I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2501 

To authorize assistance to conduct military or paramilitary operations in 

Syria, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 25, 2013 

Mr. ROONEY (for himself and Mr. MCCAUL) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To authorize assistance to conduct military or paramilitary 

operations in Syria, 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 ‘‘Congressional Ac5 countability and Oversight in Syria Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act 

9 of 1961 mandates that no security assistance may 

10 be provided to any country the government of which 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 2501 IH

1 engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of 

2 internationally recognized human rights. 

3 (2) Section 523 of the Foreign Assistance Act 

4 of 1961 states that none of the funds appropriated 

5 or otherwise made available pursuant to this Act 

6 shall be obligated to finance indirectly any assistance 

7 or reparations to Cuba, Iraq, Libya, Iran, Syria, 

8 North Korea, or Sudan, unless the President of the 

9 United States certifies that the withholding of these 

10 funds is contrary to the national interest of the 

11 United States. 

12 (3) Under the terms of Resolution 2043 of 

13 April 21, 2012, the United Nations Security Council 

14 established a United Nations Supervision Mission in 

15 Syria (UNSMIS), for an initial period of 90 days, 

16 under the command of a Chief Military Observer, 

17 comprising an initial deployment of up to 300 un18 armed military observers as well as an appropriate 

19 civilian component to fulfill the following mandate: 

20 To monitor a cessation of armed violence in all its 

21 forms by all parties and to monitor and support the 

22 full implementation of the UNSMIS’ six-point plan. 

23 (4) On June 15, 2012, UNSMIS suspended its 

24 activities owing to an intensification of armed vio25 lence across the country. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 2501 IH

1 (5) On July 20, 2012, the Security Council ex2 tended UNSMIS for a final period of 30 days. Ac3 cording to Resolution 2059, the Council would only 

4 consider further extensions to the mission ‘‘in the 

5 event that the Secretary-General reports and the Se6 curity Council confirms the cessation of the use of 

7 heavy weapons and a reduction in the level of vio8 lence sufficient by all sides’’ to allow UNSMIS to 

9 implement its mandate. 

10 (6) As the conditions set by the Security Coun11 cil had not been met, UNSMIS mandate ended at 

12 midnight on August 19, 2012. 

13 (7) The al-Nusrah Front is designated by the 

14 Department of State as a Foreign Terrorist Organi15 zation. 

16 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

17 It is the sense of Congress that— 

18 (1) the Government of Syria should imme19 diately cease the use of heavy weapons in population 

20 centers; 

21 (2) all parties within Syria should bring about 

22 a cessation of armed violence in all its forms; 

23 (3) the Secretary of State should continue to 

24 list Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism; 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 2501 IH

1 (4) in accordance with international law, the 

2 Government of Syria should immediately cease the 

3 use of chemical weapons; and 

4 (5) if the President considers initiating military 

5 action, including imposition of a ‘‘no fly’’ zone or 

6 other military operations on Syrian territory, air7 space, or waters— 

8 (A) according to article I, section 8, of the 

9 United States Constitution, ‘‘The Congress 

10 shall have Power To declare War, grant Letters 

11 of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules con12 cerning Captures on Land and Water.’’; 

13 (B) according to the War Powers Resolu14 tion, ‘‘The constitutional powers of the Presi15 dent as Commander-in-Chief to introduce 

16 United States Armed Forces into hostilities, or 

17 into situations where imminent involvement in 

18 hostilities is clearly indicated by the cir19 cumstances, are exercised only pursuant to (1) 

20 a declaration of war, (2) specific statutory au21 thorization, or (3) a national emergency created 

22 by attack upon the United States, its territories 

23 or possessions, or its armed forces.’’; and 

24 (C) the President should adhere to the 

25 War Powers Resolution and obtain specific statVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:14 Jul 01, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2501.IH H2501

tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 2501 IH

1 utory authorization for the use of the United 

2 States Armed Forces in response to the war in 

3 Syria. 

4 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE TO CONDUCT 

5 MILITARY OR PARAMILITARY OPERATIONS IN 

6 SYRIA. 

7 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Notwithstanding any other 

8 provision of law, no assistance of any kind may be pro9 vided by any United States Government agency for the 

10 purpose, or which would have the effect, of promoting, 

11 augmenting, directly or indirectly, the capacity of any na12 tion, group, organization, movement, or individual to con13 duct military or paramilitary operations in Syria, unless 

14 and until Congress expressly authorizes such assistance by 

15 law enacted after the date of enactment of this section. 

16 (b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) does not apply to 

17 assistance that is solely provided for humanitarian pur18 poses. 

Æ 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS