IB 

Union Calendar No. 190

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1828

[Report No. 108–314] 

To halt Syrian support for terrorism, end its occupation of Lebanon, stop 

its development of weapons of mass destruction, cease its illegal importation of Iraqi oil and illegal shipments of weapons and other military 

items to Iraq, and by so doing hold Syria accountable for the serious 

international security problems it has caused in the Middle East, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 12, 2003

Mr. ENGEL (for himself, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. BACHUS, 

Mr. BALLENGER, Mr. BELL, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BRADY

of Pennsylvania, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. CANTOR, Mr. CROWLEY, 

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida, 

Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. FROST, Mr. 

GREEN of Wisconsin, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. JANKLOW, Mr. 

KING of New York, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mrs. MALONEY, 

Mr. MATSUI, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. MCCOTTER, Mr. 

MCNULTY, Mr. MICA, Mr. MOORE, Mr. NADLER, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. 

PENCE, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Mr. REYNOLDS, Mr. ROSS, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. 

SHERMAN, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. TURNER of 

Texas, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. VITTER, Mr. WEINER, Mr. WELLER, and 

Mr. WEXLER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on International Relations 

OCTOBER 15, 2003

Additional sponsors: Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida, Mr. CARTER, Mr. DAVIS of Alabama, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. EVERETT, 

Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. GORDON, Mr. HERGER, Mrs. KELLY, 

Mr. LEVIN, Mr. LINDER, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. OSE, Mr. OWENS, Mr. 

PLATTS, Mr. RENZI, Mr. ROTHMAN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCOTT of 

Georgia, Mr. SHAW, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. TANCREDO, Mr. TIBERI, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. HOLDEN, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, 

Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr. CARSON of Oklahoma, Mr. 
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SCHIFF, Mr. CARDOZA, Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey, Mr. ETHERIDGE, 

Mr. BOSWELL, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. JOHNSON of Illinois, Mr. 

GRAVES, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. KENNEDY of Minnesota, Mr. RYAN of 

Wisconsin, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. MCINNIS, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. FERGUSON, Mr. BEAUPREZ, Mr. BAKER, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. BURNS, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr. MICHAUD, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, 

Mr. EMANUEL, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. KLINE, Mr. BONILLA, Mr. NEAL

of Massachusetts, Ms. WOOLSEY, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. LATHAM, Mr. HOLT, 

Mr. BURGESS, Mr. SKELTON, Mr. KNOLLENBERG, Mr. WYNN, Mr. 

SCHROCK, Ms. MAJETTE, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. OLVER, Mr. CRAMER, Mrs. 

MILLER of Michigan, Mr. BRADLEY of New Hampshire, Mr. GREEN of 

Texas, Mr. ENGLISH, Mr. HOYER, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. SOUDER, Mr. 

GUTIERREZ, Mr. WAMP, Mr. SHADEGG, Mrs. MUSGRAVE, Mr. COLE, Mr. 

LAMPSON, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. 

CULBERSON, Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee, Mr. FEENEY, Mr. KENNEDY of 

Rhode Island, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. MILLER of North Carolina, Mr. 

NUSSLE, Mr. OTTER, Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. PORTER, Mr. 

SWEENEY, Mr. WELDON of Florida, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. 

JOHN, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. STRICKLAND, Mr. BACA, Mr. EVANS, Ms. 

HARMAN, Mr. KELLER, Mr. POMBO, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. SIMMONS, Mr. 

BONNER, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. MCCRERY, Mr. PUTNAM, Mr. RAMSTAD, 

Mr. UPTON, Mr. FOSSELLA, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. STEARNS, Mr. TERRY, 

Mr. SHIMKUS, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. REGULA, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. 

BASS, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of 

California, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. REYES, Mr. MEEK of 

Florida, Mr. ROGERS of Michigan, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mrs. NORTHUP, Mr. 

ROGERS of Alabama, Mr. GINGREY, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Ms. 

