II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2152 

To promote United States policy objectives in Syria, including the departure 

from power of President Bashar Assad and his family, the effective 

transition to a democratic, free, and secure country, and the promotion 

of a prosperous future in Syria. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 2, 2012 

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

to the Committee on Finance 

MARCH 7, 2012 

Committee discharged; referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To promote United States policy objectives in Syria, including the departure from power of President Bashar Assad 

and his family, the effective transition to a democratic, 

free, and secure country, and the promotion of a prosperous future in Syria. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Syria Democracy Transition Act of 2012’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

Sec. 3. Findings. 

Sec. 4. Statement of policy. 

TITLE I—ACCELERATING THE PACE OF REGIME TRANSITION 

Sec. 101. Imposition of sanctions on foreign financial institutions that conduct 

transactions with the Central Bank of Syria. 

Sec. 102. Exportation of petroleum, oil, and natural gas produced in Syria. 

Sec. 103. Prohibition on certain vessels landing in the United States; enhanced 

inspections. 

Sec. 104. Promotion of multilateral action at the United Nations. 

TITLE II—PROMOTING AN EFFECTIVE TRANSITION 

Sec. 201. Report on opposition groups. 

Sec. 202. Identification and disposition of weapons. 

Sec. 203. Transition funding and termination of sanctions. 

Sec. 204. Designating an official coordinator. 

TITLE III—CREATING A PROSPEROUS FUTURE 

Sec. 301. Syrian-American Enterprise Fund. 

Sec. 302. Additional measures to stimulate economic growth in Syria. 

3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) ACCOUNT; CORRESPONDENT ACCOUNT; PAY6 ABLE-THROUGH ACCOUNT.—The terms ‘‘account’’, 

7 ‘‘correspondent account’’, and ‘‘payable-through ac8 count’’ have the meanings given those terms in sec9 tion 5318A of title 31, United States Code. 

10 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT11 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com12 mittees’’ means— 

13 (A) the Committee on Finance, the Com14 mittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban AfVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:45 Mar 08, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2152.RCS S2152

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1 fairs, and the Committee on Foreign Relations 

2 of the Senate; and 

3 (B) the Committee on Ways and Means, 

4 the Committee on Financial Services, and the 

5 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 

6 Representatives. 

7 (3) FOREIGN FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—The 

8 term ‘‘foreign financial institution’’ has the meaning 

9 of that term as determined by the Secretary of the 

10 Treasury pursuant to section 104(i) of the Com11 prehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Di12 vestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8513(i)). 

13 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

14 Congress makes the following findings: 

15 (1) On December 12, 2003, President George 

16 W. Bush signed the Syria Accountability and Leba17 nese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003 (Public 

18 Law 108–175; 22 U.S.C. 2151 note) in order to 

19 hold the Government of Syria accountable for its ac20 tions. 

21 (2) Current law in the United States prohibits 

22 the Government of Syria from receiving assistance 

23 from the United States because it has repeatedly 

24 provided support for acts of international terrorism, 

25 as determined by the Secretary of State for purposes 


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1 of section 6(j)(1) of the Export Administration Act 

2 of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 2405(j)(1)) (as in effect 

3 pursuant to the International Emergency Economic 

4 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)) and other re5 lated statutes. 

6 (3) In 2006, the Department of the Treasury 

7 issued a final ruling that imposes a special measure 

8 against the Commercial Bank of Syria, a quasi-gov9 ernment bank, as a financial institution of primary 

10 money laundering concern. 

11 (4) Since mass peaceful demonstrations started 

12 on March 15, 2011, the Government of Syria, led by 

13 President Bashar al-Assad, has responded by 

14 launching a violent crackdown, committing human 

15 rights abuses, and violating its international obliga16 tions, including the International Covenant on Civil 

17 and Political Rights, adopted December 16, 1966, 

18 and the United Nations Convention Against Torture 

19 and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment 

20 or Punishment, done at New York December 10, 

21 1984. 

22 (5) On April 15, 2011, Christof Heyns, the 

23 United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, 

24 summary, or arbitrary executions, stated that live 

25 ammunition has been used by the Government of 


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1 Syria against demonstrators ‘‘in clear violation of 

2 international law’’. 

3 (6) On April 29, 2011, President Barack 

4 Obama issued additional sanctions with respect to 

5 Syria, stating that ‘‘the Government of Syria’s 

6 human rights abuses, including those related to the 

7 repression of the people of Syria, manifested most 

8 recently by the use of violence and torture against, 

9 and arbitrary arrests and detentions of, peaceful 

10 protestors by police, security forces, and other enti11 ties that have engaged in human rights abuses, con12 stitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the 

13 national security, foreign policy, and economy of the 

14 United States’’. 

15 (7) On May 6, 2011, envoys of the 27 countries 

16 of the European Union agreed to impose sanctions 

17 on the Government of Syria for the human rights 

18 abuses it is perpetrating, including asset freezes and 

19 visa bans on 13 members of the Government of 

20 Syria and an arms embargo on the country. 

21 (8) On May 18, 2011, President Obama issued 

22 an executive order sanctioning senior officials of the 

23 Syrian Arab Republic and their supporters, specifi24 cally designating seven people: President Bashar al25 Assad, Vice President Farouk al-Shara, Prime MinVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:45 Mar 08, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2152.RCS S2152

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1 ister Adel Safar, Minister of the Interior Mohammad 

2 Ibrahim al-Shaar, Minister of Defense Ali Habib 

3 Mahmoud, Head of Syrian Military Intelligence 

4 Abdul Fatah Qudsiya, and Director of Political Se5 curity Directorate Mohammed Dib Zaitoun. 

6 (9) On June 29, 2011, the Department of the 

7 Treasury sanctioned the chief and deputy chief of 

8 Iran’s national police and the head of the Syrian Air 

9 Force Intelligence for providing support to the Gov10 ernment of Syria in engaging in human rights 

11 abuses. 

12 (10) In July 2011, supporters of President 

13 Bashar al-Assad attacked the embassies of the 

14 United States and France, following demonstrations 

15 sanctioned by the Government of Syria outside the 

16 embassy of the United States. 

17 (11) On August 11, 2011, the Department of 

18 the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control 

19 named the Commercial Bank of Syria, a quasi-gov20 ernment bank, a Specially Designated National. 

21 With this designation, all property and assets of the 

22 bank in the United States or under control of 

23 United States persons, including overseas branches, 

24 were frozen. 


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1 (12) On August 18, 2011, President Obama 

2 stated, ‘‘The future of Syria must be determined by 

3 its people, but President Bashar al-Assad is stand4 ing in their way. His calls for dialogue and reform 

5 have rung hollow while he is imprisoning, torturing 

6 and slaughtering his own people. We have consist7 ently said that President Assad must lead a demo8 cratic transition or get out of the way. He has not 

9 led. For the sake of the Syrian people, the time has 

10 come for President Assad to step aside.’’. 

11 (13) On November 12, 2011, the Arab League 

12 voted to suspend Syria from membership, based on 

13 continuing violence and inability to adhere to a 

14 League-brokered plan. 

15 (14) On November 15, 2011, King Abdullah of 

16 Jordan became the first Arab leader to openly urge 

17 Mr. Assad to step down, saying President Assad 

18 should ‘‘step down and make sure whoever comes be19 hind me has the ability to change the status quo 

20 that we’re seeing’’. 

21 (15) On November 28, 2011, a report from the 

22 United Nations-backed Independent International 

23 Commission of Inquiry on Syria concluded that ‘‘the 

24 substantial body of evidence gathered by the com25 mission indicates that these gross violations of 


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1 human rights have been committed by Syrian mili2 tary and security forces since the beginning of the 

3 protests in March’’. 

4 (16) On January 17, 2012, President Obama 

5 made the following statement: ‘‘We will continue to 

6 consult very closely with Jordan to create the kind 

7 of international pressure and environment that en8 courage the current Syrian regime to step aside so 

9 that a more democratic process and transition can 

10 take place inside of Syria.’’. 

11 (17) On January 30, 2012, Secretary of State 

12 Hillary Clinton said that ‘‘the status quo is 

13 unsustainable; the longer the Assad regime con14 tinues its attacks on the Syrian people and stands 

15 in the way of a peaceful transition, the greater the 

16 concern that instability will escalate and spill over 

17 throughout the region’’. 

18 (18) On January 28, 2012, the League of Arab 

19 States decided to suspend its international moni20 toring mission due to escalating violence within 

21 Syria. 

22 (19) On February 4, 2012, the Russian Federa23 tion and People’s Republic of China vetoed a United 

24 Nations Security Council Resolution in support of 

25 the League of Arab States’ Plan of Action. 


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1 (20) On February 13, 2012, the United Na2 tion’s High Commissioner for Human Rights said, 

3 ‘‘The failure of the Security Council to agree on firm 

4 collective action appears to have emboldened the 

5 Syrian government to plan an all-out assault in an 

6 effort to crush resistance with overwhelming force.’’. 

7 (21) As of February 13, 2012, the United Na8 tion estimates security forces of the Government of 

9 Syria have killed well above 5,400 people, with tens 

10 of thousands, including children, arrested and more 

11 than 18,000 reportedly still arbitrarily held in deten12 tion. Approximately 25,000 people have sought ref13 uge in other countries, and more than 70,000 are es14 timated to have been internally displaced. 

15 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

16 It is the policy of the United States— 

17 (1) to strongly condemn the ongoing, wide18 spread, and systemic violations of human rights con19 ducted by the authorities in Syria, including the use 

20 of force against civilians, torture, extrajudicial 

21 killings, arbitrary executions, sexual violence, and in22 terference with access to medical treatment; 

23 (2) to support the aspirations of the people of 

24 Syria for self-government based on democratic polit25 ical, civil, and religious rights; 


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1 (3) to assure the departure from power of 

2 Bashar al-Assad and his family, and facilitate a 

3 peaceful transition to a representative and inclusive 

4 government that ensures freedom, justice, and pros5 perity for all the people of Syria; 

6 (4) to promote an effective transition to democ7 racy by identifying and supporting organizations in 

8 Syria that are representative of the Syrian people, 

9 make demonstrable commitments to protect human 

10 rights, and religious freedom, reject terrorism, co11 operate with international counterterrorism and non12 proliferation efforts, and abstain from destabilizing 

13 neighboring countries; 

14 (5) to identify weapons stockpiles and prevent 

15 the proliferation of conventional, biological, chemical, 

16 and other types of weapons in Syria; and 

17 (6) to mobilize international support for a post18 Assad democratic and inclusive Government of 

19 Syria. 


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1 TITLE I—ACCELERATING THE 

2 PACE OF REGIME TRANSITION 

3 SEC. 101. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS ON FOREIGN FINAN4 CIAL INSTITUTIONS THAT CONDUCT TRANS5 ACTIONS WITH THE CENTRAL BANK OF 

6 SYRIA. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsections (b), (c), 

8 and (d), not later than 60 days after the date of the enact9 ment of this Act, the President shall— 

10 (1) prohibit the opening or maintaining in the 

11 United States of a correspondent account or a pay12 able-through account by a foreign financial institu13 tion that the President determines has knowingly 

14 conducted any financial transaction with the Central 

15 Bank of Syria; and 

16 (2) freeze and prohibit all transactions in all 

17 property and interests in property of each such for18 eign financial institution if such property and inter19 ests in property are in the United States or are in 

20 the possession or control of a United States person. 

21 (b) EXCEPTION FOR SALES OF FOOD, MEDICINE, 

22 AND MEDICAL DEVICES.—The President may not impose 

23 sanctions under subsection (a) on a foreign financial insti24 tution for engaging in a transaction with the Central Bank 


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1 of Syria for the sale of food, medicine, or medical devices 

2 to Syria. 

3 (c) APPLICABILITY.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para5 graph (2), subsection (a) applies with respect to fi6 nancial transactions commenced on or after the date 

7 of the enactment of this Act. 

8 (2) PETROLEUM TRANSACTIONS.—Subsection 

9 (a) applies with respect to financial transactions for 

10 the purchase of petroleum or petroleum products 

11 through the Central Bank of Syria commenced on or 

12 after the date that is 180 days after the date of the 

13 enactment of this Act. 

14 (d) WAIVER.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may waive 

16 the application of subsection (a) with respect to a 

17 foreign financial institution for a period of not more 

18 than 60 days, and may renew that waiver for addi19 tional periods of not more than 60 days, if the Presi20 dent determines and reports to the appropriate con21 gressional committees every 60 days that the waiver 

22 is necessary to the national security interest of the 

23 United States. 


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1 (2) FORM.—A report submitted pursuant to 

2 paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified 

3 form, but may contain a classified annex. 

