airstrikes, chemical 
weapons attacks, forced starvation, industrial-scale torture, the 
deliberate targeting of hospitals, schools, marketplaces, and this done 
with precision bombs and with crude barrel bombs, and, as a 
consequence, Syrians suffering every day.
  Now, just last month, we saw footage of entire families killed, 
suffocated by sarin gas, a chemical weapon that Assad supposedly gave 
up under a deal brokered by Russia and the previous administration. The 
number of dead is estimated now to be close to 500,000, and another 14 
million have been driven from their homes.
  And while ISIS plays a role in the violence in Syria, it is Bashar 
al-Assad and his backers--among them, Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah--who 
are the main drivers of this death and destruction.

[[Page 7972]]

ISIS has no airplanes. It is Russian and Syrian fighter planes and 
helicopters that drop those bombs on those hospitals and schools.
  It is Hezbollah and Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps fighters who 
attack cities, who burn crops, who prevent food and water and medical 
supplies from reaching vulnerable civilians.
  It is Assad's secret police and intelligence groups who kidnap and 
torture and murder civilians from every ethnic group and political 
party, Sunni, Shia, Christians, Alawite; none are safe.
  One of the worst facilities is just 20 miles from Damascus, Sednaya, 
a prison, a place so terrible that it is called a human slaughterhouse. 
Thousands and thousands of people have been tortured and hung and shot 
and left to starve to death within the prison. And the numbers are so 
high that, in 2013, Assad began constructing a crematorium to dispose 
of the bodies.
  Over the past 4 years, our committee heard agonizing testimony from 
Syrians caught up in this horror, including the brave Syrian defector 
known to the world as Caesar and for whom this bill is named. Caesar 
testified about the shocking scale of torture being carried out within 
the prisons of Syria.
  We saw his photographs and the tens of thousands of photographs he 
took with those bodies numbered numerically. I don't know what it is 
about totalitarian regimes that leads them to want to number their dead 
and catalog it, but, because of his bravery, we have those photographs.
  We have also heard from doctors who treat victims of chemical 
attacks, volunteers who dig through rubble with their bare hands to 
rescue those trapped within, and we have heard from the survivors of 
torture in Assad's prisons.
  As Syria drags on and on, vital U.S. national security interests are 
at stake. Assad's brutality is both a magnet for terrorist recruitment 
and a destabilizing force driving tens of millions of refugees out of 
that country. We have 14 million Syrians, as I said, who are displaced 
right now, many of them still in the country, and millions outside of 
the country, yet we have taken no steps to apply the economic tools 
that are available to us with respect to Assad and his backers.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation is designed to increase the cost to 
Assad and to those outside backers by targeting the sectors of the 
economy that allow Assad to murder with impunity. Under the bill, 
foreign companies and banks will have to choose between doing business 
with the regime or with the United States. It would also sanction 
anyone who flies weapons or sends fighters into Syria to support the 
Assad regime.
  This bill is also about creating economic leverage to push the 
parties to negotiate, creating the conditions for a negotiated peace. 
It is about finding a way forward to be determined by the Syrian people 
that does not allow Assad to exterminate his own community; it does not 
allow him to do it with impunity; does not guarantee ISIS a safe space 
from which to operate; and does not drive another 10 million people 
from their homes.
  For there to be peace in Syria, the parties must come together, and 
so long as Assad and his backers can slaughter the people of Syria with 
no consequences, there is no hope for peace.
  As we speak, Russia and Iran have proclaimed themselves the 
guarantors of peace and have promised to create de-escalation zones 
where military operations can be curtailed and civilians can seek 
safety. But these zones would be policed by the Syrian Army, supported 
by Russian military police, by Hezbollah fighters, and IRGC, Iranian 
Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders, backed by those Shia militias--
the very same people who have murdered thousands of Syrian civilians 
with impunity throughout this conflict and who are actively engaged in 
fomenting sectarian-based violence throughout the region. With this 
scenario, peace does not have a chance.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill is long overdue. And last year, Eliot Engel 
and I brought this up, and we passed it unanimously, yet the other body 
did not take it up before we adjourned.
  I urge all Members to support this legislation as we seek to ease the 
suffering of the Syrian people.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
                                         House of Representatives,


                                   Committee on the Judiciary,

                                   Washington, DC, April 20, 2017.
     Hon. Edward R. Royce,
     Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Royce: I write with respect to H.R. 1677, the 
     ``Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act.'' As a result of your 
     having consulted with us on provisions within H.R. 1677 that 
     fall within the Rule X jurisdiction of the Committee on the 
     Judiciary, I forego any further consideration of this bill so 
     that it may proceed expeditiously to the House floor for 
     consideration.
       The Judiciary Committee takes this action with our mutual 
     understanding that by foregoing consideration of H.R. 1677 at 
     this time, we do not waive any jurisdiction over subject 
     matter contained in this or similar legislation and that our 
     committee will be appropriately consulted and involved as 
     this bill or similar legislation moves forward so that we may 
     address any remaining issues in our jurisdiction. Our 
     committee also reserves the right to seek appointment of an 
     appropriate number of conferees to any House-Senate 
     conference involving this or similar legislation and asks 
     that you support any such request.
       I would appreciate a response to this letter confirming 
     this understanding with respect to H.R. 1677 and would ask 
     that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be 
     included in the Congressional Record during floor 
     consideration of H.R. 1677.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Bob Goodlatte,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                                 Committee on Foreign Affairs,

                                   Washington, DC, April 24, 2017.
     Hon. Bob Goodlatte,
     Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Goodlatte: Thank you for consulting with the 
     Foreign Affairs Committee on agreeing to be discharged from 
     further consideration of H.R. 1677, the Caesar Syria Civilian 
     Protection Act, so that the bill may proceed expeditiously to 
     the House floor.
       I agree that your forgoing further action on this measure 
     does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of 
     your committee, or prejudice its jurisdictional prerogatives 
     on this resolution or similar legislation in the future. I 
     would support your effort to seek appointment of an 
     appropriate number of conferees from your committee to any 
     House-Senate conference on this legislation.
       I will seek to place our letters on H.R. 1677 into the 
     Congressional Record during floor consideration of the 
     resolution. I appreciate your cooperation regarding this 
     legislation and look forward to continuing to work together 
     as this measure moves through the legislative process.
           Sincerely,
                                                  Edward R. Royce,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                              Committee on Financial Services,

                                     Washington, DC, May 11, 2017.
     Hon. Ed Royce,
     Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Royce: I am writing concerning H.R. 1677, the 
     Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2017.
       As a result of your having consulted with the Committee on 
     Financial Services concerning provisions in the bill that 
     fall within our Rule X jurisdiction, I agree to forgo action 
     on the bill so that it may proceed expeditiously to the House 
     Floor. The Committee on Financial Services takes this action 
     with our mutual understanding that, by foregoing 
     consideration of H.R. 1677 at this time, we do not waive any 
     jurisdiction over the subject matter contained in this or 
     similar legislation, and that our Committee will be 
     appropriately consulted and involved as this or similar 
     legislation moves forward so that we may address any 
     remaining issues that fall within our Rule X jurisdiction. 
     Our Committee also reserves the right to seek appointment of 
     an appropriate number of conferees to any House-Senate 
     conference involving this or similar legislation, and 
     requests your support for any such request.
       Finally, I would appreciate your response to this letter 
     confirming this understanding with respect to H.R. 1677 and 
     would ask that a copy of our exchange of letters on this 
     matter be placed in the Congressional Record during floor 
     consideration thereof.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Jeb Hensarling,
                                                         Chairman.

[[Page 7973]]

     
                                  ____
                                         House of Representatives,


                                 Committee on Foreign Affairs,

                                     Washington, DC, May 11, 2017.
     Hon. Jeb Hensarling,
     Chairman, Committee on Financial Services,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Hensarling: Thank you for consulting with the 
     Foreign Affairs Committee and agreeing to be discharged from 
     further consideration of H.R. 1677, the Caesar Syria Civilian 
     Protection Act, so that the bill may proceed expeditiously to 
     the House floor.
       I agree that your forgoing further action on this measure 
     does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of 
     your committee, or prejudice its jurisdictional prerogatives 
     on this resolution or similar legislation in the future. I 
     would support your effort to seek appointment of an 
     appropriate number of conferees from your committee to any 
     House-Senate conference on this legislation.
       I will seek to place our letters on H.R. 1677 into the 
     Congressional Record during floor consideration of the bill. 
     I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and 
     look forward to continuing to work together as this measure 
     moves through the legislative process.
           Sincerely,
                                                  Edward R. Royce,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                                  Committee on Ways and Means,

                                     Washington, DC, May 16, 2017.
     Hon. Edward R. Royce,
     Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Royce: I am writing with respect to H.R. 
     1677, the ``Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2017.'' 
     As a result of your having consulted with us on provisions on 
     which the Committee on Ways and Means has a jurisdictional 
     interest, I will not request a sequential referral on this 
     measure.
       The Committee on Ways and Means takes this action with the 
     mutual understanding that we do not waive any jurisdiction 
     over the subject matter contained in this or similar 
     legislation, and the Committee will be appropriately 
     consulted and involved as the bill or similar legislation 
     moves forward so that we may address any remaining issues 
     that fall within our jurisdiction. The Committee also 
     reserves the right to seek appointment of an appropriate 
     number of conferees to any House-Senate conference involving 
     this or similar legislation, and requests your support for 
     such request.
       Finally, I would appreciate your response to this letter 
     confirming this understanding, and would ask that a copy of 
     our exchange of letters on this matter be included in the 
     Congressional Record during floor consideration of H.R. 1677.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Kevin Brady,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

                                         House of Representatives,


                                 Committee on Foreign Affairs,

                                     Washington, DC, May 16, 2017.
     Hon. Kevin Brady,
     Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Brady: Thank you for consulting with the 
     Foreign Affairs Committee on H.R. 1677, the Caesar Syria 
     Civilian Protection Act of 2017, and for agreeing to forgo a 
     sequential referral request so that the bill may proceed 
     expeditiously to the House floor.
       I agree that your declining to pursue a sequential referral 
     in this case does not diminish or alter the jurisdiction of 
     the Committee on Ways and Means, or prejudice its 
     jurisdictional prerogatives on this bill or similar 
     legislation in the future. I would support your effort to 
     seek appointment of an appropriate number of conferees from 
     your committee to any House-Senate conference on this 
     legislation.
       I will seek to place our letters on this bill into the 
     Congressional Record during floor consideration of the bill. 
     I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and 
     look forward to continuing to work with the Committee on Ways 
     and Means as this measure moves through the legislative 
     process.
           Sincerely,
                                                  Edward R. Royce,
                                                         Chairman.

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation, 
and I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am very grateful that the House is considering my bill 
today, the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act.
  I want to thank my friend, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs 
Committee, Ed Royce, for joining as the lead Republican cosponsor of 
this measure. I am proud that we are bringing it up to the floor with 
108 cosponsors, Members from both sides of the aisle.
  Mr. Speaker, every week, more and more bad news pours in about the 
civil war in Syria. I am grateful to Chairman Royce for making the 
comments he just made because my heart has been bleeding for Syria, or 
crying out for Syria, for 4 or 5 years now, ever since, as Mr. Royce 
said, there were peaceful demonstrations and they were mowed down by 
the Assad regime.
  The United States didn't do much. We sort of watched and retreated 
and perhaps were afraid that we would be bogged down in another war. 
But we should have, at that point, in my estimation, helped the free 
Syria Army, which begged us for help, not people, not troops, but help, 
and we didn't do it. We didn't give it to them.
  We thought that Assad would fall on his own, ultimately, but he 
didn't, and we are bearing the price today. We are paying the price 
today. The people of Syria, unfortunately, are the ones paying the 
price. Millions of people have died and have been misplaced and just 
the horrors of war and the horrors of civilians. So my heart really 
bleeds for the Syrian people.
  This week, it was the revelation of a crematorium, a furnace where 
the criminals who do Assad's bidding can pile the bodies and try to 
burn away the evidence of their atrocities.
  Also this week, Russia announced that they will work with Iran, Iraq, 
and Assad to open a secure road from Baghdad to Damascus. What that 
really means, Mr. Speaker, is a road from Beirut to Tehran in Iran, a 
permanent Iranian foothold right in the Middle East, a permanent 
Iranian foothold right on Israel's border, a permanent Iranian foothold 
to do mischief and the usual nefarious things that the Iranian 
Government does.
  This crisis has been burning out of control for six long years. I was 
an early vocal supporter, as I mentioned before, of arming the moderate 
Syrian opposition. I thought we should have done much more to help push 
Assad out of power and help the Syrian people chart the course for 
their country's future. When we didn't, I spoke out.
  Since then, Assad has plowed ahead with his campaign of carnage. The 
few times he appeared to be taking on water, he was given a lifeline by 
his devoted enablers, Russia and Iran, through its terrorist proxy, 
Hezbollah. Every time Assad seemed to be losing, he was given a 
lifeline and, as I just mentioned, by Hezbollah, also given a lifeline 
by the Russians who came in.
  So while it was suspected in the highest annals of Washington that 
Assad wouldn't last more than a few months, no one would have imagined 
that 4 and 5 years later there would be Assad winning the war, again, 
with the help of Russia, Iran, and their terrorist proxy.
  It is a disgrace, Mr. Speaker, and we need to act out. We need to 
help.
  Today, we find ourselves no closer to a solution, and 4 months into 
the new administration, we have yet to hear a strategy for dealing with 
Syria. The Tomahawk missile strike last month was an appropriate 
response to the chemical weapons attack, although I believe the 
administration's policy shift, with respect to Assad, emboldened Assad 
to launch that attack, and a single missile strike is not a strategy.
  We need a plan to stop the violence, push a political transition that 
sees the end of Assad's rule and helps the Syrian people recover and 
move forward. My bill, this bill, would be part of that strategy.

                              {time}  1715

  It is named, as Mr. Royce pointed out, for Caesar, a former Syrian 
Government photographer. Fed up with documenting the brutality of the 
Assad regime, he defected and escaped so he could show the world 
exactly what was happening to the regime's victims.
  I will never forget the images he showed us when he came to the 
Foreign Affairs Committee. Those images are still seared in my brain 
and I will never forget them; the depth of brutality and indifference 
to human life.
  We have named this bill after him because we want to send a message. 
If you are supporting this murder, if you are enabling the butcher in 
Damascus to continue waging that sort of violence against his own 
people, you are going to face consequences.
  This bill would sanction anyone who provides material support for the 
Assad regime. We want to go after the actual

[[Page 7974]]

hardware that keeps his war machine running, the planes and bombs that 
terrorize the Syrian people, and the spare parts and oil that keep 
everything running. If you do business with Assad, the blood of the 
Syrian people is on your hands and you are going to get caught up in 
these sanction. Yes, that means Iran and Russia.
  If conditions on the ground change and negotiations were in sight, it 
might be useful to dial back these sanctions in order to help end the 
violence. So we have built in some degree of flexibility. The measures 
are tough, but we all want them to be a roadblock to peace.
  This bill also seeks to provide some relief to the Syrian people who 
are now suffering terribly. It would improve oversight of assistance 
flowing into Syria and evaluate the feasibility of a no-fly zone.
  We also need to think about what must happen after the violence has 
ended, about who must be held accountable. So this bill requires 
reporting on human rights violators, and would support efforts to 
gather evidence of crimes against humanity. This bill isn't a silver 
bullet. It isn't a strategy for resolving the crisis in Syria.
  Congress can do a lot, though, when it comes to foreign policy. We 
can give an administration tools and resources, but it is up to the 
White House to lead on this issue. If the first step in a serious 
strategy is stopping the violence--and I think it is--this legislation 
can help dial up pressure on those driving the war.
  So I continue to push ahead; Mr. Royce at my side, and I am grateful 
to my colleagues for their support. I am grateful to the Foreign 
Affairs Committee for moving this swiftly.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kinzinger), a member of the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs and an Air Force pilot.
  Mr. KINZINGER. Mr. Speaker, I thank you and the chairman. I want to 
commend the chairman. I want to commend Mr. Engel for his foresight in 
this bill and for bringing it to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, I was just recently in Auschwitz. It was my first visit 
to Auschwitz and, obviously, seeing something like that is not 
something you are going to forget very quickly. Seeing something like 
that and an industrial machine put together to eliminate people is not 
something that people thought humanity was capable of until they found 
out that it actually was possible.
  So in preserving Auschwitz, the purpose was to say: Hey, this is 
possible. Never forget that this can happen again.
  Mr. Speaker, it was just recently that we learned about the 
crematorium that was built in the Syrian prison.
  Now, why was this built?
  It was built to hide the massive amounts of bodies coming out, 
tortured to death; destroyed the lives cut short in this Syrian prison. 
It was used to disguise that. It was used to prevent mass graves from 
being dug.
  I think that proves that Bashar al-Assad is actually a modern-day 
Hitler. In fact, if you look at when, as was mentioned prior, Caesar 
came to our committee and showed us the images of brutality--the 
government cataloging the victims of the Syrian regime with markers 
written on the body, a numbering system, and a catalog to say, in 
essence, document these massive amounts of death--it became very clear 
to us in a very visual sense what was going on in Syria.
  Mr. Speaker, oftentimes it is easy in the United States of America, 
where we have a lot of comforts and we have a lot of things granted to 
us that we take for granted, to look at a situation happening overseas 
and think it doesn't apply to us or doesn't affect us; and it is really 
tempting sometimes to get into that because it is easy sometimes to 
pretend something doesn't affect us. But it does.
  We see the massive amounts of migration from Syria, the young 7-, 8-, 
and 9-year-olds who are not going to school now because they have been 
disrupted and their lives have been disrupted, and in 5 or 6 years, if 
they don't get an education and don't get hope and opportunity, they 
will provide now the next recruiting ground for ISIS, or ISIS two, or 
al-Qaida three, because people without hope and without opportunity are 
easy to bring into a terrorist ideology like those.
  Mr. Speaker, the President rightly decided to enforce the red line in 
Syria when it came to the use of chemical weapons--something that the 
Western world has held very dear, that chemical weapons on the 
battlefield have no place--and he destroyed a Syrian airfield. It was 
the right move. It began to shift the balance of power in Syria, but 
way more needs to be done.
  I have called for action in Syria, as many on this committee have for 
a very long time, and this, the Caesar bill, is a fantastic first step 
to doing it. It would increase sanctions on the Assad regime and its 
supporters for continued atrocities committed against the Syrian 
people. It requires this administration and any future administration 
to stand up and impose costs on the Russians, on the Iranians, and on 
the Syrian backers for the barrel bombing and gassing of innocent 
civilians.
  Think about that, a barrel filled with explosives dropped 
indiscriminately on a population center intended to commit the largest 
amounts of casualties possible; a GPS-guided bomb, or a laser-guided 
bomb intentionally dropped into a hospital, and then a delay of 20 
minutes so they can hit it again, or hit areas where first responders 
have responded to.
  Mr. Speaker, this isn't a legitimate way of fighting war, if there is 
a legitimate way of fighting war. This is brutality to the top level, 
and this is a great step for this Congress to take. We unanimously 
passed this the last time. I sure hope we can do that again.
  Again, I thank the leadership for leading on this. I thank Mr. Engel 
and Chairman Royce for their leadership.
  I ask my colleagues to join me and join us in supporting this very 
important bill.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 4 minutes to 
the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished Democratic 
whip, someone who I know, through our meetings, feels so strongly about 
this and feels as we do.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentleman from New 
York, the ranking member on the Foreign Affairs Committee for yielding. 
I thank Mr. Kinzinger for his leadership as well as his statement.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bipartisan legislation, which 
will impose tough sanctions on entities aiding the Assad regime in 
Syria.
  Bashar al-Assad is brutal murderer. Very frankly, there are too many 
countries facilitating and complicit in the murders that he 
perpetrates. He has gassed his own people and waged a civil war that 
has displaced millions from their homes and their country.
  Recently, Mr. Speaker, I had the honor of meeting some of the White 
Helmet civil defense workers who are risking their lives daily to 
rescue civilians caught in the crossfire and targeted by government 
forces; facilitated, I might say, by Mr. Putin's troops in Syria.
  The Assad regime is being propped up by Iran and Russia in a 
dangerous and destabilizing geopolitical game. There are reports that 
the Assad government is now cremating victims of mass murder in an 
attempt to hide the evidence of its numerous crimes. While this is 
taking place, Americans watched in disbelief; frankly, as President 
Trump met in the Oval Office with those who are protecting, aiding and 
abetting Bashar al-Assad and those committing atrocities by his command 
and in his name.
  Not only does that show how little this President understands about 
the conflict in Syria and its broader complexities, it also reminds us 
that he has articulated no clear strategy on how to end that conflict 
and to defeat ISIS.
  Having said that, let me congratulate the President for taking the 
actions against the airfield after the chemical attack. But, frankly, 
that was a significant, but small, step.
  The continuation of the war that the Assad government is waging 
against its

[[Page 7975]]

own people only makes it harder to defeat the terrorists who threaten 
America, the region, and the world. Today's legislation will help 
address this problem.
  I see on the floor, my friend, Chairman Royce, who is a great leader 
on issues relating to our foreign policy and to human rights. I 
congratulate him for his leadership. Working with his partner, Mr. 
Engel, we have taken significant steps to raise both the moral and the 
foreign policy issues that need to be raised. The efforts are 
bipartisan and reflect hard work on the part of the ranking member, the 
chairman, as well as members of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
  I thank them for their efforts, and I urge my colleagues to join in 
strong and, hopefully, unanimous support of this important resolution.
  Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), who chairs the Foreign 
Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Royce again for 
yielding the time.
  Mr. Speaker, I stand in strong support of Ranking Member Eliot 
Engel's Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, H.R. 1677, of which I am 
proud to be an original cosponsor, and I commend him and the chairman 
for all of their hard work in authoring the bill and bringing it before 
us today.
  During our committee's hearing on Syria in April--and we have had so 
many hearings--one of our witnesses made a point that I think bears 
repeating, a point that highlights the importance of the ranking 
member's bill before us today. As long as Assad remains in power, there 
is very little chance that we will be able to defeat ISIS or its 
offshoots because Assad, in many ways, has facilitated the growth of 
the very jihadist groups for which he claims are protecting Syria. 
Hogwash.
  As we talk about how to stop the slaughter in Syria, we must remember 
that no one bears more responsibility for that slaughter than Assad. He 
and his regime are the ones dropping barrel bombs. They are the ones 
unleashing chemical weapons on their own people. And if we want to have 
any chance of stopping the bloodbath, of defeating ISIS, or of putting 
an end to the immense humanitarian challenges spreading throughout the 
region and beyond, we must put a stop to Assad.
  This bill ratchets up the pressure on Assad and his collaborators, 
especially his main allies--Russia and Iran--while expanding on the 
Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act, a bill which I 
authored and which became law in 2012. It gives the administration new 
tools to go after individuals and entities working with Assad in the 
finance, aircraft, transportation, telecom, and energy sectors, as well 
as it gives them the tools to target individuals complicit in human 
rights abuses.
  I am glad to have worked with the ranking member and our esteemed 
chairman to include my amendments in this bill, amendments that would 
determine that denying or hindering access to humanitarian aid is a 
serious human rights violation, and, as such, it would allow the 
administration to sanction any individual responsible for doing so.
  All of these tools, Mr. Speaker, are vital components of doing 
something that we still desperately need in Syria: a comprehensive, 
holistic strategy that looks beyond short-term tactical successes and, 
instead, targets the foundation of so many of the problems rippling 
through the region.
  If we continue to narrowly focus on ISIS without getting at the root 
of the Syrian conflict--Assad, Russia, and Iran--then we will only be 
treating the symptoms instead of the disease.

                              {time}  1730

  If we are to have any hope of finding a solution in Syria, the kind 
of pressure that this bill would achieve is an essential piece of that 
puzzle.
  I offer my full support for this bill, and I urge my colleagues to do 
the same.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Connolly) will control the time.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I certainly add my voice to that of my 
colleagues in support of this important legislation. Syria is a mess. 
It does affect all of us, as Mr. Kinzinger said, whether we like it or 
not. It is destabilizing the entire region. I believe this bill can be 
a useful tool in our diplomatic efforts.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. 
Frankel), my friend and colleague.
  Ms. FRANKEL of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chair and ranking 
member for their great leadership.
  Mr. Speaker, imagine a mother crying in despair while holding her 
child in her arms, a child who is gasping for his last breath, an 
innocent victim of a barrel bomb filled with sarin gas dropped on his 
school.
  The situation in Syria is the worst humanitarian crisis since World 
War II. President Assad's brutal regime has killed half a million 
innocent victims and displaced 14 million more, with millions fleeing 
into Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and over Europe, straining their 
resources, threatening regional stability, weakening European 
institutions, and undermining United States economic and security 
interests.
  We must hold Assad and his supporters responsible for their 
atrocities. American leadership is needed more now than ever. I urge my 
colleagues to support the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I fear that one day we will look back and we will ask: 
Why did we not do more?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Engel) has reclaimed the time from the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Connolly).
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz).
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Caesar Syria 
Civilian Protection Act of 2017.
  Since 2011, the Assad regime's forces have killed an estimated 
500,000 people, mostly civilians, by unconscionably targeting and 
attacking major population centers. According to Human Rights Watch, 
last month, the Syrian regime used a nerve agent in northwest Syria 
that killed at least 92 people, including 30 children.
  Even more heartbreaking is the fact that this was not the first 
chemical weapons attack by the Syrian Government against its own 
people. To the contrary, reports suggest that the Assad regime's use of 
chemical weapons has become ``widespread and systematic,'' and it has 
dropped bombs with nerve agents on at least four other occasions since 
December 12.
  Just yesterday, our own State Department revealed that the Syrian 
regime is actively using a large crematorium to dispose of the remains 
of thousands of Syrian men, women, and children, whom they continue to 
slaughter.
  Not only has the Syrian Government become a source of such crimes 
against humanity, but Syria has also indisputably become a hotbed for 
terrorist activity, propped up by Iran, Russia, and Hezbollah. Both 
ISIS and al-Qaida are operating near the Syria-Israel border, putting 
the Jewish State of Israel and our regional security in grave danger.
  As a mother and a Jew, I cannot turn my cheek to this unadulterated 
evil. As a Member of the United States Congress, I have a duty to keep 
the American people safe and hold the Assad regime accountable for its 
war crimes and brutality. That is why I strongly support this critical 
legislation, and I thank Ranking Member Engel for all of his hard work 
in sponsoring it.
  This bipartisan legislation would expand sanctions on those 
individuals who commit such monstrous acts of violence and inflict such 
extreme suffering upon innocent Syrians. It would ensure that the 
United States has the tools it needs to reach its ultimate goal of 
ending the Assad regime's campaign of carnage once and for all.

[[Page 7976]]

  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this important 
legislation.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, we have heard both sides simply agree. This is as 
bipartisan as you can get. It is as unanimous, hopefully, as you can 
get.
  Six years into the Syrian civil war, with hundreds of thousands dead 
and millions more driven from their homes, we cannot waste time looking 
backward or just simply placing blame. We need to face the reality of 
this crisis today and do all we can to forge a new strategy to deal 
with it.
  Three, four, five years ago, no one would have imagined that Assad 
would still be clinging to power over more and more deaths of his own 
people. We need to find a way to push for an end to the violence and 
bring about a political resolution that gets Assad out of power. By the 
way, that is going to be harder to do because the Russians and 
Ukrainians are really backing him.
  Let's allow the Syrian people to start their long journey forward. 
This legislation will help us meet that challenge. It will impose a new 
cost on those who so far have aided the Assad regime with impunity. It 
will apply new pressure to the regime, which relies on the patronage of 
its enablers in Moscow. It will signal to the Syrian people that we 
share a vision of a future in which they make the decisions and Assad 
has no role.
  The bill passed the House unanimously a year ago. I am hopeful we 
will soon pass it in a little while again overwhelmingly. I urge the 
other body to act on it without delay so we can get it to the 
President's desk.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would like to once again recognize the 
work of Ranking Member Engel and the other committee members who have 
contributed to this bill.
  Our committee has heard the firsthand accounts of the suffering. We 
heard the testimony from Raed Saleh of the Syrian White Helmets as he 
spoke of their efforts to rescue and treat those who were killed and 
injured in Assad's brutal air assaults. When the bombs come in, as they 
often do, his organization, which was nominated for the Nobel Peace 
Prize, runs toward those shelters being destroyed to provide relief for 
the victims and to pull them out.
  We have heard of the terror. More than a year ago, Dr. Mohamed 
Tennari of the Syrian American Medical Society described for the 
committee the sound of helicopters overhead, the thump of exploding 
bombs, and the overpowering smell of bleach in the air. This brave 
doctor described the horrendous effects this toxic gas has on the human 
body and the slow, agonizing deaths as the chlorine gas turned to 
hydrochloric acid in the lungs of victims.
  Many of those victims he spoke of were children. They were targeted 
by the regime. People were targeted as they slept in their beds in 
their neighborhoods. Just a few weeks ago, one family lost 20 relatives 
in a single sarin gas attack. Of the 92 victims of that attack on that 
day, 23 were children.
  Mr. Speaker, in 2016, efforts to establish a lasting cease-fire 
failed, resulting in an aggressive campaign by Syrian and Russian air 
assets against eastern Aleppo. U.N. officials described that assault as 
``crimes of historic proportions.''
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this legislation, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1677 ``Caesar 
Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2017.''
  This bill, introduced by my colleague, Foreign Affairs Committee 
Ranking Member Eliot Engel, uses sanctions to put pressure on the 
Syrian government and anyone supporting it to stop committing war 
crimes against humanity.
  I support this legislation for its important and necessary purpose to 
halt the wholesale slaughter of the Syrian people, encourage a 
negotiated political settlement, and hold Syrian human rights abusers 
accountable for their crimes.
  The Syrian government, empowered with support from Iran and Russia, 
has pursued a strategy of targeting civilians to eliminate any 
opposition to its rule, including arresting anyone who opposes it.
  The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported the deaths of 
60,000 people in prisons since the start of the conflict.
  The Syrian government is the main aggressor in a conflict that has 
resulted in at least 400,000 dead and 14 million Syrians displaced; 
between 2011 and 2015, the Syrian Network for Human Rights attributed 
96 percent of civilian deaths to the Syrian regime.
  Additionally, President Bashar al-Assad has blocked United Nations 
humanitarian aid from reaching the intended recipients.
  Who is Caesar? Caesar, who uses the pseudonym to remain anonymous as 
a way to protect his family, defected from the Syrian military in 2013.
  He worked as a crime scene photographer for the Assad government 
after joining the military, years before the current conflict began.
  As the conflict escalated, so did the number of bodies he would 
photograph each day.
  Photographing the torture and rising death began to change his 
attitude towards the regime and in 2013, with help from the opposition, 
he faked his own death and defected from the Syrian military.
  When he fled in August 2013, Caesar had collected over 53,000 
photographs of detainees who had been tortured and killed.
  He handed these photographs over to an anti-government political 
group, the Syrian National Movement, who then distributed the 
photographs to other groups, including Human Rights Watch (HRW).
  With these photographs, HRW ``found evidence of widespread torture, 
starvation, beatings, and disease in Syrian government detention 
facilities.''
  With the conflict in Syria in its fifth year, the U.S. House of 
Representatives introduced a bill intended to punish the Assad regime 
and its supporters and based it on both Caesar's photographs and his 
testimony in front of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs this past 
July.
  The photographs and testimony show a clear connection between the 
reported human rights violations and the Assad government, legitimizing 
the bill and giving clear evidence to the international courts if 
President Assad stands trial for international war crimes.
  H.R. 1677 is intended to sanction both the Syrian regime and any 
actors, what the bill refers to as a ``foreign person,'' who support 
its human rights violations by imposing sanctions on them.
  This support can be in any capacity, such as economic or military 
support.
  H.R. 1677 is important and necessary as the United States cannot sit 
in silence while tens of thousands innocent civilians are slaughtered 
by Assad's authoritative regime.
  Assad's crimes are not only against humanity but also against 
democracy, and I fully support legislation aiming to stop these 
atrocities.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hultgren). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1677, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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