ESHOO, Mr. HONDA, Mr. LUCAS of Kentucky, Mr. MCINTYRE, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. DICKS, Mr. FORD, Mr. ROGERS of 

Kentucky, Mr. TOOMEY, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. HAYES, Mr. WELDON of 

Pennsylvania, Mr. HENSARLING, Mr. PICKERING, Mr. WICKER, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. COBLE, Mrs. BONO, Mr. BURR, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, 

Mr. PAYNE, Ms. NORTON, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, 

Mr. COOPER, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, Mr. LOBIONDO, 

Mr. FLETCHER, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. JONES of North Carolina, Mr. NORWOOD, Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. KINGSTON, Mr. MURPHY, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. BARRETT

of South Carolina, Mr. NETHERCUTT, Mr. AKIN, Mr. COLLINS, Mr. 

CAMP, Mr. EDWARDS, Mr. BERRY, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mrs. DAVIS of 

California, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. GALLEGLY, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. PITTS, 

Mr. BROWN of South Carolina, Mr. HEFLEY, Mr. FORBES, Mr. DAVIS

of Florida, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. CASE, Mr. 

THOMPSON of California, Mr. NUNES, Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, Mr. 

SHUSTER, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. DEMINT, Mr. RYUN of Kansas, Mr. 

SANDERS, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Ms. 

PELOSI, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. STARK, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. 

TIAHRT, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, 

Mr. CHABOT, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. GOODE, Ms. BALDWIN, 

Mr. FARR, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. GARY G. MILLER of California, Mr. 

PETRI, Mr. DELAY, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. GEPHARDT, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, 
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Mr. DOOLITTLE, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. FILNER, Mr. SAM JOHNSON of 

Texas, Mr. KIRK, Mr. STENHOLM, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. NEUGEBAUER, 

Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. TURNER of Ohio, Ms. MCCARTHY of 

Missouri, Mr. GERLACH, Mr. TAUZIN, Mr. LEWIS of California, Ms. 

GRANGER, Mr. CANNON, Mr. DEAL of Georgia, Mr. CRANE, and Mr. VISCLOSKY

OCTOBER 15, 2003 

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 

on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 12, 2003] 

A BILL

To halt Syrian support for terrorism, end its occupation 

of Lebanon, stop its development of weapons of mass 

destruction, cease its illegal importation of Iraqi oil and 

illegal shipments of weapons and other military items 

to Iraq, and by so doing hold Syria accountable for 

the serious international security problems it has caused 

in the Middle East, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Syria Accountability 

5 and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) On September 20, 2001, President George 

9 Bush stated at a joint session of Congress that 

10 ‘‘[e]very nation, in every region, now has a decision 
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1 to make . . . [e]ither you are with us, or you are with 

2 the terrorists . . . [f]rom this day forward, any nation 

3 that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be 

4 regarded by the United States as a hostile regime’’.

5 (2) On June 24, 2002, President Bush stated 

6 ‘‘Syria must choose the right side in the war on terror 

7 by closing terrorist camps and expelling terrorist or8 ganizations’’. 

9 (3) United Nations Security Council Resolution 

10 1373 (September 28, 2001) mandates that all states 

11 ‘‘refrain from providing any form of support, active 

12 or passive, to entities or persons involved in terrorist 

13 acts’’, take ‘‘the necessary steps to prevent the com14 mission of terrorist acts’’, and ‘‘deny safe haven to 

15 those who finance, plan, support, or commit terrorist 

16 acts’’. 

17 (4) The Government of Syria is currently pro18 hibited by United States law from receiving United 

19 States assistance because it has repeatedly provided 

20 support for acts of international terrorism, as deter21 mined by the Secretary of State for purposes of sec22 tion 6(j)(1) of the Export Administration Act of 1979 

23 (50 U.S.C. App. 2405(j)(1)) and other relevant provi24 sions of law. 
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1 (5) Although the Department of State lists Syria 

2 as a state sponsor of terrorism and reports that Syria 

3 provides ‘‘safe haven and support to several terrorist 

4 groups’’, fewer United States sanctions apply with re5 spect to Syria than with respect to any other country 

6 that is listed as a state sponsor of terrorism. 

7 (6) Terrorist groups, including Hizballah, 

8 Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular 

9 Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Popular 

10 Front for the Liberation of Palestine—General Com11 mand, maintain offices, training camps, and other 

12 facilities on Syrian territory, and operate in areas of 

13 Lebanon occupied by the Syrian armed forces and re14 ceive supplies from Iran through Syria. 

15 (7) United Nations Security Council Resolution 

16 520 (September 17, 1982) calls for ‘‘strict respect of 

17 the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity and polit18 ical independence of Lebanon under the sole and ex19 clusive authority of the Government of Lebanon 

20 through the Lebanese Army throughout Lebanon’’. 

21 (8) Approximately 20,000 Syrian troops and se22 curity personnel occupy much of the sovereign terri23 tory of Lebanon exerting undue influence upon its 

24 government and undermining its political independ25 ence. 
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1 (9) Since 1990 the Senate and House of Rep2 resentatives have passed seven bills and resolutions 

3 which call for the withdrawal of Syrian armed forces 

4 from Lebanon. 

5 (10) On March 3, 2003, Secretary of State Colin 

6 Powell declared that it is the objective of the United 

7 States to ‘‘let Lebanon be ruled by the Lebanese peo8 ple without the presence of [the Syrian] occupation 

9 army’’. 

10 (11) Large and increasing numbers of the Leba11 nese people from across the political spectrum in Leb12 anon have mounted peaceful and democratic calls for 

13 the withdrawal of the Syrian Army from Lebanese 

14 soil. 

15 (12) Israel has withdrawn all of its armed forces 

16 from Lebanon in accordance with United Nations Se17 curity Council Resolution 425 (March 19, 1978), as 

18 certified by the United Nations Secretary General. 

19 (13) Even in the face of this United Nations cer20 tification that acknowledged Israel’s full compliance 

21 with Security Council Resolution 425, Syrian- and 

22 Iranian-supported Hizballah continues to attack 

23 Israeli outposts at Shebaa Farms, under the false 

24 guise that it remains Lebanese land, and Syrian- and 
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1 Iranian-supported Hizballah and other militant orga2 nizations continue to attack civilian targets in Israel. 

3 (14) Syria will not allow Lebanon—a sovereign 

4 country—to fulfill its obligation in accordance with 

5 Security Council Resolution 425 to deploy its troops 

6 to southern Lebanon. 

7 (15) As a result, the Israeli-Lebanese border and 

8 much of southern Lebanon is under the control of 

9 Hizballah, which continues to attack Israeli positions, 

10 allows Iranian Revolutionary Guards and other mili11 tant groups to operate freely in the area, and main12 tains thousands of rockets along Israel’s northern bor13 der, destabilizing the entire region. 

14 (16) On February 12, 2003, Director of Central 

15 Intelligence George Tenet stated the following with re16 spect to the Syrian- and Iranian-supported 

17 Hizballah: ‘‘[A]s an organization with capability and 

18 worldwide presence [it] is [al Qaeda’s] equal if not a 

19 far more capable organization . . . [T]hey’re a notch 

20 above in many respects, in terms of in their relation21 ship with the Iranians and the training they receive, 

22 [which] puts them in a state-sponsored category with 

23 a potential for lethality that’s quite great.’’. 

24 (17) In the State of the Union address on Janu25 ary 29, 2002, President Bush declared that the 
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1 United States will ‘‘work closely with our coalition to 

2 deny terrorists and their state sponsors the materials, 

3 technology, and expertise to make and deliver weap4 ons of mass destruction’’.

5 (18) The Government of Syria continues to de6 velop and deploy short- and medium-range ballistic 

7 missiles. 

8 (19) According to the December 2001 unclassified 

9 Central Intelligence Agency report entitled ‘‘Foreign 

10 Missile Developments and the Ballistic Missile Threat 

11 through 2015’’, ‘‘Syria maintains a ballistic missile 

12 and rocket force of hundreds of FROG rockets, Scuds, 

13 and SS–21 SRBMs [and] Syria has developed [chem14 ical weapons] warheads for its Scuds’’. 

15 (20) The Government of Syria is pursuing the 

16 development and production of biological and chem17 ical weapons and has a nuclear research and develop18 ment program that is cause for concern. 

19 (21) According to the Central Intelligence Agen20 cy’s ‘‘Unclassified Report to Congress on the Acquisi21 tion of Technology Relating to Weapons of Mass De22 struction and Advanced Conventional Munitions’’, re23 leased January 7, 2003: ‘‘[Syria] already holds a 

24 stockpile of the nerve agent sarin but apparently is 

25 trying to develop more toxic and persistent nerve 
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1 agents. Syria remains dependent on foreign sources 

2 for key elements of its [chemical weapons] program, 

3 including precursor chemicals and key production 

4 equipment. It is highly probable that Syria also is de5 veloping an offensive [biological weapons] capa6 bility.’’. 

7 (22) On May 6, 2002, the Under Secretary of 

8 State for Arms Control and International Security, 

9 John Bolton, stated: ‘‘The United States also knows 

10 that Syria has long had a chemical warfare program. 

11 It has a stockpile of the nerve agent sarin and is en12 gaged in research and development of the more toxic 

13 and persistent nerve agent VX. Syria, which has 

14 signed but not ratified the [Biological Weapons Con15 vention], is pursuing the development of biological 

16 weapons and is able to produce at least small 

17 amounts of biological warfare agents.’’. 

18 (23) According to the Central Intelligence Agen19 cy’s ‘‘Unclassified Report to Congress on the Acquisi20 tion of Technology Relating to Weapons of Mass De21 struction and Advanced Conventional Munitions’’, re22 leased January 7, 2003: ‘‘Russia and Syria have ap23 proved a draft cooperative program on cooperation on 

24 civil nuclear power. In principal, broader access to 

25 Russian expertise provides opportunities for Syria to 
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1 expand its indigenous capabilities, should it decide to 

2 pursue nuclear weapons.’’. 

3 (24) Under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation 

4 of Nuclear Weapons (21 UST 483), which entered 

5 force on March 5, 1970, and to which Syria is a 

6 party, Syria has undertaken not to acquire or 

7 produce nuclear weapons and has accepted full scope 

8 safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agen9 cy to detect diversions of nuclear materials from 

10 peaceful activities to the production of nuclear weap11 ons or other nuclear explosive devices. 

12 (25) Syria is not a party to the Chemical Weap13 ons Convention or the Biological Weapons Conven14 tion, which entered into force on April 29, 1997, and 

15 on March 26, 1975, respectively. 

16 (26) Syrian President Bashar Assad promised 

17 Secretary of State Powell in February 2001 to end 

18 violations of Security Council Resolution 661, which 

19 restricted the sale of oil and other commodities by 

20 Saddam Hussein’s regime, except to the extent au21 thorized by other relevant resolutions, but this pledge 

22 was never fulfilled. 

23 (27) Syria’s illegal imports and transshipments 

24 of Iraqi oil during Saddam Hussein’s regime earned 
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1 Syria $50,000,000 or more per month as Syria con2 tinued to sell its own Syrian oil at market prices. 

3 (28) Syria’s illegal imports and transshipments 

4 of Iraqi oil earned Saddam Hussein’s regime 

5 $2,000,000 per day. 

6 (29) The Government of Syria also utilized the 

7 railway network linking Mosul, Iraq, to Aleppo, 

8 Syria, to transfer a wide range of weaponry and 

9 weapon systems to Saddam Hussein’s regime. 

10 (30) On March 28, 2003, Secretary of Defense 

11 Donald Rumsfeld warned: ‘‘[W]e have information 

12 that shipments of military supplies have been crossing 

13 the border from Syria into Iraq, including night-vi14 sion goggles . . . These deliveries pose a direct threat 

15 to the lives of coalition forces. We consider such traf16 ficking as hostile acts, and will hold the Syrian gov17 ernment accountable for such shipments.’’. 

18 (31) According to Article 23(1) of the United Na19 tions Charter, members of the United Nations are 

20 elected as nonpermanent members of the United Na21 tions Security Council with ‘‘due regard being spe22 cially paid, in the first instance to the contribution 

23 of members of the United Nations to the maintenance 

24 of international peace and security and to other pur25 poses of the Organization’’. 
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1 (32) Despite Article 23(1) of the United Nations 

2 Charter, Syria was elected on October 8, 2001, to a 

3 2-year term as a nonpermanent member of the United 

4 Nations Security Council beginning January 1, 2002,

5 and served as President of the Security Council dur6 ing June 2002 and August 2003. 