4 SEC. 102. EXPORTATION OF PETROLEUM, OIL, AND NAT5 URAL GAS PRODUCED IN SYRIA. 

6 (a) SANCTIONS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub8 section (c), beginning 60 days after the date of the 

9 enactment of this Act, the President shall impose 

10 the sanctions described in section 6(a) of the Iran 

11 Sanctions Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–172; 50 

12 U.S.C. 1701 note) with respect to a person if the 

13 President determines that the person knowingly, on 

14 or after the date of the enactment of this Act, pro15 vides any service described in subsection (b) with re16 spect to the exportation of petroleum, oil, or lique17 fied natural gas to be refined or otherwise processed 

18 outside of Syria if— 

19 (A) the Government of Syria was directly 

20 and significantly involved in the development, 

21 extraction, production, transportation, or sale of 

22 such petroleum, oil, or liquefied natural gas in 

23 Syria; and 


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1 (B)(i) the fair market value of such petro2 leum, oil, or liquefied natural gas is $1,000,000 

3 or more; or 

4 (ii) during a 12-month period, the aggre5 gate fair market value of such petroleum, oil, or 

6 liquefied natural gas is $5,000,000 or more. 

7 (2) SANCTIONED PERSONS.—The sanctions im8 posed on a person under paragraph (1) shall also be 

9 imposed on any person against which such sanctions 

10 may be imposed in accordance with section 5(c) of 

11 the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 (Public Law 104– 

12 172; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) as a result of the per13 son’s relationship with the sanctioned person. 

14 (b) SERVICES DESCRIBED.—The services described 

15 in this subsection are— 

16 (1) refining or otherwise processing petroleum, 

17 oil, or liquefied natural gas; 

18 (2) the provision of ships or shipping services; 

19 or 

20 (3) financing, brokering, underwriting, or pro21 viding insurance or reinsurance. 

22 (c) EXCEPTION FOR UNDERWRITERS AND INSUR23 ANCE PROVIDERS EXERCISING DUE DILIGENCE.—The 

24 President may not impose sanctions under this section 

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1 ices or insurance or reinsurance provided by the person 

2 if the President determines that the person has exercised 

3 due diligence in establishing and enforcing official policies, 

4 procedures, and controls to ensure that the person does 

5 not underwrite or enter into a contract to provide insur6 ance or reinsurance with respect to the exportation of pe7 troleum, oil, or liquefied natural gas in violation of sub8 section (a). 

9 SEC. 103. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN VESSELS LANDING IN 

10 THE UNITED STATES; ENHANCED INSPEC11 TIONS. 

12 (a) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN VESSELS LANDING IN

13 THE UNITED STATES.—A vessel may not knowingly land 

14 at any port in the United States to load or unload cargo 

15 or engage in the trade of goods or services if the vessel 

16 entered a port in Syria during the 180-day period pre17 ceding arrival of the vessel at the port in the United 

18 States. 

19 (b) ENFORCEMENT; ENHANCED INSPECTIONS.—Not 

20 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

21 this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consulta22 tion with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary 

23 of Commerce, shall prescribe regulations that— 

24 (1) require each vessel requesting to land at a 

25 port in the United States to certify that the vessel 


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1 is not prohibited from landing at that port under 

2 subsection (a); 

3 (2) provide for, with respect to any vessel that 

4 provides a false certification under paragraph (1)— 

5 (A) the prohibition, for a period of 2 years, 

6 on that vessel landing at a port in the United 

7 States; or 

8 (B) the prosecution of the owner of that 

9 vessel under title 18, United States Code, if the 

10 penalty provided for under such title is greater 

11 than the penalty described in subparagraph (A); 

12 (3) provide a mechanism for identifying foreign 

13 ports at which vessels have landed during the pre14 ceding 180-day period that have also landed at ports 

15 in Syria during that period; 

16 (4) require enhanced inspection of all vessels 

17 arriving at a port in the United States from a for18 eign port identified under paragraph (3); and 

19 (5) set forth procedures for inspecting each ves20 sel described in paragraph (4) that are sufficiently 

21 rigorous to establish whether the vessel was involved, 

22 during the 180-day period preceding the arrival of 

23 the vessel at the port in the United States, in any 

24 activity that would be subject to sanctions under this 

25 Act or any other provision of law. 


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1 (c) NATIONAL SECURITY WAIVER.—The Secretary of 

2 Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of 

3 the Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce, may waive 

4 the application of subsections (a) and (b) with respect to 

5 a vessel not earlier than 30 days after the Secretary of 

6 Homeland Security— 

7 (1) determines that the waiver is in the national 

8 security interests of the United States; and 

9 (2) submits to the appropriate congressional 

10 committees a report describing the reasons for the 

11 determination. 

12 (d) PORT DEFINED.—For purposes of this section, 

13 the term ‘‘port’’ means a seaport. 

14 SEC. 104. PROMOTION OF MULTILATERAL ACTION AT THE 

15 UNITED NATIONS. 

16 The President shall use the voice, vote, and influence 

17 of the United States at the United Nations Security Coun18 cil to urge the Security Council to adopt resolutions— 

19 (1) freezing the assets of, and imposing a travel 

20 ban on, all officials within the regime of Bashar 

21 Assad and all family members of Mr. Assad; 

22 (2) implementing a ban on passenger flights to 

23 and from Syria; and 

24 (3) restricting the shipment of goods to or from 

25 Syria, including the insurance of such shipments. 


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1 TITLE II—PROMOTING AN 

2 EFFECTIVE TRANSITION 

3 SEC. 201. REPORT ON OPPOSITION GROUPS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

5 date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall sub6 mit to the appropriate congressional committees a report 

7 on opposition groups in Syria. 

8 (b) CONTENT.—The report required under subsection 

9 (a) shall include— 

10 (1) an assessment of ties between these groups 

11 and any designated foreign terrorist organizations 

12 and individuals that pose a threat to the United 

13 States and its allies, and an assessment of the po14 tential of these groups to serve as part of a recog15 nized transitional government, including the Syrian 

16 National Council (SNC), the National Coordination 

17 Commission of the Forces of Democratic Change 

18 (NCC), the Free Syrian Army, and the Free Officers 

19 Movement; and 

20 (2) an assessment of the military capacity of 

21 opposition forces in Syria, including organization, 

22 quality and quantity of armaments, and need for 

23 and capability of utilizing assistance. 


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1 SEC. 202. IDENTIFICATION AND DISPOSITION OF WEAPONS. 

2 Not later than 30 days after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, the President shall provide a briefing 

4 to the appropriate congressional committees on— 

5 (1) all known weapons stockpiles of the Govern6 ment of Syria, with particular focus on biological, 

7 chemical, radiological, and nuclear weapons and mis8 siles; and 

9 (2) a plan for the identification, recovery, and 

10 disposition of such weapons. 

11 SEC. 203. TRANSITION FUNDING AND TERMINATION OF 

12 SANCTIONS. 

13 (a) TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS.—The require14 ments under sections 101, 102, and 103 to impose sanc15 tions shall no longer have force or effect with respect to 

16 Syria if the President determines and certifies to the ap17 propriate congressional committees that— 

18 (1) President Bashar Assad has been removed 

19 from power in Syria; 

20 (2) a democratic transitional authority is in 

21 place in Syria; and 

22 (3) the Government of Syria has— 

23 (A) ended its campaign of violence against 

24 the people of Syria; 

25 (B) ceased support for international ter26 rorist groups and terrorist activities in Iraq, 


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1 and has been removed from the Department of 

2 State list of state sponsors of terrorism under 

3 section 6 of the Export Administration Act (50 

4 U.S.C. App. 2405(j) (as continued in effect 

5 pursuant to the International Emergency Eco6 nomic Powers Act; 50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)), 

7 section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 

8 U.S.C. 2780), and section 620A of the Foreign 

9 Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371); and 

10 (C) complied with Syria’s commitments 

11 under relevant multilateral proliferation control 

12 regimes. 

13 (b) ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT DEMOCRATIC TRANSI14 TION.—Upon making the certification described in sub15 section (a), the President may establish a $50,000,000 

16 Syrian Stabilization Fund, to be drawn from amounts 

17 made available for Economic Support Fund assistance and 

18 Non-proliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining, and Related 

19 programs assistance, to help support opposition groups 

20 and provide for the recovery, identification, and destruc21 tion of weapons in Syria. 

22 (c) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 

23 30 days after making the certification described in sub24 section (a), the President shall submit to the appropriate 

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1 zen under section 101 and describing the criteria for re2 leasing such assets. 

3 SEC. 204. DESIGNATING AN OFFICIAL COORDINATOR. 

4 The President shall expand the role of the Depart5 ment of State’s Special Coordinator for Middle East Tran6 sitions to include Syria for purposes of assisting in pro7 viding the certification under section 203(a) and coordi8 nating transition efforts in Syria. 

9 TITLE III—CREATING A 

10 PROSPEROUS FUTURE 

11 SEC. 301. SYRIAN-AMERICAN ENTERPRISE FUND. 

12 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find13 ings: 

14 (1) The Support for East European Democracy 

15 (SEED) Act of 1989 (22 U.S.C. 5401 et seq.) cre16 ated 10 Enterprise Funds with the expressed pur17 pose of transforming the entrenched command 

18 economies of the former Soviet Union to free mar19 kets through capital injections in new businesses. 

20 (2) These Enterprise Funds represented a new 

21 way of delivering economic assistance, placing pools 

22 of public capital into the hands of private investment 

23 professionals to finance entrepreneurs on a tradi24 tional business-to-business basis. 


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1 (3) The first Fund created, the Polish-Amer2 ican Enterprise Fund, made 50 equity investments 

3 totaling $243,000,000, over 10,000 small business 

4 loans and 125,000 micro loans, and eventually cre5 ated a net asset base of $374,000,000. 

6 (4) Upon the closing of the Polish-American 

7 Enterprise Fund, for the first time in the history of 

8 United States foreign aid, a portion of the funds, 

9 $120,000,000, or half of the initial grant, was re10 turned to the United States taxpayer. The balance 

11 of the remaining assets, with the consent of Con12 gress and with the approval of the Government of 

13 Poland, was transferred to the Polish-American 

14 Freedom Foundation established by the Fund to 

15 further support the system transformation in Po16 land. 

17 (5) Subsequent funds included the following: 

18 (A) The Hungarian-American Enterprise 

19 Fund, capitalized at $63,000,000 with an even20 tual net asset base of $28,000,000. 

21 (B) The Czech and Slovak-American En22 terprise Fund, capitalized at $58,000,000 with 

23 an eventual net asset base of $6,000,000. 


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1 (C) The Bulgarian-American Enterprise 

2 Fund, capitalized at $54,000,000 with an even3 tual net asset base of $404,000,000. 

4 (D) The Baltic-American Enterprise Fund, 

5 capitalized at $50,000,000 with an eventual net 

6 asset base of $62,000,000. 

7 (E) The Romanian-American Enterprise 

8 Fund, capitalized at $58,000,000 with an even9 tual net asset base of $150,000,000. 

10 (F) The Albanian-American Enterprise 

11 Fund, capitalized at $30,000,000 with an even12 tual net asset base of $171,000,000. 

13 (G) The Western New Independent States 

14 Enterprise Fund, capitalized at $139,000,000 

15 with an eventual net asset base of $90,000,000. 

16 (H) The Central Asian-American Enter17 prise Fund, capitalized at $105,000,000 with 

18 an eventual net asset base of $17,000,000. 

19 (I) The United States-Russia Investment 

20 Fund, capitalized at $307,000,000 with an 

21 eventual net asset base of $297,000,000. 

22 (6) Overall, the 10 funds received capital of 

23 $1,105,000,000, and created total net assets of 

24 $1,612,000,000, for a return on the initial invest25 ment of 144 percent. Six of these funds returned a 


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1 portion of their public-sourced capital to the United 

2 States Treasury and established charitable legacy 

3 foundations, whose collective capital totals 

4 $652,000,000. These foundations allow for develop5 ment activities to continue long after the initial 

6 funds have been closed. 

7 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President is authorized 

8 to designate a private, nonprofit organization (to be 

9 known as the ‘‘Syrian-American Enterprise Fund’’) to re10 ceive funds and support made available under this section 

11 after making the certification in section 203(a) and deter12 mining that such organization has been established for the 

13 purposes specified in subsection (c). The President should 

14 make such designation only after consultation with the 

15 leadership of each House of Congress. 

16 (c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Syrian-Amer17 ican Enterprise Fund are— 

18 (1) to help support sustainable, equitable, and 

19 broad-based economic growth that generates busi20 ness and job creation and improves the livelihoods of 

21 the people of Syria; 

22 (2) to promote the private sector and entrepre23 neurship in Syria, while considering the development 

24 impact of investments and profitability of those in25 vestments, particularly in small- and medium-sized 


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1 enterprises, and joint ventures with participants 

2 from the United States and Syria; 

3 (3) to promote policies and practices conducive 

4 to strengthening the private sector in Syria through 

5 measures including loans, microloans, equity invest6 ments, insurance, guarantees, grants, feasibility 

7 studies, technical assistance, training for businesses 

8 receiving investment capital, and other measures; 

9 (4) to promote good corporate governance and 

10 transparency in Syria, foster competition, catalyze 

11 productivity improvements in existing businesses, 

12 and strengthen local capital markets; and 

13 (5) to promote security through the creation of 

14 viable private business, which support job creation in 

15 the private sector in Syria, and to further the cre16 ation of a middle class in Syria. 

17 (d) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.— 

18 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Syrian-American En19 terprise Fund shall be governed by a Board of Di20 rectors, which shall be comprised of 6 private citi21 zens of the United States and 3 private citizens of 

22 Syria, appointed by the President of the United 

23 States. 

24 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Members of the Board 

25 of Directors shall be selected from among people 


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1 who have had successful business careers in private 

2 equity, banking, or finance that is similar to the ex3 perience of individuals who previously served on the 

4 Board of Directors of a successful Enterprise Fund 

5 established by the United States Government on or 

6 after January 1, 1990. 

7 (e) GRANTS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may use 

9 funds appropriated for the Department of State, for10 eign operations, and related programs, notwith11 standing any other provision of law to carry out the 

12 purposes specified in subsection (c) through the Syr13 ian-American Enterprise Fund. 

14 (2) ELIGIBLE PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS.— 

15 Grants awarded under this section may only be used 

16 for programs and projects that support the purposes 

17 set forth in subsection (c). 

18 (3) COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Grants may not be 

20 awarded to the Syrian-American Enterprise 

21 Fund under this section unless the Fund agrees 

22 to comply with the requirements under this sec23 tion. 

24 (B) GRANT AGREEMENT.—The grant 

25 agreement between the United States Agency 


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1 for International Development and the Syrian2 American Enterprise Fund shall state that the 

3 Fund shall end its reinvestment cycle not later 

4 than 15 years after the Fund commences oper5 ations, unless the Secretary of State, in con6 sultation with the Administrator of the United 

7 States Agency for International Development, 

8 and after consultation with the appropriate con9 gressional committees, determines that the 

10 Fund should be extended. 

11 (C) PREVENTION OF MONEY LAUNDERING

12 AND TERRORIST FINANCING.—The grant agree13 ment between the United States Agency for 

14 International Development and the Syrian15 American Enterprise Fund shall state that the 

16 Fund shall comply with procedures specified by 

17 the Secretary of State to ensure that grant 

18 funds are not provided by the Fund to or 

19 through any individual, private or government 

20 entity, or educational institution that advocates, 

21 plans, sponsors, engages in, or has engaged in, 

22 money laundering or terrorist activity or, with 

23 respect to a private entity or educational insti24 tution, that has as a principal officer of the en25 tity’s governing board or governing board of 


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1 trustees any individual that has been deter2 mined to be involved in or advocating money 

3 laundering or terrorist activity or determined to 

4 be a member of a designated foreign terrorist 

5 organization. 

6 (D) DISPOSITION OF ASSETS.—The assets 

7 of the Syrian-American Enterprise Fund at the 

8 time the Fund is dissolved shall be returned to 

9 the General Fund of the United States Treas10 ury and used to reduce the debt of the United 

11 States. In the event the assets of the Fund ex12 ceed the total amount appropriated or otherwise 

13 made available to the Fund by the United 

14 States Government, any such excess funds may 

15 be contributed to a charitable foundation for ac16 tivities consistent with the purposes specified in 

17 subsection (c). 

18 (f) NOTIFICATION.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days be20 fore designating an organization to operate as the 

21 Syrian-American Enterprise Fund pursuant to sub22 section (a), the President shall provide the informa23 tion described in paragraph (2) to the Chairman and 

24 Ranking Member of the appropriate congressional 

25 committees. 


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1 (2) INFORMATION.—The information described 

2 in this paragraph is— 

3 (A) the identity of the organization to be 

4 designated to operate as the Syrian-American 

5 Enterprise Fund pursuant to subsection (b); 

6 (B) the names and qualifications of the in7 dividuals who will comprise the initial Board of 

8 Directors; and 

9 (C) the procedures referred to in sub10 section (e)(3)(C) that will apply to the Syrian11 American Enterprise Fund for purposes of cur12 tailing money-laundering and terrorist financing 

13 activities. 

14 (g) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.— 

15 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not later 

16 than 1 year after the Fund commences operations, 

17 and annually thereafter until the Fund is dissolved, 

18 the Fund shall submit to the appropriate congres19 sional committees and make publicly available a re20 port detailing the administrative expenses of the 

21 Fund. 

22 (2) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 3 years 

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

24 every 3 years thereafter until the Fund is dissolved, 

25 the Comptroller General of the United States shall 


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1 submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

2 a report assessing the activities of the Fund in— 

3 (A) achieving the stated goals of promoting 

4 private sector investment and employment in 

5 Syria; and 

6 (B) identifying those institutional or regu7 latory constraints that inhibit a more effective 

8 application of Fund resources. 

9 (h) OPERATION PROVISIONS.— 

10 (1) APPLICABLE PROVISIONS.—Subsections 

11 (d)(5), (g), (h), (i), (k), (l), (m), (n), (o), and (p) of 

12 section 201 of the Support for East European De13 mocracy (SEED) Act of 1989 (22 U.S.C. 5421) 

14 shall apply with respect to the Syrian-American En15 terprise Fund in the same manner as such provi16 sions apply to Enterprise Funds designated pursu17 ant to subsection (d) of such section. 

18 (2) REINVESTMENT.—Returns on investments 

19 of the Syrian-American Enterprise Fund and other 

20 payments to the Fund may be reinvested in projects 

21 carried out by the Fund without further appropria22 tion by Congress. 

23 (i) BEST PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES.—To the 

24 maximum extent practicable, the Board of Directors of the 

25 Syrian-American Enterprise Fund should adopt the best 


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1 practices and procedures used by Enterprise Funds, in2 cluding those for which funding has been made available 

3 pursuant to section 201 of the Support for East European 

4 Democracy (SEED) Act of 1989 (22 U.S.C. 5421). 

5 (j) EXPERIENCE OF OTHER ENTERPRISE FUNDS.— 

6 In implementing this section, the President shall ensure 

7 that the Articles of Incorporation of the Syrian-American 

8 Enterprise Fund (including provisions specifying the re9 sponsibilities of the Board of Directors of the Fund), the 

10 terms of United States Government grant agreements 

11 with the Fund, and United States Government oversight 

12 of the Fund are, to the maximum extent practicable, con13 sistent with the Articles of Incorporation of, the terms of 

14 grant agreements with, and the oversight of the Enter15 prise Funds established pursuant to section 201 of the 

16 Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act of 

17 1989 (22 U.S.C. 5421) and comparable provisions of law. 

18 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

20 appropriated to the President $100,000,000, to be 

21 drawn from amounts made available for Economic 

22 Support Fund assistance, to provide funding for 

23 grants to the Syrian-American Enterprise Fund, 

24 which shall be used for the purposes specified in 

25 subsection (b). 


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1 (2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts appro2 priated pursuant to paragraph (1) shall remain 

3 available until expended. 

4 SEC. 302. ADDITIONAL MEASURES TO STIMULATE ECO5 NOMIC GROWTH IN SYRIA. 

6 (a) REVIEW OF ELIGIBILITY OF SYRIA FOR THE

7 GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES.—Not later 

8 than 90 days after the President makes the certification 

9 under section 203(a), the United States Trade Represent10 ative shall conduct a review of the eligibility of Syria to 

11 be designated as a beneficiary developing country under 

12 section 502 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2462). 

13 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON TRADE AND INVEST14 MENT AGREEMENT WITH SYRIA.—It is the sense of Con15 gress that the United States Trade Representative should, 

16 after the date the President makes the certification under 

17 section 203(a), initiate negotiations with the Government 

18 of Syria with respect to a trade and investment agreement 

19 between Syria and the United States. 

Æ 


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