II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5095 

To counter efforts to recognize or normalize relations with any Government 

of Syria that is led by Bashar al-Assad, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2024 

Mr. CARDIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To counter efforts to recognize or normalize relations with 

any Government of Syria that is led by Bashar al-Assad, 

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 TITLES; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLES.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Supporting Syrian Civilians Act’’ or the ‘‘Caesar Act 

6 2.0’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short titles; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Modifications to the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act. 


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Sec. 3. Statement of policy regarding the prohibition of recognition of the 

Assad regime. 

Sec. 4. Interagency strategy to counter normalization with Assad regime. 

Sec. 5. Reports on manipulation of United Nations by the Assad regime in 

Syria. 

Sec. 6. Briefing before force posture change. 

Sec. 7. Economic support funds for Syria. 

Sec. 8. Countering Captagon trafficking. 

Sec. 9. Briefing on steps to free Austin Tice and repatriate American remains 

from Syria. 

1 SEC. 2. MODIFICATIONS TO THE CAESAR SYRIA CIVILIAN 

2 PROTECTION ACT. 

3 (a) CAESAR SYRIA CIVILIAN PROTECTION ACT.— 

4 Section 7412(a) of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection 

5 Act of 2019 (title LXXIV of the National Defense Author6 ization Act for Fiscal Year 2020; 22 U.S.C. 8791 note) 

7 is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘the President 

9 shall impose’’ and all that follows and inserting the 

10 following: ‘‘the President— 

11 ‘‘(A) shall impose the sanctions described 

12 in subsection (b) with respect to a foreign per13 son that the President determines— 

14 ‘‘(i) knowingly engages, on or after 

15 such date of enactment, in an activity de16 scribed in paragraph (2); or 

17 ‘‘(ii) is owned or controlled by a for18 eign person described in clause (i); and 

19 ‘‘(B) may impose the sanctions described 

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1 son that the Secretary of State determines 

2 knowingly provides, on or after such date of en3 actment, significant financial, material, or tech4 nological support to a foreign person engaging 

5 in an activity described in any of subparagraphs 

6 (B) through (H) of paragraph (2).’’; 

7 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

8 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

9 (i) by amending clause (i) to read as 

10 follows: 

11 ‘‘(i) the Government of Syria (includ12 ing any entity owned or controlled by the 

13 Government of Syria), a senior political 

14 figure of the Government of Syria, a mem15 ber of the People’s Assembly of Syria, or 

16 a senior foreign political figure (as defined 

17 in section 101.605 of title 31, Code of 

18 Federal Regulations) of the Arab Socialist 

19 Ba’ath Party of Syria, including any such 

20 senior foreign political figure who is a 

21 member of the Central Command, Central 

22 Committee, or Auditing and Inspection 

23 Committee of such Party;’’; 

24 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘; or’’ 

25 and inserting a semicolon; 


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1 (iii) in clause (iii), by striking the 

2 semicolon at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; 

3 and 

4 (iv) by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(iv) Syria Arab Airlines, Cham 

7 Wings, or any foreign person owned or 

8 controlled by Syria Arab Airlines or Cham 

9 Wings;’’; 

10 (B) by amending subparagraph (C) to read 

11 as follows: 

12 ‘‘(C) knowingly sells or provides aircraft or 

13 spare aircraft parts— 

14 ‘‘(i) to the Government of Syria; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) on behalf of the Government of 

16 Syria to any foreign person operating in an 

17 area directly or indirectly controlled by the 

18 Government of Syria or foreign forces 

19 under the direction or control of the Gov20 ernment of Syria;’’; 

21 (C) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

22 at the end; 

23 (D) in subparagraph (E), by striking the 

24 period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

25 and 


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1 (E) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(F) purposefully engages in or directs— 

3 ‘‘(i) the significant diversion of valu4 able goods (including agricultural commod5 ities, food, medicine, and medical devices) 

6 or any international humanitarian assist7 ance intended for the people of Syria; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) the dealing in the significant 

9 misappropriation of proceeds from the sale 

10 or resale of such significant diverted goods 

11 or international humanitarian assistance, 

12 as the case may be; 

13 ‘‘(G) knowingly engages in, or attempts to 

14 engage in, the significant seizure, confiscation, 

15 theft, or expropriation for personal gain or po16 litical purposes of significant property, includ17 ing real property, in Syria or owned by a citizen 

18 of Syria; or 

19 ‘‘(H) knowingly and directly engages in, or 

20 attempts to engage in, a transaction or trans21 actions for or with seized, confiscated, stolen, or 

22 expropriated property described in subpara23 graph (G).’’. 

24 (b) REPORT ON CAESAR SYRIA CIVILIAN PROTEC25 TION ACT OF 2019.— 


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1 (1) DEFINED TERM.—In this subsection, the 

2 term ‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’ 

3 means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

5 the Senate; 

6 (B) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 

7 and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

8 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

9 the House of Representatives; and 

10 (D) the Committee on Financial Services 

11 of the House of Representatives. 

12 (2) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

13 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an14 nually thereafter for the following 3 years, the Sec15 retary of the Treasury, with the concurrence of the 

16 Secretary of State, shall submit a report to the ap17 propriate congressional committees describing the 

18 implementation of sanctions under the Caesar Syria 

19 Civilian Protection Act of 2019, as amended by this 

20 Act. 

21 (3) ELEMENTS.—Each report submitted pursu22 ant to paragraph (2) shall describe— 

23 (A) all individuals or entities sanctioned 

24 under the authorities granted by the Caesar 

25 Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019; 


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1 (B) all individuals and entities determined 

2 to be eligible for sanction under the authorities 

3 granted by the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection 

4 Act of 2019 who have not yet been sanctioned 

5 under such authorities; 

6 (C) all individuals and entities currently 

7 under consideration for sanction under the au8 thorities granted by the Caesar Syria Civilian 

9 Protection Act of 2019; and 

10 (D) the steps taken to explain to financial 

11 institutions sanctions liability under the au12 thorities granted by the Caesar Syria Civilian 

13 Protection Act of 2019 and the date such steps 

14 were taken. 

15 (4) FORM.—Each report required under para16 graph (2) shall be submitted in an unclassified form, 

17 but may contain a classified annex that is submitted 

18 separately from the unclassified report. 

19 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—Section 7432 of the Caesar Syria 

20 Civilian Protection Act of 2019 (22 U.S.C. 8791 note) is 

21 amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 7432. EXCEPTIONS. 

23 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 ‘‘(1) AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY.—The term 

25 ‘agricultural commodity’ has the meaning given such 


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1 term in section 102 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 

2 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5602). 

3 ‘‘(2) GOOD.—The term ‘good’ means any arti4 cle, natural or manmade substance, material, supply, 

5 or manufactured product, including inspection and 

6 test equipment, and excluding technical data. 

7 ‘‘(3) MEDICAL DEVICE.—The term ‘medical de8 vice’ has the meaning given the term ‘device’ in sec9 tion 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 

10 Act (21 U.S.C. 321). 

11 ‘‘(4) MEDICINE.—The term ‘medicine’ has the 

12 meaning given the term ‘drug’ in section 201 of the 

13 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 

14 321). 

15 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH UNITED NA16 TIONS HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT AND LAW ENFORCE17 MENT ACTIVITIES.—Sanctions under this Act shall not 

18 apply with respect to the admission of an alien to the 

19 United States if admitting or paroling such alien into the 

20 United States is necessary— 

21 ‘‘(1) to permit the United States to comply with 

22 the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the 

23 United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 

24 1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947, 

25 between the United Nations and the United States, 


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1 or other applicable international obligations of the 

2 United States; or 

3 ‘‘(2) to carry out or assist authorized law en4 forcement activity in the United States. 

5 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH INTELLIGENCE

6 ACTIVITIES.—Sanctions under this Act shall not apply to 

7 any activity subject to the reporting requirements under 

8 title V of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 

9 3091 et seq.) or any authorized intelligence activities of 

10 the United States. 

11 ‘‘(d) HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.—Sanctions under 

12 this Act shall not apply to— 

13 ‘‘(1) the conduct or facilitation of a transaction 

14 for the provision of agricultural commodities, food, 

15 medicine, medical devices, or humanitarian assist16 ance, or for other humanitarian purposes; or 

17 ‘‘(2) transactions that are necessary for, or re18 lated to, the activities described in paragraph (1).’’. 

19 (d) EXTENSION OF SUNSET.—Section 7438 of the 

20 Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 is amended 

21 by striking ‘‘the date that is 5 years after the date of the 

22 enactment of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 

23 2028’’. 

24 (e) DETERMINATIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE SYRIA

25 TRUST FOR DEVELOPMENT.— 


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1 (1) DEFINED TERM.—In this subsection, the 

2 term ‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’ 

3 means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

5 the Senate; 

6 (B) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 

7 and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

8 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

9 the House of Representatives; and 

10 (D) the Committee on Financial Services 

11 of the House of Representatives. 

12 (2) DETERMINATIONS.—Not later than 120 

13 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

14 President shall— 

15 (A) determine whether the nonprofit orga16 nization chaired by Asma Al-Assad, the First 

17 Lady of Syria, known as the ‘‘Syria Trust for 

18 Development’’ meets the criteria for the imposi19 tion of sanctions— 

20 (i) under section 7412(a) of the Cae21 sar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019, 

22 as amended by subsection (a); 

23 (ii) under Executive Order 13894 (84 

24 Fed. Reg. 55851; relating to blocking 

25 property and suspending entry of certain 


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1 persons contributing to the situation in 

2 Syria); or 

3 (iii) by nature of being owned or con4 trolled by a person designated under any 

5 executive order or regulation administered 

6 by the Office of Foreign Assets Control; 

7 and 

8 (B) submit to the appropriate congres9 sional committees each such determination, in10 cluding a justification for the determination. 

11 (3) FORM.—Each determination required under 

12 paragraph (2)(B) shall be submitted in unclassified 

13 form, but the justification specified in such para14 graph may be included in a classified annex. The un15 classified determination shall be made available on a 

16 publicly available website of the Federal Govern17 ment. 

18 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY REGARDING THE PROHIBI19 TION OF RECOGNITION OF THE ASSAD RE20 GIME. 

21 It is the policy of the United States— 

22 (1) to not recognize or normalize relations with 

23 any Government of Syria that is led by Bashar al24 Assad due to the Assad regime’s ongoing crimes 

25 against the Syrian people, including failure to meet 


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1 the criteria outlined in section 7431(a) of the Caesar 

2 Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 (22 U.S.C. 

3 8791 note); 

4 (2) to actively oppose recognition or normaliza5 tion of relations by other governments with any Gov6 ernment of Syria that is led by Bashar Al-Assad, in7 cluding by fully implementing the mandatory pri8 mary and secondary sanctions in the Caesar Syria 

9 Civilian Protection Act of 2019 and Executive Order 

10 13894 (84 Fed. Reg. 55851; relating to blocking 

11 property and suspending entry of certain persons 

12 contributing to the situation in Syria); 

13 (3) to continue to actively advance the national 

14 interests of the United States in Syria, including— 

15 (A) counterterrorism and counternarcotic 

16 operations; 

17 (B) the provision of humanitarian assist18 ance to the Syrian people, including earth19 quake-related early recovery; and 

20 (C) significant diplomatic efforts towards 

21 the advancement of a political solution to the 

22 Syrian conflict in adherence with United Na23 tions Security Council Resolution 2254 (2015); 

24 and 

25 (4) to take all necessary steps to secure— 


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1 (A) the release of Austin Tice and other 

2 hostages and unjustly detained United States 

3 nationals within Syria; and 

4 (B) the repatriation of the remains of 

5 United States nationals killed by the Assad re6 gime or by the Islamic State in Syria, including 

7 Majd Kamalmaz, Kayla Mueller, James Foley, 

8 Peter Kassig, and Steven Sotloff. 

9 SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY STRATEGY TO COUNTER NORMAL10 IZATION WITH ASSAD REGIME. 

11 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT13 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com14 mittees’’ means— 

15 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

16 the Senate; 

17 (B) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

18 Senate; 

19 (C) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 

20 and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

21 (D) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

22 the House of Representatives; 

23 (E) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

24 House of Representatives; and 


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1 (F) the Committee on Financial Services 

2 of the House of Representatives. 

3 (2) COVERED TRANSACTION.—The term ‘‘cov4 ered transaction’’ means a transaction, including an 

5 investment, grant, contract, or donation (including a 

6 loan or other extension of credit) by a foreign person 

7 that is a representative, citizen, or entity incor8 porated exclusively under the laws of the Republic of 

9 Tu ̈rkiye, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, 

10 Iraq, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, the Kingdom of 

11 Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, or 

12 Lebanon to a recipient located in any area of Syria 

13 controlled by the Assad regime. 

14 (b) REPORT REQUIRED.— 

15 (1) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 180 days 

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an17 nually thereafter for a period not to exceed 3 years, 

18 the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Sec19 retary of the Treasury and the heads of other appro20 priate Federal departments and agencies, shall sub21 mit a report to the appropriate congressional com22 mittees that describes— 

23 (A) the steps taken or planned to be taken 

24 by foreign governments to normalize or upgrade 

25 political, diplomatic, or economic ties with the 


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1 regime led by Bashar al-Assad in Syria (re2 ferred to in this Act as the ‘‘Assad regime’’); 

3 and 

4 (B) the actions taken by the United States 

5 Government to counter such steps. 

6 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report submitted pursu7 ant to paragraph (1) shall include— 

8 (A) a description of— 

9 (i) violations of international law and 

10 human rights abuses committed by Bashar 

11 al-Assad, the Government of the Russian 

12 Federation, or the Government of Iran; 

13 and 

14 (ii) progress made towards achieving 

15 justice for the Syrian people and account16 ability for the violators; 

17 (B) a list, including the identification of— 

18 (i) any single covered transaction ex19 ceeding $2,500,000; and 

20 (ii) any combination of covered trans21 actions by the same source within a 12- 

22 month period that exceed $2,500,000, in 

23 the aggregate; 

24 (C) for each identified single transaction or 

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1 cluded in the list described in subparagraph 

2 (B), a determination of whether such trans3 action subjects any of the parties to the trans4 action to sanctions under the Caesar Syria Ci5 vilian Protection Act of 2019, as amended by 

6 section 2; 

7 (D) a description of the steps the United 

8 States is taking to actively deter recognition or 

9 normalization of relations by other governments 

10 with the Assad regime, including specific diplo11 matic engagements and the use of economic 

12 sanctions authorized by Federal statutes or im13 plemented through Executive Orders, includ14 ing— 

15 (i) the Caesar Syria Civilian Protec16 tion Act of 2019 (22 U.S.C. 8791 note); 

17 (ii) the Syria Accountability and Leb18 anese Sovereignty Restoration Act (22 

19 U.S.C. 2151 note); 

20 (iii) the Comprehensive Iran Sanc21 tions, Accountability, and Divestment Act 

22 of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8501 et seq.); 

23 (iv) Executive Order 13894 (84 Fed. 

24 Reg. 55851; relating to blocking property 


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1 and suspending entry of certain persons 

2 contributing to the situation in Syria); 

3 (v) the Global Magnitsky Human 

4 Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 

5 10101 et seq.); 

6 (vi) the Countering American Adver7 saries through Sanctions Act (22 U.S.C. 

8 9401 et seq.); and 

9 (vii) the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin 

10 Designation Act (title VIII of Public Law 

11 106–120; 21 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.); and 

12 (E) an assessment of how recognition of, 

13 or normalization of relations with, the Assad re14 gime by other governments impacts— 

15 (i) the national security of the United 

16 States; 

17 (ii) the material benefits of such rec18 ognition or normalization to the Assad re19 gime; 

20 (iii) the normalizing government pros21 pects for the implementation of United Na22 tions Security Council Resolution 2254; 

23 (iv) prospects for justice and account24 ability for war crimes in Syria; and 


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1 (v) the benefits derived by the Govern2 ment of the Russian Federation or the 

3 Government of Iran. 

4 (c) TEMPORAL SCOPE.—The initial report required 

5 under subsection (b) shall address the period beginning 

6 on January 1, 2022, and ending on the date of the enact7 ment of this Act. Each subsequent report shall address 

8 the 1-year period immediately following the last day cov9 ered by the most recently submitted report. 

10 (d) FORM.—Each report required under subsection 

11 (b) shall be submitted in an unclassified form, but may 

12 contain a classified annex. 

13 SEC. 5. REPORTS ON MANIPULATION OF UNITED NATIONS 

14 BY THE ASSAD REGIME IN SYRIA. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

16 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter 

17 for a period not to exceed 5 years, the Secretary of State 

18 shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Rela19 tions of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

20 of the House of Representatives that describes the manip21 ulation of the United Nations by the Assad regime, includ22 ing— 

23 (1) a description of conditions, both explicit and 

24 implicit, set by the Assad regime with respect to 

25 United Nations operations in Syria, including with 


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1 respect to implementing partners, hiring practices, 

2 allocation of grants and contracts, and procurement 

3 of goods and services; 

4 (2) the identification of officials or employees of 

5 the United Nations (including funds, programs, and 

6 specialized agencies of the United Nations) with ties 

7 to the Assad regime, or persons designated for sanc8 tions by United Nations donor countries; 

9 (3) an account of access restrictions imposed by 

10 the Assad regime and the overall impact of such re11 strictions on the ability of the United Nations to eq12 uitably deliver international assistance to target 

13 beneficiaries in areas outside the control of the 

14 Assad regime; 

15 (4) a description of ways in which United Na16 tions aid directly benefits the Assad regime and its 

17 associates; 

18 (5) a description of the due diligence mecha19 nisms and vetting procedures in place to ensure enti20 ties contracted by the United Nations to ensure 

21 goods, supplies, or services provided to Syria do not 

22 have links to the Assad regime, known human rights 

23 abusers, or persons designated for sanctions by 

24 United Nations donor countries; 


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1 (6) the identification of entities affiliated with 

2 the Assad regime (including the Syria Trust for De3 velopment and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent), for4 eign government ministries, and private corporations 

5 owned or controlled by the Assad regime, which have 

6 received United Nations funding, contracts, or 

7 grants or have otherwise entered into a formalized 

8 partnership with the United Nations; 

9 (7) an assessment of how the Assad regime sets 

10 arbitrary or punitive exchange rates to extract fund11 ing from the United Nations, and the total amount 

12 extracted by such means; and 

13 (8) a strategy for— 

14 (A) reducing the ability of the Assad re15 gime to manipulate or otherwise influence the 

16 United Nations and other aid operations in 

17 Syria; and 

18 (B) ensuring that United States and inter19 national aid is delivered in a neutral and impar20 tial manner consistent with basic humanitarian 

21 principles. 

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

23 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain 

24 a classified annex. 


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1 SEC. 6. BRIEFING BEFORE FORCE POSTURE CHANGE. 

2 Not later than 15 days before any decision to with3 draw United States forces from any part of Syria where 

4 such forces are being deployed, the Secretary of Defense 

5 and the Secretary of State shall jointly brief the Com6 mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the Committee 

7 on Armed Services of the Senate, the Committee on For8 eign Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the 

9 Committee on Armed Services of the House of Represent10 atives on the likely impacts of such withdrawal. 

11 SEC. 7. ECONOMIC SUPPORT FUNDS FOR SYRIA. 

12 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con13 gress that— 

14 (1) the humanitarian situation in areas of 

15 northwest Syria that are not controlled by the Assad 

16 regime remains dire, which is due in large part to 

17 ongoing attacks, diversion of cross-line assistance, 

18 and corruption by the Assad regime; 

19 (2) Syrian refugees and their host commu20 nities— 

21 (A) are under significant strain due to the 

22 prolonged conflict in Syria; and 

23 (B) require significant assistance from the 

24 international community; 

25 (3) it remains unsafe for Syrian refugees to re26 turn to Syria absent a formal cessation of hostilities 


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1 and significant implementation of the principles laid 

2 out in United Nations Security Council Resolution 

3 2254 (2015); 

4 (4) the forced return of Syrian refugees to 

5 Syria absent their consent or the aforementioned 

6 conditions violates the principle of non-refoulement; 

7 and 

8 (5) host countries must not forcibly return refu9 gees to Syria without their consent absent a formal 

10 cessation of hostilities and significant implementa11 tion of the principles laid out in United Nations Se12 curity Council Resolution 2254 (2015). 

13 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

14 United States— 

15 (1) to provide humanitarian funding to north16 west Syria outside of mechanisms controlled by the 

17 Assad regime; 

18 (2) to maintain basic services for communities 

19 in northwest Syria outside of Assad regime control; 

20 (3) to oppose the refoulement or otherwise forc21 ible return of Syrian refugees and provide significant 

22 assistance to Syrian refugees and their host commu23 nities; and 

24 (4) to work with partners and allies to support 

25 the efforts described in paragraph (1) through (3). 


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1 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR HU2 MANITARIAN ASSISTANCE FOR NORTHWEST SYRIA.— 

3 There is authorized to be appropriated, in addition to 

4 amounts already appropriated for such purpose, 

5 $10,000,000 in Economic Support Funds for the Syria 

6 Civil Defense (commonly known as the ‘‘White Helmets’’). 

7 (d) REPORT AND STRATEGY ON STABILIZATION

8 FUNDING FOR NORTHWEST SYRIA.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

10 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

11 of State, in coordination with the Administrator of 

12 the United States Agency for International Develop13 ment, shall submit a report to the Committee on 

14 Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee 

15 on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 

16 that assesses— 

17 (A) the feasibility of providing stabilization 

18 funding to areas of northwest Syria that are 

19 not under the control the Assad regime; and 

20 (B) the risks that such funds will be di21 verted and steps to counter such risks. 