7 (33) On March 31, 2003, the Syrian Foreign 

8 Minister, Farouq al-Sharra, made the Syrian re9 gime’s intentions clear when he explicitly stated that 

10 ‘‘Syria’s interest is to see the invaders defeated in 

11 Iraq’’. 

12 (34) On April 13, 2003, Secretary of Defense 

13 Donald Rumsfeld charged that ‘‘busloads’’ of Syrian 

14 fighters entered Iraq with ‘‘hundreds of thousands of 

15 dollars’’ and leaflets offering rewards for dead Amer16 ican soldiers. 

17 (35) On September 16, 2003, the Under Sec18 retary of State for Arms Control and International 

19 Security, John Bolton, appeared before the Sub20 committee on the Middle East and Central Asia of the 

21 Committee on International Relations of the House of 

22 Representatives, and underscored Syria’s ‘‘hostile ac23 tions’’ toward coalition forces during Operation Iraqi 

24 Freedom. Under Secretary Bolton added that: ‘‘Syria 

25 allowed military equipment to flow into Iraq on the 
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1 eve of and during the war. Syria permitted volunteers 

2 to pass into Iraq to attack and kill our service mem3 bers during the war, and is still doing so . . . [Syr4 ia’s] behavior during Operation Iraqi Freedom un5 derscores the importance of taking seriously reports 

6 and information on Syria’s WMD capabilities.’’. 

7 (36) During his appearance before the Com8 mittee on International Relations of the House of 

9 Representatives on September 25, 2003, Ambassador 

10 L. Paul Bremer, III, Administrator of the Coalition 

11 Provisional Authority in Iraq, stated that out of the 

12 278 third-country nationals who were captured by co13 alition forces in Iraq, the ‘‘single largest group are 

14 Syrians’’. 

15 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

16 It is the sense of Congress that—

17 (1) the Government of Syria should immediately 

18 and unconditionally halt support for terrorism, per19 manently and openly declare its total renunciation of 

20 all forms of terrorism, and close all terrorist offices 

21 and facilities in Syria, including the offices of 

22 Hamas, Hizballah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the 

23 Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the 

24 Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine—Gen25 eral Command; 
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1 (2) the Government of Syria should—

2 (A) immediately and unconditionally stop 

3 facilitating transit from Syria to Iraq of indi4 viduals, military equipment, and all lethal 

5 items, except as authorized by the Coalition Pro6 visional Authority or a representative, inter7 nationally recognized Iraqi government; 

8 (B) cease its support for ‘‘volunteers’’ and 

9 terrorists who are traveling from and through 

10 Syria into Iraq to launch attacks; and 

11 (C) undertake concrete, verifiable steps to 

12 deter such behavior and control the use of terri13 tory under Syrian control; 

14 (3) the Government of Syria should immediately 

15 declare its commitment to completely withdraw its 

16 armed forces, including military, paramilitary, and 

17 security forces, from Lebanon, and set a firm time18 table for such withdrawal; 

19 (4) the Government of Lebanon should deploy the 

20 Lebanese armed forces to all areas of Lebanon, includ21 ing South Lebanon, in accordance with United Na22 tions Security Council Resolution 520 (September 17, 

23 1982), in order to assert the sovereignty of the Leba24 nese state over all of its territory, and should evict all 

25 terrorist and foreign forces from southern Lebanon, 
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1 including Hizballah and the Iranian Revolutionary 

2 Guards; 

3 (5) the Government of Syria should halt the de4 velopment and deployment of medium- and long5 range surface-to-surface missiles and cease the devel6 opment and production of biological and chemical 

7 weapons; 

8 (6) the Governments of Lebanon and Syria 

9 should enter into serious unconditional bilateral nego10 tiations with the Government of Israel in order to re11 alize a full and permanent peace; 

12 (7) the United States should continue to provide 

13 humanitarian and educational assistance to the peo14 ple of Lebanon only through appropriate private, 

15 nongovernmental organizations and appropriate 

16 international organizations, until such time as the 

17 Government of Lebanon asserts sovereignty and con18 trol over all of its territory and borders and achieves 

19 full political independence, as called for in United 

20 Nations Security Council Resolution 520; and 

21 (8) as a violator of several key United Nations 

22 Security Council resolutions and as a nation that 

23 pursues policies which undermine international peace 

24 and security, Syria should not have been permitted to 

25 join the United Nations Security Council or serve as 
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1 the Security Council’s President, and should be re2 moved from the Security Council. 

3 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

4 It is the policy of the United States that—

5 (1) Syria will be held responsible for attacks 

6 committed by Hizballah and other terrorist groups 

7 with offices, training camps, or other facilities in 

8 Syria, or bases in areas of Lebanon occupied by 

9 Syria; 

10 (2) the United States shall impede Syria’s abil11 ity to support acts of international terrorism and ef12 forts to develop or acquire weapons of mass destruc13 tion; 

14 (3) the Secretary of State will continue to list 

15 Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism until Syria ends 

16 its support for terrorism, including its support of 

17 Hizballah and other terrorist groups in Lebanon and 

18 its hosting of terrorist groups in Damascus, and 

19 comes into full compliance with United States law re20 lating to terrorism and United Nations Security 

21 Council Resolution 1373 (September 28, 2001); 

22 (4) efforts against Hizballah will be expanded 

23 given the recognition that Hizballah is equally or 

24 more capable than al Qaeda; 
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1 (5) the full restoration of Lebanon’s sovereignty, 

2 political independence, and territorial integrity is in 

3 the national security interest of the United States; 

4 (6) Syria is in violation of United Nations Secu5 rity Council Resolution 520 (September 17, 1982)

6 through its continued occupation of Lebanese territory 

7 and its encroachment upon Lebanon’s political inde8 pendence; 

9 (7) Syria’s obligation to withdraw from Lebanon 

10 is not conditioned upon progress in the Israeli-Syrian 

11 or Israeli-Lebanese peace process but derives from 

12 Syria’s obligation under Security Council Resolution 

13 520; 

14 (8) Syria’s acquisition of weapons of mass de15 struction and ballistic missile programs threaten the 

16 security of the Middle East and the national security 

17 interests of the United States; 

18 (9) Syria will be held accountable for any harm 

19 to Coalition armed forces or to any United States cit20 izen in Iraq due to its facilitation of terrorist activi21 ties and its shipments of military supplies to Iraq; 

22 and 

23 (10) the United States will not provide any as24 sistance to Syria and will oppose multilateral assist25 ance for Syria until Syria ends all support for ter-
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1 rorism, withdraws its armed forces from Lebanon, 

2 and halts the development and deployment of weapons 

3 of mass destruction and medium- and long-range sur4 face-to-surface ballistic missiles. 

5 SEC. 5. PENALTIES AND AUTHORIZATION. 

6 (a) PENALTIES.—Until the President makes the deter7 mination that Syria meets all the requirements described 

8 in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (d) and certifies 

9 such determination to Congress in accordance with such 

10 subsection—

11 (1) the President shall prohibit the export to 

12 Syria of any item, including the issuance of a license 

13 for the export of any item, on the United States Mu14 nitions List or Commerce Control List of dual-use 

15 items in the Export Administration Regulations (15 

16 C.F.R. part 730 et seq.); and 

17 (2) the President shall impose two or more of the 

18 following sanctions: 

19 (A) Prohibit the export of products of the 

20 United States (other than food and medicine) to 

21 Syria. 

22 (B) Prohibit United States businesses from 

23 investing or operating in Syria. 

24 (C) Restrict Syrian diplomats in Wash25 ington, D.C., and at the United Nations in New 
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1 York City, to travel only within a 25-mile radius 

2 of Washington, D.C., or the United Nations 

3 headquarters building, respectively. 

4 (D) Prohibit aircraft of any air carrier 

5 owned or controlled by Syria to take off from, 

6 land in, or overfly the United States. 

7 (E) Reduce United States diplomatic con8 tacts with Syria (other than those contacts re9 quired to protect United States interests or carry 

10 out the purposes of this Act). 

11 (F) Block transactions in any property in 

12 which the Government of Syria has any interest, 

13 by any person, or with respect to any property, 

14 subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. 

15 (b) WAIVER.—The President may waive the applica16 tion of paragraph (2) of subsection (a) for one or more 6-

17 month periods if the President determines that it is in the 

18 vital national security interest of the United States to do 

19 so and transmits to Congress a report that contains the rea20 sons therefor. 

