II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 617 

To provide humanitarian assistance and support a democratic transition in 

Syria, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 19, 2013 

Mr. CASEY (for himself and Mr. RUBIO) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To provide humanitarian assistance and support a democratic 

transition 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 ‘‘Syria Democratic 

5 Transition Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) In March 2011, peaceful demonstrations in 

9 Syria began against the authoritarian rule of Bashar 

10 al-Assad. The regime responded with terrible vioVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:49 Mar 27, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S617.IS S617

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1 lence against the citizens of Syria, including the use 

2 of weapons of war, torture, extrajudicial killings, ar3 bitrary executions, sexual violence, and interference 

4 with access to medical treatment. 

5 (2) In December 2011, the Government of 

6 Syria agreed to allow an Arab League observer 

7 group into the country to assess the humanitarian 

8 and political situation on the ground. However, on 

9 January 28, 2012, the League officially ended its 

10 observer mission, citing escalating violence and the 

11 intransigence of the Assad regime. 

12 (3) In February 2012, the group Friends of the 

13 Syrian People met in Tunis and issued a declaration 

14 demanding, among other things, that the Syrian re15 gime ‘‘allow free and unimpeded access by the 

16 United Nations and humanitarian agencies to carry 

17 out a full assessment of needs’’. 

18 (4) On March 16, 2012, United Nations and 

19 League of Arab States Special Envoy Kofi Annan 

20 presented a six-point peace plan for Syria that called 

21 on the Government of Syria to, among other 

22 things— 

23 (A) commit to stop the fighting and ur24 gently achieve a United Nations-supervised ces25 sation of violence; 


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1 (B) cease military activity in and around 

2 civilian population centers; 

3 (C) work with the Envoy in an inclusive 

4 Syrian-led political process; 

5 (D) ensure timely provision of humani6 tarian assistance; 

7 (E) release arbitrarily detained persons; 

8 (F) ensure freedom of movement for jour9 nalists; and 

10 (G) respect freedom of association and the 

11 right to demonstrate peacefully. 

12 (5) As of February 2013, the United Nations 

13 estimated that nearly 70,000 people have been killed 

14 as a result of the violence in Syria. 

15 (6) As a result of the violence, the United Na16 tions estimates that 4,000,000 people are in need of 

17 humanitarian assistance, including access to food, 

18 water, shelter, and medical care: the Syrian Arab 

19 Red Crescent estimates that, more than 2,500,000 

20 are internally displaced in Syria. Basic services such 

21 as health care, education, electricity, and water have 

22 also been cut off in some parts of the country. 

23 (7) Syria faces growing food insecurity, as 

24 wheat harvests have declined due to drought. The 

25 United Nations has been providing food aid to 


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1 1,500,000 Syrians since September 2012, with the 

2 number of people requiring such aid expected to 

3 reach 2,500,000 people in the months following Feb4 ruary 2013. 

5 (8) Millions of Syrians have fled their homes 

6 due to escalating violence. According to the United 

7 Nations, there are more than 1,000,000 Syrian refu8 gees registered in Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, 

9 and Iraq, and even more who are unregistered. Also 

10 according to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, more 

11 than 2,500,000 Syrians are displaced within the 

12 country. More than three-quarters of refugees and 

13 internally displaced persons are women and children, 

14 who are particularly vulnerable to economic and 

15 physical insecurity. 

16 (9) In January 2013, a donor pledging con17 ference was held in Kuwait, pledging an additional 

18 $1,500,000,000 in humanitarian assistance to the 

19 existing $1,000,000,000 already provided for Syria. 

20 The Governments of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the 

21 United Arab Emirates each pledged $300,000,000. 

22 Kuwait’s ambassador to the European Union called 

23 it the ‘‘largest humanitarian pledging conference in 

24 the history of the United Nations’’. According to the 

25 United Nations, only 13 percent of the 


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1 $1,500,000,000 pledged in Kuwait has been received 

2 to date. 

3 (10) Challenges exist to ensure this assistance 

4 reaches those who need it. An agreement between 

5 the United Nations and the Syrian regime to facili6 tate the delivery of humanitarian assistance in the 

7 country has allowed aid workers greater access to 

8 victims of the conflict. However, staff of the Inter9 national Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian 

10 Arab Red Crescent cite security concerns as a major 

11 obstacle to aid distribution. The Government of 

12 Syria is also refusing to grant visas for aid workers 

13 from countries that have criticized the regime, in14 cluding the United States, Canada, the United King15 dom, and France. 

16 (11) Amnesty International’s 2012 Annual Re17 port on Syria, along with the findings of other 

18 human rights groups, details a number of atrocities 

19 in Syria. In November 2012, the United Nations 

20 Human Rights Council’s Independent International 

21 Commission of Inquiry indicated that Syria’s mili22 tary forces have employed ‘‘killings, torture, rape 

23 and other forms of sexual violence, imprisonment, or 

24 other forms of severe deprivation of liberty and en25 forced disappearances’’ to maintain their hold on the 


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1 country. Human Rights Watch raises concerns that 

2 authorities in Syria could choose to kill detainees 

3 rather than allow them to be released in the event 

4 of a political transition. 

5 (12) As of March 2013, according to the De6 partment of State, the United States Government 

7 has provided nearly $385,000,000 in humanitarian 

8 assistance to support those affected by the violence 

9 in Syria. On February 28, 2013, the United States 

10 Government announced its plans to provide an addi11 tional $63,000,000 in non-lethal assistance to the 

12 Syrian Opposition Coalition and the Supreme Mili13 tary Council. 

14 (13) On February 18, 2013, the Council of the 

15 European Union called on the Syrian regime to 

16 allow the delivery of humanitarian assistance to 

17 reach all those in need and amended their sanctions 

18 against the regime to allow greater non-lethal sup19 port and technical assistance to the opposition for 

20 the protection of civilians. 

21 (14) The February 26, 2013, communique by 

22 the Friends of the Syrian People International 

23 Working Group on Sanctions ‘‘called on all states to 

24 take steps, in their own capacity, by imposing, at a 

25 minimum, an asset freeze on senior Syrian regime 


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1 officials involved in the repression, as well as an 

2 asset freeze on, and restrictions on transactions with 

3 banks tied with the Syrian regime such as the Cen4 tral Bank of Syria, the Commercial Bank of Syria 

5 and the Syrian International Islamic Bank’’. 

6 (15) According to the Unclassified Report to 

7 Congress on the Acquisition of Technology Relating 

8 to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced Con9 ventional Munitions Covering 1 January to 31 De10 cember 2011, ‘‘Syria has had a [chemical weapons] 

11 program for many years and has a stockpile of CW 

12 agents, which can be delivered by aerial bombs, bal13 listic missiles, and artillery rockets.’’ In a hearing 

14 before the Committee on Armed Services of the Sen15 ate in March 2012, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of 

16 Staff General Martin Dempsey testified that the 

17 magnitude of Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal was 

18 ‘‘100 times more than we experienced in Libya’’. 

19 The Government of Syria’s stockpiles are thought to 

20 include mustard, sarin, and VX gases. 

21 (16) There are concerns about the existence of 

22 numerous rebel militias and their role in Syria dur23 ing a post-transition period. On June 30, 2012, dur24 ing an international meeting on Syria in Geneva, 

25 Special Envoy Kofi Annan said, ‘‘A transition must 


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1 be implemented in a climate of safety for all, sta2 bility and calm, including completion of withdrawals 

3 and the disarming, demobilization and reintegration 

4 of armed groups.’’ 

5 (17) According to reports, the Government of 

6 Iran provides resources and military training to 

7 groups such as Jaysh al-Shi’ite. These groups also 

8 receive military training from Hezbollah and Iran’s 

9 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). 

10 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

11 It is the policy of the United States— 

12 (1) to strongly condemn the ongoing violence 

13 and widespread human rights violations perpetrated 

14 against the Syrian people by the regime of President 

15 Bashar al-Assad; 

16 (2) to support civilians and innocent victims of 

17 the conflict in Syria, particularly women and chil18 dren who are displaced and vulnerable to physical 

19 and psychological exploitation; 

20 (3) to assist the people of Syria in meeting 

21 basic needs, including access to food, health care, 

22 shelter, and clean drinking water; 

23 (4) to affirm the neutrality of medical profes24 sionals providing humanitarian assistance and health 

25 care on a non-political basis and to condemn attacks 


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1 against such personnel or interference in the provi2 sion of medical care; 

3 (5) to support efforts of democratically oriented 

4 political opposition groups in Syria to agree upon a 

5 political transition plan that is inclusive and protects 

6 the rights of all minority ethnic groups in the coun7 try; 

8 (6) to work with the international community, 

9 including multilateral organizations and host coun10 tries, to support Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Tur11 key, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, and other host countries; 

12 (7) to welcome the pledges of humanitarian as13 sistance made by the Governments of Australia, Bot14 swana, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, Repub15 lic of Korea, Kuwait, Morocco, New Zealand, Qatar, 

16 Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, 

17 and members of the European Union, and to encour18 age prompt delivery of those pledges which will con19 tribute to meeting the needs of the victims of this 

20 conflict, and to encourage all donors to coordinate 

21 with the United Nations; 

22 (8) to support efforts to identify, recover, and 

23 dispose of chemical weapons and other conventional 

24 and unconventional weapons stockpiled in Syria; 


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1 (9) that the National Coalition for Syrian Revo2 lutionary and Opposition Forces (SOC) is the sole 

3 and legitimate representative of the Syrian people; 

4 (10) to support the National Coalition for Syr5 ian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (SOC) ef6 forts to establish a transitional government; 

7 (11) to support transparent and impartial judi8 cial processes, in which Syrians have a leading voice, 

9 for all those who have committed gross violations of 

10 human rights and international law, while noting 

11 that the majority of these violations have been com12 mitted by the Assad regime; 

13 (12) to help ensure that, once a stable transi14 tional government is established in Syria, it is com15 mitted to multiparty democracy, open and trans16 parent governance, respect for human rights and re17 ligious freedom, protection of refugees and asylees, 

18 promoting peace and stability with its neighbors, en19 hancing the rule of law, and rehabilitating and re20 integrating former combatants; and 

21 (13) to affirm that the end of the Assad regime 

22 is in the national security interests of the United 

23 States, as it would weaken the position of Iran and 

24 Hezbollah in the region and allow for the return of 


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1 displaced persons currently seeking refuge in host 

2 countries. 

3 SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE TO THE SYRIAN PEOPLE. 

4 (a) AUTHORITY.—The President is authorized, not5 withstanding any other provision of law, to furnish, on 

6 such terms and conditions as the President may deter7 mine, assistance in order to— 

8 (1) provide enhanced support for humanitarian 

9 activities taking place in and outside Syria, including 

10 the provision of food, shelter, water, health care, and 

11 medical supplies; 

12 (2) support efforts for a peaceful resolution of 

13 the conflict in Syria as well as the establishment of 

14 an inclusive representative form of government in 

15 Syria; 

16 (3) continue to encourage the participation of 

17 all groups, including women, business leaders, civil 

18 society organizations, traditional and religious lead19 ers, and minority groups in efforts for a peaceful 

20 resolution of the conflict and political transition in 

21 Syria; 

22 (4) encourage the Arab League and other inter23 national bodies to insist that transitional and future 

24 governments are committed to multiparty democ25 racy, open and transparent governance, respect for 


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1 human rights and religious freedom, ending the vio2 lence throughout the country, promoting peace and 

3 stability with Syria’s neighbors, enhancing the rule 

4 of law and combating corruption, and rehabilitating 

5 and reintegrating former combatants; 

6 (5) contribute seed funding to establish a Syria 

7 Reconstruction Fund, which would leverage con8 tributions from other international donors and be 

9 used for the physical reconstruction and re-establish10 ment of basic services in Syria after the cessation of 

11 the conflict and the fall of the Assad regime; 

12 (6) contribute future capacity building for le13 gitimate governing institutions after a political tran14 sition takes place in Syria; 

15 (7) support post-transition efforts, including 

16 programs for demobilizing and reintegrating former 

17 combatants; and 

18 (8) expand the public awareness-raising cam19 paign of the United States Government about 

20 United States humanitarian assistance efforts 

21 through both English-language and regional tradi22 tional media sources, as well as social or new media 

23 sources. 

24 (b) FUNDING.— 


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1 (1) FISCAL YEARS 2014 AND 2015.—Of the 

2 amounts made available to carry out the Foreign As3 sistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) for 

4 fiscal years 2014 and 2015, such sums as may be 

5 necessary should be allocated for bilateral assistance 

6 programs in Syria. 

7 (2) FUTURE FUNDING.—It is the sense of Con8 gress that the Department of State should submit a 

9 budget request for fiscal year 2015 that contains an 

10 appropriate increase in bilateral and multilateral as11 sistance for Syria based on progress toward accom12 plishing the policy objectives described in section 3. 

13 (3) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts appropriated pur14 suant to the authorization of appropriations under 

15 paragraphs (1) and (2)— 

16 (A) are authorized to remain available 

17 until expended; and 

18 (B) are in addition to funds otherwise 

19 available for such purposes. 

20 (c) COORDINATION WITH OTHER DONOR NA21 TIONS.—The United States should work with other donor 

22 nations, on a bilateral and multilateral basis, to increase 

23 international contributions to the people of Syria and ac24 complish the policy objectives described in section 3. 

25 (d) BRANDING REQUIREMENT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—All assistance made available 

2 under this section shall be identified as being ‘‘From 

3 the American People’’ if the relevant Assistant Sec4 retary of State, in consultation with the imple5 menting partner, determines that such identification 

6 would not— 

7 (A) jeopardize the safety or impartiality of 

8 implementing partners that deliver the assist9 ance; 

10 (B) jeopardize the health and safety of the 

11 intended beneficiaries; 

12 (C) compromise the intrinsic independence 

13 or neutrality of a program or materials where 

14 implementing partner independence or neu15 trality is inherently important to the success of 

16 the effort; 

17 (D) undermine United States efforts to 

18 empower the democratically inclined political 

19 opposition; or 

20 (E) otherwise render the provision of as21 sistance impracticable. 

22 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

23 subsection shall be construed as prohibiting the 

24 identification of assistance with a contractor or 

25 grantee’s own organizational brand or logo, subject 


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1 to any standards or regulations that the President 

2 may establish. 

3 (e) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—In cases where the authority 

5 in this section is relied upon to overcome applicable 

6 restrictions on the provision of assistance to Syria, 

7 obligation of such funds shall be subject to the reg8 ular 15-day notification procedures. 

9 (2) WAIVER.—Notification under paragraph (1) 

10 may be waived if failure to do so would pose a sub11 stantial risk to human health or welfare, in which 

12 case notification shall be provided as early as prac13 ticable, but in no event later than 3 days after tak14 ing the action to which such notification requirement 

15 was applicable. The waiver shall be accompanied by 

16 an explanation of the emergency circumstances ne17 cessitating the waiver. 

18 SEC. 5. INCREASING ASSISTANCE TO THE NATIONAL COALI19 TION FOR SYRIAN REVOLUTIONARY AND OP20 POSITION FORCES. 

21 (a) AUTHORITY.—The President is authorized, not22 withstanding any other provision of law, to furnish assist23 ance, and make contributions, in order to— 

24 (1) increase the provision of training to and 

25 build the capacity of the Syrian Opposition Coalition 


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1 and the Assistance Coordination Unit to enhance 

2 their ability to provide basic services to the people 

3 of Syria and establish the beginnings of a func4 tioning government; 

5 (2) provide training in international humani6 tarian law and the law of armed conflict to members 

7 of the Syrian Opposition Coalition and Free Syrian 

8 Army; 

9 (3) provide non-lethal equipment and training, 

10 including training and equipment related to chemical 

11 weapons and equipment such as body armor, night 

12 vision equipment, and communications equipment, to 

13 vetted members of the Free Syrian Army, to im14 prove their ability to conduct operations and provide 

15 security for convoys of humanitarian assistance in16 side Syria; 

17 (4) provide special operations training to vetted 

18 members of the Free Syrian Army; and 

19 (5) allocate additional Department of State per20 sonnel to conduct thorough vetting of opposition in21 dividuals receiving aid. 

22 (b) FUNDING FOR FISCAL YEARS 2014 AND 2015.— 

23 Of the amounts made available to carry out the Foreign 

24 Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) for fiscal 

25 years 2014 and 2015, such sums as may be necessary 


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1 should be allocated to build the capacity of the Coalition 

2 for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. 

3 (c) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—In cases where the authority 

5 in this section is relied upon to overcome applicable 

6 restrictions on the provision of assistance to Syria, 

7 obligation of such funds shall be subject to the reg8 ular 15-day notification procedures. 

9 (2) WAIVER.—Notification under paragraph (1) 

10 may be waived if failure to do so would pose a sub11 stantial risk to human health or welfare, in which 

12 case notification shall be provided as early as prac13 ticable, but in no event later than 3 days after tak14 ing the action to which such notification requirement 

15 was applicable. The waiver shall be accompanied by 

16 an explanation of the emergency circumstances ne17 cessitating the waiver. 

18 SEC. 6. IMPOSITION AND CONDITIONAL TERMINATION OF 

19 SANCTIONS. 

20 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 (1) ACCOUNT; CORRESPONDENT ACCOUNT; PAY22 ABLE-THROUGH ACCOUNT.—The terms ‘‘account’’, 

23 ‘‘correspondent account’’, and ‘‘payable-through ac24 count’’ have the meanings given those terms in sec25 tion 5318A of title 31, United States Code. 


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1 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com3 mittees’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Finance, the Com5 mittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Af6 fairs, and the Committee on Foreign Relations 

7 of the Senate; and 

8 (B) the Committee on Ways and Means, 

9 the Committee on Financial Services, and the 

10 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 

11 Representatives. 

12 (3) FOREIGN FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—The 

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

14 of that term as determined by the Secretary of the 

15 Treasury pursuant to section 104(i) of the Com16 prehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Di17 vestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8513(i)). 

18 (b) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO

19 THE CENTRAL BANK OF SYRIA AND OTHER SYRIAN FI20 NANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President should pro22 hibit the opening, and prohibit or impose strict con23 ditions on the maintaining, in the United States of 

24 a correspondent account or a payable-through ac25 count by a foreign financial institution that the 


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1 President determines has knowingly conducted any 

2 significant arms sale to the Government of Bashar 

3 al Assad through the Central Bank of Syria or an4 other Syrian financial institution designated by the 

5 Secretary of the Treasury for the imposition of sanc6 tions pursuant to the International Emergency Eco7 nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) or any 

8 Syrian individual or entity added after April 28, 

9 2011, and before the date of the enactment of this 

10 Act to the Specially Designated Nationals List main11 tained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the 

12 Department of the Treasury. 

13 (2) EXCEPTION FOR HUMANITARIAN TRANS14 ACTIONS.—The President may not impose sanctions 

15 under paragraph (1) on a foreign financial institu16 tion for engaging in a transaction with the Central 

17 Bank of Syria for the sale of food, medicine, medical 

18 devices, donations intended to relieve human suf19 fering, or non-lethal aid to the people of Syria. 

20 (3) APPLICABILITY.—Paragraph (1) applies 

21 with respect to financial transactions commenced on 

22 or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

23 (4) WAIVER.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The President may 

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1 spect to a foreign financial institution for a pe2 riod of not more than 180 days, and may renew 

3 that waiver for additional periods of not more 

4 than 180 days, if the President determines and 

5 reports to the appropriate congressional com6 mittees that the waiver is necessary to the na7 tional security interest of the United States. 

8 (B) FORM.—A report submitted pursuant 

9 to subparagraph (A) shall be submitted in un10 classified form, but may contain a classified 

11 annex. 

12 (c) TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements under 

14 subsection (b) to impose sanctions shall no longer 

15 have force or effect with respect to Syria if the 

16 President determines and certifies to the appropriate 

17 congressional committees that the termination of 

18 such sanctions is in the national security interest of 

19 the United States. 

20 (2) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—Upon mak21 ing the certification described in paragraph (1), the 

22 President shall submit to the appropriate congres23 sional committees a report assessing— 

24 (A) the extent to which Bashar al-Assad or 

25 members of his regime control Syrian territory; 


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1 (B) the existence and capability of a demo2 cratic transitional government to control Syrian 

3 territory and provide basic services to the Syr4 ian people; 

5 (C) whether the transitional government 

6 supports acts of terrorism or has committed 

7 human rights violations; and 

8 (D) whether the transitional government is 

9 cooperating with the United States Government 

10 in locating, securing, and removing conventional 

11 and unconventional weapons. 

12 SEC. 7. INCREASING CONTRIBUTIONS AND OTHER HUMANI13 TARIAN AND DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE 

14 THROUGH INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President should instruct the 

16 United States permanent representative or executive direc17 tor, as the case may be, to the United Nations voluntary 

18 agencies, including the World Food Program, the United 

19 Nations Development Program, United Nations Children’s 

20 Fund, and the United Nations High Commissioner for 

21 Refugees, and other appropriate international organiza22 tions such as the International Committee of the Red 

23 Cross to use the voice and vote of the United States to 

24 support additional humanitarian and development assist25 ance for the people of Syria in order to accomplish the 


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1 policy objectives described in section 3. The President is 

2 authorized, notwithstanding any other provision of law, to 

3 permit the United States to vote and take action in favor 

4 of the provision of assistance for Syria at any inter5 national financial institution in order to support the tran6 sition to peace, democracy, and sustainable development 

7 in Syria. 

8 (b) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—In cases where the authority 

10 in this section is relied upon to overcome applicable 

11 restrictions on the provision of assistance to Syria, 

12 obligation of such funds shall be subject to the reg13 ular 15-day notification procedures. 

14 (2) WAIVER.—Notification under paragraph (1) 

15 may be waived if failure to do so would pose a sub16 stantial risk to human health or welfare, in which 

17 case notification shall be provided as early as prac18 ticable, but in no event later than 3 days after tak19 ing the action to which such notification requirement 

20 was applicable. The waiver shall be accompanied by 

21 an explanation of the emergency circumstances ne22 cessitating the waiver. 


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1 SEC. 8. INCREASING BILATERAL ASSISTANCE TO COUN2 TRIES THAT HOST SYRIAN REFUGEES. 

3 (a) AUTHORITY.—The President should increase bi4 lateral funding to countries, including Iraq, Jordan, Tur5 key, Egypt, and Lebanon, which have experienced an in6 flux of refugees from Syria. 

7 (b) FUNDING FOR FISCAL YEARS 2014 AND 2015.— 

8 Of the amounts made available to carry out the Foreign 

9 Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) for fiscal 

10 years 2014 and 2015, such sums as may be necessary 

11 should be allocated for bilateral refugee assistance pro12 grams in the countries surrounding Syria. 

13 SEC. 9. COORDINATION OF INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE 

14 FOR SYRIA. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 30 days after 

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

17 State should work with the appropriate United Nations 

18 agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross, 

19 regional organizations, nongovernmental organizations, 

20 and the broader international community to convene an 

21 international donors group to maximize resources and effi22 ciently provide humanitarian assistance to the people of 

23 Syria. 

24 (b) PURPOSE.—The Secretary of State should take 

25 steps to ensure donor groups coordinate resources for the 

26 following activities in Syria and the region: 


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1 (1) Providing humanitarian relief to civilians 

2 impacted by the violence in Syria and Syrian refu3 gees in host countries. 

4 (2) Supporting inclusive post-transitional gov5 ernance and the establishment of the rule of law. 

6 (3) Supporting disarmament, demobilization, 

7 and reintegration of combatants and members of mi8 litias. 

9 (c) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Department of State 

10 shall submit a report on the specific programs, projects, 

11 and activities funded by the donors group and imple12 mented by humanitarian organizations during the pre13 ceding year, including an evaluation of the results of such 

14 programs, projects, and activities. 

15 SEC. 10. SECURING WEAPONS IN SYRIA. 

16 (a) TRANSITION PLAN.—The United States should 

17 work with regional partners to develop a plan, to be imple18 mented in the event of a political transition, to— 

19 (1) identify and secure conventional and uncon20 ventional weapons stockpiles in Syria; 

21 (2) recover and dispose of all unconventional 

22 weapons stockpiled in Syria, with particular atten23 tion to chemical weapons; and 


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1 (3) prevent the illicit sale or transfer of conven2 tional and unconventional weapons out of Syria in 

3 order to preclude regional weapons proliferation. 

4 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con5 gress that the Department of State should submit a budg6 et request for fiscal year 2014 that contains an increase 

7 in bilateral nonproliferation, demining, and anti-terrorism 

8 assistance for Syria toward accomplishing the policy objec9 tives described in this section. 

10 (c) AUTHORITY.—The President is authorized, not11 withstanding any other provision of law, to furnish, assist12 ance in order to conduct activities in support of the pur13 poses of this section. 

14 (d) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—In cases where the authority 

16 in this section is relied upon to overcome applicable 

17 restrictions on the provision of assistance to Syria, 

18 obligation of such funds shall be subject to the reg19 ular 15-day notification procedures. 

20 (2) WAIVER.—Notification under paragraph (1) 

21 may be waived if failure to do so would pose a sub22 stantial risk to human health or welfare, in which 

23 case notification shall be provided as early as prac24 ticable, but in no event later than 3 days after tak25 ing the action to which such notification requirement 


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•S 617 IS

1 was applicable. The waiver shall be accompanied by 

2 an explanation of the emergency circumstances ne3 cessitating the waiver. 

4 SEC. 11. REPORT ON HUMANITARIAN AND STABILIZATION 

5 EFFORTS IN SYRIA. 

6 Not later than 60 days after the date of the enact7 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the President 

8 shall submit to Congress a detailed report on the imple9 mentation of this Act, including a description of— 

10 (1) progress made as a result of humanitarian 

11 and stabilization efforts, including refugee assistance 

12 to those affected by the violence in Syria; 

13 (2) progress made toward establishing an inclu14 sive, democratic government that protects the rights 

15 of all Syrians; and 

16 (3) key challenges, gaps, and obstacles to fur17 ther enhancing stability and peace in Syria, includ18 ing between Syria and its neighbors. 

Æ 


pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with BILLS