22 (2) FORM.—The report required under para23 graph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, 

24 but may contain a classified annex. 

25 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 


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1 (1) STABILIZATION ASSISTANCE FOR NORTH2 WEST SYRIA.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to 

4 be appropriated $20,000,000 in Economic Sup5 port Funds for stabilization funding in areas of 

6 northwest Syria that are not under the control 

7 of the Assad Regime. 

8 (B) BRIEFING REQUIRED.—None of the 

9 funds appropriated pursuant to subparagraph 

10 (A) may be expended until a senior official of 

11 the Department of State provides a briefing re12 garding such expenditure to— 

13 (i) the Committee on Foreign Rela14 tions of the Senate; 

15 (ii) the Committee on Appropriations 

16 of the Senate; 

17 (iii) the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

18 of the House of Representatives; and 

19 (iv) the Committee on Appropriations 

20 of the House of Representatives. 

21 (2) FUNDS FOR SYRIAN REFUGEES AND HOST

22 COMMUNITIES.—There is authorized to be appro23 priated $50,000,000 in Economic Support Funds to 

24 support Syrian refugees and host communities in the 

25 Middle East and North Africa. 


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1 SEC. 8. COUNTERING CAPTAGON TRAFFICKING. 

2 (a) REPORT ON STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

4 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and an5 nually thereafter for the following 3 years, the Sec6 retary of State shall submit a report to the Com7 mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the 

8 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep9 resentatives describing the implementation of the 

10 strategy submitted by the Secretary of State pursu11 ant to section 1238(c) of the James M. Inhofe Na12 tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 

13 2023 (Public Law 117–263). 

14 (2) ELEMENTS.—Each report required under 

15 paragraph (1) shall include— 

16 (A) the amount of funds obligated for the 

17 previous fiscal year in support of the strategy 

18 referred to in such paragraph; and 

19 (B) a description of how such funds have 

20 supported each of the elements described in 

21 such strategy. 

22 (3) FORM.—Each report required under para23 graph (1) shall be submitted in an unclassified form, 

24 but may contain a classified annex that is trans25 mitted separately from the unclassified report. 


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•S 5095 IS

1 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated, in addition to any funds 

3 already appropriated for such purpose, $10,000,000 from 

4 the International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement 

5 (INCLE) account to counter the production and traf6 ficking of Captagon in the Middle East and North Africa, 

7 especially such trafficking carried out by the Assad Re8 gime and Hezbollah. 

9 SEC. 9. BRIEFING ON STEPS TO FREE AUSTIN TICE AND RE10 PATRIATE AMERICAN REMAINS FROM SYRIA. 

11 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

12 (1) Austin Tice, an American journalist, was 

13 kidnaped on August 14, 2012. 

14 (2) Majd Kamalmaz, an American 

15 psychotherapist, was detained by the Assad regime 

16 in February 2017, and subsequently murdered in 

17 captivity by the Assad regime. 

18 (3) Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig, 2 Amer19 ican aid workers, and James Foley and Steven 

20 Sotloff, 2 American journalists, were all United 

21 States citizens who were murdered in Syria while 

22 being held in captivity by the Islamic State. 

23 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the Sense of Con24 gress that the United States Government should take all 

25 necessary steps— 


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•S 5095 IS

1 (1) to secure the release of Austin Tice and 

2 other Americans unjustly detained in Syria; and 

3 (2) to secure the return of the remains of Majd 

4 Kamalmaz, Kayla Mueller, James Foley, Peter 

5 Kassig, and Steven Sotloff. 

6 (c) BRIEFING REQUIRED.—Not later than 90 days 

7 after the date of the enactment of this Act and annually 

8 thereafter for the following 5 years, the President shall 

9 provide a briefing to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

10 of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

11 the House of Representatives regarding— 

12 (1) efforts by the United States Government— 

13 (A) to secure the release of Austin Tice 

14 and other unjustly detained Americans in Syria; 

15 and 

16 (B) to secure the return of the remains of 

17 Majd Kamalmaz, Kayla Mueller, James Foley, 

18 Peter Kassig, Steven Sotloff, and other United 

19 States nationals killed in captivity in Syria; and 

20 (2) the steps the United States Government is 

21 taking to keep the families of such persons informed 

22 of its efforts to secure the release of such persons 

23 or the return of their remains. 

Æ 


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