21 (c) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO SYRIA.—

22 If the President—

23 (1) makes the determination that Syria meets 

24 the requirements described in paragraphs (1) through 
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1 (4) of subsection (d) and certifies such determination 

2 to Congress in accordance with such subsection; 

3 (2) determines that substantial progress has been 

4 made both in negotiations aimed at achieving a peace 

5 agreement between Israel and Syria and in negotia6 tions aimed at achieving a peace agreement between 

7 Israel and Lebanon; and 

8 (3) determines that the Government of Syria is 

9 strictly respecting the sovereignty, territorial integ10 rity, unity, and political independence of Lebanon 

11 under the sole and exclusive authority of the Govern12 ment of Lebanon through the Lebanese army through13 out Lebanon, as required under paragraph (4) of 

14 United Nations Security Council Resolution 520 

15 (1982), 

16 then the President is authorized to provide assistance to 

17 Syria under chapter 1 of Part I of the Foreign Assistance 

18 Act of 1961 (relating to development assistance). 

19 (d) CERTIFICATION.—A certification under this sub20 section is a certification transmitted to the appropriate con21 gressional committees of a determination made by the 

22 President that—

23 (1) the Government of Syria has ceased pro24 viding support for international terrorist groups and 

25 does not allow terrorist groups, such as Hamas, 
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1 Hizballah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular 

2 Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Popular 

3 Front for the Liberation of Palestine—General Com4 mand, to maintain facilities in territory under Syr5 ian control; 

6 (2) the Government of Syria has withdrawn all 

7 Syrian military, intelligence, and other security per8 sonnel from Lebanon; 

9 (3) the Government of Syria has ceased the de10 velopment and deployment of medium- and long11 range surface-to-surface ballistic missiles, is not pur12 suing or engaged in the research, development, acqui13 sition, production, transfer, or deployment of biologi14 cal, chemical, or nuclear weapons, has provided cred15 ible assurances that such behavior will not be under16 taken in the future, and has agreed to allow United 

17 Nations and other international observers to verify 

18 such actions and assurances; and 

19 (4) the Government of Syria has ceased all sup20 port for, and facilitation of, all terrorist activities in21 side of Iraq, including preventing the use of territory 

22 under its control by any means whatsoever to support 

23 those engaged in terrorist activities inside of Iraq. 
22

•HR 1828 RH 

1 SEC. 6. REPORT. 

2 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date 

3 of the enactment of this Act, and every 12 months thereafter 

4 until the conditions described in paragraphs (1) through 

5 (4) of section 5(d) are satisfied, the Secretary of State shall

6 submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 

7 on—

8 (1) Syria’s progress toward meeting the condi9 tions described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of sec10 tion 5(d); 

11 (2) connections, if any, between individual ter12 rorists and terrorist groups which maintain offices, 

13 training camps, or other facilities on Syrian terri14 tory, or operate in areas of Lebanon occupied by the 

15 Syrian armed forces, and the attacks against the 

16 United States that occurred on September 11, 2001, 

17 and other terrorist attacks on the United States or its 

18 citizens, installations, or allies; and 

19 (3) how the United States is increasing its efforts 

20 against Hizballah given the recognition that 

21 Hizballah is equally or more capable than al Qaeda. 

22 (b) FORM.—The report submitted under subsection (a) 

23 shall be in unclassified form but may include a classified 

24 annex. 
23

•HR 1828 RH 

1 SEC. 7. DEFINITION OF APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL 

2 COMMITTEES. 

3 In this Act, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com4 mittees’’ means the Committee on International Relations 

5 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on For6 eign Relations of the Senate.

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to halt Syrian 

support for terrorism, end its occupation of Lebanon, and 

stop its development of weapons of mass destruction, and 

by so doing hold Syria accountable for the serious international security problems it has caused in the Middle 

East, and for other purposes.’’.
Union Calendar No. 190

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1828

[Report No. 108–314] 

A BILL

To halt Syrian support for terrorism, end its occupation of Lebanon, stop its development of weapons of mass destruction, cease its illegal importation of Iraqi oil and illegal shipments of weapons 

and other military items to Iraq, and by so doing hold Syria accountable for the serious international security problems it has caused in the Middle East, and for other purposes. 

OCTOBER 15, 2003

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee 

of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed