II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 856 

To foster stability in Syria, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 6, 2013 

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

referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To foster stability 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Syria Stabilization Act of 2013’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.— 

Sec. 1. Short title; Table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Appropriate congressional committees defined. 

Sec. 3. Findings. 

Sec. 4. Statement of policy. 

TITLE I—HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE 

Sec. 101. Humanitarian assistance to the people of Syria. 

Sec. 102. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 103. Report on strategy to communicate to the Syrian people about assistance provided by the United States Government. 

TITLE II—PROMOTING AN EFFECTIVE TRANSITION 


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Sec. 201. Syrian transition fund. 

Sec. 202. Adjusting sanctions provisions in preparation for a political transition. 

TITLE III—SANCTIONS 

Sec. 301. Imposition of sanctions on persons providing defense articles or defense services to the Assad regime of Syria. 

Sec. 302. Imposition of sanctions on persons providing petroleum or petroleum 

products to the Assad regime of Syria. 

TITLE IV—INCREASED SUPPORT FOR THE OPPOSITION 

Sec. 401. Increased support for the opposition. 

1 SEC. 2. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE2 FINED. 

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

5 the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 

6 House of Representatives, and the Committees on Appro7 priations of the Senate and House of Representatives. 

8 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

9 Congress makes the following findings: 

10 (1) Since mass peaceful demonstrations started 

11 in Syria on March 15, 2011, the Government of 

12 Syria, led by President Bashar al-Assad, has re13 sponded by committing human rights abuses and 

14 launching a violent crackdown that has claimed an 

15 estimated 70,000 lives and degenerated into a civil 

16 war. 

17 (2) The civil war has caused a humanitarian 

18 crisis. According to the United Nations, there are 

19 more than 1,400,000 Syrian refugees registered in 


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1 Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq and 

2 more than 2,600,000 Syrians displaced within the 

3 country. More than three-quarters of refugees and 

4 internally displaced persons are women and children. 

5 (3) The refugee crisis threatens the stability of 

6 the Middle East, putting immense burdens on Syr7 ia’s neighbors, most notably Lebanon and Jordan, 

8 but also Turkey and Iraq. 

9 (4) The civil war has increased the danger that 

10 the Assad regime could lose control of its chemical 

11 weapons stockpile or choose to use chemical weapons 

12 against civilians or armed opposition fighters in 

13 Syria. 

14 (5) On April 25, 2013, the White House issued 

15 a letter to Congress stating that ‘‘our intelligence 

16 community does assess with varying degrees of con17 fidence that the Syrian regime has used chemical 

18 weapons on a small scale in Syria, specifically the 

19 chemical agent Sarin’’. 

20 (6) The security vacuum in Syria has created a 

21 safe haven for both Shia and Sunni extremists, who 

22 could in the future threaten the security of the 

23 United States and its partners. 


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1 (7) Instability in Syria has threatened Israel’s 

2 security, particularly on the shared border along the 

3 Golan Heights. 

4 (8) A change in government could be a signifi5 cant blow to Iran and Hezbollah, which would lose 

6 a strong ally and who have been aggressively pro7 viding military assistance to President Assad. 

8 (9) The commitments made by the National Co9 alition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition 

10 Forces at the international meeting in Istanbul on 

11 April 20 and 21, 2013, constitute an important en12 dorsement of shared principles and objectives that 

13 should guide United States Government cooperation 

14 with the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary 

15 and Opposition Forces and affiliated forces. These 

16 principles include a commitment to the territorial in17 tegrity of Syria, a rejection of sectarianism and ex18 tremism, and pledges to secure chemical weapons 

19 and support nonproliferation efforts. 

20 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

21 It is the policy of the United States— 

22 (1) to support transition from the current re23 gime in Syria to a just and democratic state that is 

24 inclusive and protects the rights of all Syrians re25 gardless of religion, ethnicity, or gender; 


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1 (2) to assist the people of Syria, especially in2 ternally displaced persons and refugees, in meeting 

3 basic needs including access to food, health care, 

4 shelter, and clean drinking water; 

5 (3) to provide political and economic support to 

6 those neighboring countries who are hosting refugees 

7 fleeing Syria and to international organizations that 

8 are providing assistance and coordinating humani9 tarian relief efforts; 

10 (4) to oppose the unlawful use of violence 

11 against civilians by all parties to the conflict in 

12 Syria; 

13 (5) to use a broad array of pressure instru14 ments to expedite a negotiated solution to the con15 flict in Syria, including the removal from power of 

16 the government of Bashar al-Assad; 

17 (6) to recognize the National Coalition for Syr18 ian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (in this 

19 Act referred to as the ‘‘Syrian Opposition Coalition’’ 

20 or ‘‘SOC’’) as the legitimate representative of the 

21 Syrian people; 

22 (7) to engage with the SOC and a diverse and 

23 inclusive array of opposition groups that are rep24 resentative of the Syrian people, as well as the 

25 broader international community, to facilitate and 


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1 plan for an orderly transition to a more stable demo2 cratic political order, the elements of which should 

3 include— 

4 (A) protections for human rights, political 

5 participation, and religious freedom for all Syr6 ians, irrespective of religion, ethnicity, or gen7 der; 

8 (B) support for the rule of law; 

9 (C) rejection of extremism; 

10 (D) the subordination of the military to ci11 vilian authority; 

12 (E) protections against sectarian violence 

13 and reprisal; 

14 (F) cooperation with international counter15 terrorism and nonproliferation efforts; 

16 (G) support for regional stability and non17 interference in the affairs of neighboring coun18 tries; and 

19 (H) promotion of justice and accountability 

20 for conflict-related crimes; 

21 (8) to promote the territorial integrity of Syria 

22 and the unity and continuity of the Syrian state 

23 by— 


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1 (A) supporting a post-Assad government 

2 that is capable of providing security, services, 

3 and fundamental rights for its people; and 

4 (B) opposing a role in a post-Assad gov5 ernment of those whose presence would under6 mine its credibility or jeopardize stability and 

7 reconciliation; 

8 (9) to provide foreign assistance, defense arti9 cles, defense services, and training to members of 

10 the Syrian Supreme Military Council, units of the 

11 Free Syrian Army, and other Syrian entities op12 posed to the government of Bashar al-Assad that 

13 have been properly vetted and share common values 

14 and interests with the United States; 

15 (10) to closely coordinate with key partners, in16 cluding Turkey, Jordan, Israel, the Gulf Cooperation 

17 Council, and the European Union, to ensure that the 

18 international community is prepared for a military 

19 or diplomatic response, including the creation of no20 fly zones or safe havens, the protection of civilians, 

21 and the securing of chemical or biological weapons, 

22 to mitigate or prevent humanitarian, security, and 

23 proliferation emergencies; and 

24 (11) to support efforts to catalogue and identify 

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1 nizations which commit abuses of human rights or 

2 other violations of international law, and to ensure 

3 that they are held accountable for their actions. 

4 TITLE I—HUMANITARIAN 

5 ASSISTANCE 

6 SEC. 101. HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO THE PEOPLE OF 

7 SYRIA. 

8 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 

9 President is authorized to provide assistance, including to 

10 meet humanitarian and basic human needs, to the people 

11 of Syria in carrying out the provisions of the Foreign As12 sistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) and the 

13 Migration and Refugee Assistance Act. 

14 SEC. 102. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

15 Consistent with the policy objectives described in sec16 tion 4, it is the sense of Congress that— 

17 (1) the United States should increase its own 

18 contributions and continue to coordinate with other 

19 donor nations, the United Nations, other multilat20 eral agencies, and nongovernmental organizations to 

21 enhance the effectiveness of humanitarian assistance 

22 to the people suffering as a result of the crisis in 

23 Syria; 

24 (2) countries hosting Syrian refugees should be 

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1 aged to maintain an open border policy for fleeing 

2 Syrians; 

3 (3) the United States Government should con4 tinue to work with these partners to help their na5 tional systems accommodate the population influx 

6 and also maintain delivery of basic services to their 

7 own citizens; and 

8 (4) the United States Government should seek 

9 to identify humanitarian assistance as originating 

10 from the American people wherever possible, while 

11 maintaining primary consideration for the health 

12 and safety of the implementers and recipients of 

13 that assistance and for the furtherance of United 

14 States foreign policy goals. 

15 SEC. 103. REPORT ON STRATEGY TO COMMUNICATE TO 

16 THE SYRIAN PEOPLE ABOUT ASSISTANCE 

17 PROVIDED BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERN18 MENT. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 

20 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 

21 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

22 a classified report with an unclassified summary on an in23 tegrated United States Government strategy to ensure 

24 that the people of Syria are made aware to the maximum 

25 extent possible of the assistance that the United States 


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1 Government provides to Syrians, both inside Syria and 

2 those seeking refuge in neighboring countries. 

3 (b) CONTENT.—The report should include the fol4 lowing elements: 

5 (1) A discussion of how the United States bal6 ances three imperatives of— 

7 (A) maximizing the efficacy of aid provided 

8 to the people of Syria; 

9 (B) ensuring that there is awareness 

10 among the people of Syria on the amount and 

11 nature of this aid; and 

12 (C) leveraging this aid to improve the 

13 credibility of the Syrian Opposition Coalition 

14 amongst the people of Syria. 

15 (2) Methods by which the United States Gov16 ernment and its partners plan to communicate to 

17 the people of Syria what assistance the United 

18 States has provided. 

19 (3) How the United States Government can 

20 most effectively promote awareness of its assistance 

21 while taking into consideration and ensuring the 

22 safety of its implementing partners and personnel 

23 providing that assistance. 

24 (4) An assessment of the Syrian Opposition 

25 Coalition’s Assistance Coordination Unit (ACU)’s 


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1 capacity to participate in the distribution of assist2 ance, and a description of steps the United States 

3 Government is taking to increase their profile so as 

4 to help build their credibility among Syrians. 

5 (5) A review of the risks associated with 

6 leveraging aid for political objectives and a descrip7 tion of efforts to maintain neutrality in the distribu8 tion of goods while parallel efforts are made to em9 power the opposition. 

10 TITLE II—PROMOTING AN 

11 EFFECTIVE TRANSITION 

12 SEC. 201. SYRIAN TRANSITION FUND. 

13 (a) SYRIAN POLITICAL TRANSITION FUND.—The 

14 President is authorized to establish a Syria Transition 

15 Fund or to set aside a special allocation (in this title re16 ferred to as the ‘‘Transition Fund’’) from which funds 

17 may be made available, notwithstanding any other provi18 sion of law, for assistance and contributions to promote 

19 the objectives described in section 4 and for related pur20 poses. The Fund may rely upon the administrative au21 thorities of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

22 2151 et seq.), and obligation of such funds shall be subject 

23 to the regular 15-day notification procedures. Such notifi24 cation may be waived if failure to do so would pose a sub25 stantial risk to human health or welfare, in which case 


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1 notification shall be provided as early as practicable, but 

2 in no event later than 3 days after taking the action to 

3 which such notification requirement was applicable. 

4 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Transition Fund 

5 is to provide initial support in the early period of a poten6 tially chaotic transition in Syria to enable an effective po7 litical transition and provide for initiatives that will im8 prove the security of the United States, United States 

9 partners and allies, and the people of Syria. The Transi10 tion Fund may be used to support activities including the 

11 following: 

12 (1) BASIC SERVICES.—Programs to provide for 

13 basic human, including humanitarian, needs and es14 tablish basic governmental services. 

15 (2) SECURITY SECTOR SUPPORT.—Programs 

16 and actions to prevent anarchy, revenge attacks, and 

17 criminal elements from threatening the people of 

18 Syria, potentially transitioning to include providing 

19 funding for Syrian security forces, and to fund 

20 projects to reshape and reform the security sector 

21 along democratic lines. The security sector is under22 stood to include personnel defending the Syrian peo23 ple from military attack and providing security serv24 ices within communities and on borders. Assistance 

25 to the emergent Syrian security sector should focus 


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1 on coordinated multilateral assistance to help nas2 cent security providers evolve into developed defense 

3 and security institutions within an inclusive and ef4 fective security and justice sector. 

5 (3) TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE AND CONFLICT

6 RESOLUTION.—Programs and activities that allow 

7 the people of Syria to heal and transform in a con8 structive and positive way, and reduce the likelihood 

9 of retribution or sectarian violence in the aftermath 

10 of the end of the Assad regime. 

11 (4) PROMOTING DEMOCRACY AND BUILDING

12 DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS.—Programs and activi13 ties that— 

14 (A) facilitate the development of an ac15 countable effective democratic government; 

16 (B) facilitate the development of an effec17 tive, peaceful civil society; 

18 (C) protect rule of law during the transi19 tion; 

20 (D) support the development and adminis21 tration of a justice system based on universal 

22 human rights; 

23 (E) assist with the development of a Syr24 ian constitution that fosters a sense of unity 

25 and contributes to national reconciliation 


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1 among different components of Syrian society; 

2 and 

3 (F) support the establishment of an inclu4 sive and transparent electoral system in Syria. 

5 (5) ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING AND SOCIAL

6 POLICY.—Programs that support the resumption of 

7 economic activity, preserve functioning of public 

8 services, restore access to international markets, em9 power the private sector, and promote responsible 

10 and equitable social policies. 

11 (6) HISTORICAL PRESERVATION.—Programs 

12 that support historical preservation efforts to help 

13 document the collective memory of the armed con14 flict in Syria in order to support the processes of na15 tional reconciliation and peace-building. 

16 (7) COLLECTION OF EVIDENCE ON HUMAN

17 RIGHTS ABUSES.—Programs that support the collec18 tion of evidence connected with serious human rights 

19 abuses and violations of international law. 

20 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi21 tion to other assistance authorized under law, there is au22 thorized to be appropriated or allocated to the Transition 

23 Fund up to $250,000,000 annually for fiscal years 2013 

24 through 2015. These funds shall remain available until ex25 pended. 


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1 (d) USES OF FUNDS FOR NONPROLIFERATION.— 

2 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, up to 

3 $100,000,000 of the funds authorized under subsection 

4 (c) may also be transferred to and merged with funds 

5 made available to carry out in Syria the purposes of chap6 ter 9 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

7 (22 U.S.C. 2349bb et seq.; nonproliferation and export 

8 control assistance). 

9 (e) TRANSFER AUTHORITY.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to other transfer 

11 authorities available to the Department of State or 

12 other United States Government agencies, funds 

13 available for foreign assistance or funds of other 

14 United States Government agencies involved in ef15 forts related to the situation in Syria may be trans16 ferred to or allocated as part of the Fund. Amounts 

17 so transferred shall be merged with funds otherwise 

18 made available under this section and remain avail19 able until expended for the purposes specified in 

20 subsection (b). 

21 (2) LIMIT.—The total amount of funds made 

22 available to, or allocated for, the Fund may not ex23 ceed $250,000,000 in any fiscal year. 

24 (3) TRANSFER AUTHORITY.—Funds available to 

25 carry out assistance authorized by this section may 


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1 be transferred to an agency or account determined 

2 most appropriate to facilitate the provision of assist3 ance authorized by this section. 

4 (4) ADDITIONAL TO OTHER AUTHORITIES.— 

5 The transfer authorities in paragraphs (1) and (3) 

6 are in addition to any other transfer authority avail7 able to the Department of State or other United 

8 States Government agencies. 

9 (f) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

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

11 after the establishment of the Transition Fund, or 

12 an allocation in reliance on the authorities of the 

13 Transition Fund, and annually thereafter for the du14 ration of the Transition Fund, the Secretary of 

15 State shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

16 committees a report on United States efforts to as17 sist the political transition in Syria with a specific 

18 focus on the efforts supported by the Transition 

19 Fund. 

20 (2) CONTENT.—The report required under 

21 paragraph (1) shall include the following elements: 

22 (A) A description of the key efforts under23 taken by the United States Government to sup24 port the policy objectives outlined in section 4. 


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1 (B) A description of the efforts supported 

2 by the Transition Fund to support an effective 

3 and secure political transition in Syria and how 

4 those activities align with the purposes de5 scribed in subsection (b). 

6 (C) Metrics and benchmarks established 

7 and used by the Department of State to make 

8 allocations from the Transition Fund, and to 

9 measure the performance of the Transition 

10 Fund and its various components. 

11 (D) A description of efforts undertaken to 

12 coordinate with other donors and ensure that 

13 there is not a duplication of efforts, including 

14 among Federal agencies. 

15 (3) FORM.—The report under paragraph (1) 

16 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may in17 clude a classified annex. 

18 SEC. 202. ADJUSTING SANCTIONS PROVISIONS IN PREPA19 RATION FOR A POLITICAL TRANSITION. 

20 (a) REMOVAL OF SANCTIONS.—It is the sense of Con21 gress that, once the Government of Syria has ceased its 

22 campaign of violence against the people of Syria and a 

23 transition to a representative and inclusive recognized gov24 ernment has begun, the United States Government should 

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1 vided that the post-Assad Government of Syria dem2 onstrates its willingness to— 

3 (1) support human rights for all Syrians irre4 spective of sect or ethnicity; 

5 (2) reject terrorism; and 

6 (3) cooperate with the international community 

7 on nonproliferation efforts. 

8 (b) AMENDMENT TO SYRIA ACCOUNTABILITY AND

9 LEBANESE SOVEREIGNTY RESTORATION ACT OF 2003.— 

10 Section 5 of the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sov11 ereignty Restoration Act of 2003 (Public Law 108–175; 

12 22 U.S.C. 2151 note) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (c)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

15 (i) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(1)’’; and 

16 (ii) by striking ‘‘paragraphs (1) 

17 through (4) of subsection (d)’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘subparagraphs (A) through (D) of 

19 paragraph (1) of subsection (d)’’; 

20 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and 

21 (3) as subparagraphs (B) and (C), respectively; 

22 and 

23 (C) in subparagraph (C), as redesignated 

24 by subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, by 


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1 striking the comma at the end and inserting the 

2 following: ‘‘or; 

3 ‘‘(2) makes the determination that the Govern4 ment of Syria meets the requirements described in 

5 paragraph (2) of such subsection and certifies such 

6 determination to Congress in accordance with such 

7 subsection,’’; and 

8 (2) in subsection (d)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ 

10 after ‘‘(1)’’; 

11 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), 

12 and (4) as subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D), re13 spectively; and 

14 (C) in subparagraph (D), as redesignated 

15 by subparagraph (B), by striking the period at 

16 the end and inserting the following: ‘‘or; 

17 ‘‘(2)(A) Bashar al-Assad is no longer the leader 

18 of Syria; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the Government of Syria has ceased its 

20 campaign of violence against the people of Syria and 

21 begun the transition to a representative and inclu22 sive government that supports the principles of— 

23 ‘‘(i) human rights for all Syrians irrespec24 tive of sect, religion, or ethnicity; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) rejection of terrorism and particularly 

2 support for Hezbollah and other terrorist orga3 nizations; 

4 ‘‘(iii) cooperation with the international 

5 community on nonproliferation efforts; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) promotion of the unity and continuity 

7 of the Syrian state.’’. 

8 TITLE III—SANCTIONS 

9 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this title: 

11 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT12 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com13 mittees’’ means— 

14 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 

15 the Committee on Finance, and the Committee 

16 on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the 

17 Senate; and 

18 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

19 Committee on Ways and Means, and the Com20 mittee on Financial Services of the House of 

21 Representatives. 

22 (2) DEFENSE ARTICLE; DEFENSE SERVICE.— 

23 The terms ‘‘defense article’’ and ‘‘defense service’’ 

24 have the meanings given those terms in section 644 


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1 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

2 2403). 

3 (3) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in4 dividual or entity. 

5 (4) PETROLEUM.—The term ‘‘petroleum’’ in6 cludes crude oil and any mixture of hydrocarbons 

7 that exists in liquid phase in natural underground 

8 reservoirs and remains liquid at atmospheric pres9 sure after passing through surface separating facili10 ties. 

11 (5) PETROLEUM PRODUCTS.—The term ‘‘petro12 leum products’’ includes unfinished oils, liquefied pe13 troleum gases, pentanes plus, aviation gasoline, 

14 motor gasoline, naptha-type jet fuel, kerosene-type 

15 jet fuel, kerosene, distillate fuel oil, residual fuel oil, 

16 petrochemical feedstocks, special naphthas, lubri17 cants, waxes, petroleum coke, asphalt, road oil, still 

18 gas, and miscellaneous products obtained from the 

19 processing of crude oil (including lease condensate), 

20 natural gas, and other hydrocarbon compounds. 


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1 SEC. 302. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO 

2 PERSONS PROVIDING DEFENSE ARTICLES OR 

3 DEFENSE SERVICES TO THE ASSAD REGIME 

4 OF SYRIA. 

5 On or after the date that is 60 days after the date 

6 of the enactment of this Act, the President may impose 

7 sanctions from among the sanctions described in section 

8 304 with respect to any person that the President deter9 mines has, on or after such date of enactment, knowingly 

10 participated in or facilitated a significant transaction re11 lated to the sale or transfer of defense articles or defense 

12 services to the Assad regime of Syria, including any suc13 cessor entity comprised principally of loyalists to Bashar 

14 al-Assad. 

15 SEC. 303. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO 

16 PERSONS PROVIDING PETROLEUM OR PE17 TROLEUM PRODUCTS TO THE ASSAD REGIME 

18 OF SYRIA. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—On or after the date that is 60 

20 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Presi21 dent shall impose not fewer than 5 of the sanctions de22 scribed in section 304 with respect to each person that 

23 the President determines has, on or after such date of en24 actment, knowingly participated in or facilitated a signifi25 cant transaction related to the sale or transfer of petro26 leum or petroleum products to the Assad regime of Syria, 


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1 including any successor entity comprised principally of loy2 alists to Bashar al-Assad, that directly contribute to the 

3 capability of the Assad regime, or any such successor enti4 ty, to continue its aggression against the people of Syria. 

5 (b) HUMANITARIAN EXCEPTION.—The President 

6 may not impose sanctions under this section with respect 

7 to any person for conducting or facilitating a transaction 

8 necessary to meet humanitarian and basic human needs 

9 of the people of Syria. 

10 SEC. 304. SANCTIONS DESCRIBED. 

11 The sanctions the President may impose with respect 

12 to a person under sections 302 and 303 are the following: 

13 (1) EXPORT-IMPORT BANK ASSISTANCE.—The 

14 President may direct the Export-Import Bank of the 

15 United States not to give approval to the issuance 

16 of any guarantee, insurance, extension of credit, or 

17 participation in the extension of credit in connection 

18 with the export of any goods or services to the per19 son. 

20 (2) PROCUREMENT SANCTION.—The President 

21 may prohibit the United States Government entering 

22 into any contract for the procurement of any goods 

23 or services from the person. 


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1 (3) IMPORT SANCTIONS.—The President may 

2 prohibit the importation into the United States of 

3 products produced by the person. 

4 (4) ARMS EXPORT PROHIBITION.—The Presi5 dent may prohibit the exportation or provision by 

6 sale, lease or loan, grant or other means, directly or 

7 indirectly, of any defense article or defense service to 

8 the person and the issuance of any license or other 

9 approval to the person under section 38 of the Arms 

10 Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778). 

11 (5) DUAL-USE EXPORT PROHIBITION.—The 

12 President may deny licenses and suspend existing li13 censes for the transfer to the person of items the ex14 port of which is controlled under the Export Admin15 istration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 2401 et seq.) 

16 (as in effect pursuant to the International Emer17 gency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et 

18 seq.)) or the Export Administration Regulations 

19 under subchapter C of chapter VII of title 15, Code 

20 of Federal Regulations. 

21 (6) PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS.—The President 

22 may, pursuant to such regulations as the President 

23 may prescribe, prohibit the person from— 

24 (A) acquiring, holding, withholding, using, 

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1 ing, or exporting any property that is subject to 

2 the jurisdiction of the United States and with 

3 respect to which the person has any interest; 

4 (B) dealing in or exercising any right, 

5 power, or privilege with respect to such prop6 erty; or 

7 (C) conducting any transaction involving 

8 such property. 

9 (7) VISA INELIGIBILITY.—In the case of a per10 son that is an alien, the President may direct the 

11 Secretary of State to deny a visa to, and the Sec12 retary of Homeland Security to exclude from the 

13 United States, the person, subject to regulatory ex14 ceptions to permit the United States to comply with 

15 the Agreement between the United Nations and the 

16 United States of America regarding the Head17 quarters of the United Nations and other applicable 

18 international obligations. 

19 SEC. 305. WAIVER. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President may waive the ap21 plication of section 302 or 303 if the President determines 

22 and reports to the appropriate congressional committees 

23 every 180 days that the waiver is vital to the national se24 curity interests of the United States. 


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1 (b) FORM.—A report submitted under subsection (a) 

2 shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include 

3 a classified annex. 

4 TITLE IV—INCREASED SUPPORT 

5 FOR THE OPPOSITION 

6 SEC. 401. INCREASED SUPPORT FOR THE OPPOSITION. 

7 (a) INCREASED AUTHORIZATION TO PROVIDE LE8 THAL AND NONLETHAL ASSISTANCE TO SYRIAN ARMED

9 OPPOSITION.—Subject to subsection (b), the President is 

10 authorized, notwithstanding any other provision of law 

11 and using funds made available for foreign assistance, to 

12 provide assistance, including defense articles, defense serv13 ices, and training to members of the Syrian Supreme Mili14 tary Council, units of the Free Syrian Army, and other 

15 Syrian entities opposed to the government of Bashar al16 Assad. 

17 (b) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 15 days before 

18 obligating funds or otherwise making commitments, as the 

19 case may be, to provide the assistance described in sub20 section (a), the President shall submit to the appropriate 

21 congressional committees— 

22 (1) a certification that— 

23 (A) assistance to any unit is being pro24 vided in accordance with section 620M of the 


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1 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

2 2378d); 

3 (B) the leader or leaders of any unit for 

4 which assistance is planned to be provided are, 

5 based on the information available to the 

6 United States Government— 

7 (i) not affiliated with any organization 

8 that has been designated as a foreign ter9 rorist organization pursuant to section 219 

10 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

11 U.S.C. 1189); 

12 (ii) opposed to the carrying out of sec13 tarian violence and revenge killings; and 

14 (iii) committed to civilian rule and the 

15 rule of law for Syria; 

16 (C) any military education and training 

17 will include information on observance of and 

18 respect for applicable laws of war, human 

19 rights, and fundamental freedoms; and 

20 (D) no man-portable air defense systems 

21 (MANPADS) will be transferred as part of the 

22 assistance; and 

23 (2) a written policy justification, budget, execu24 tion plan and timeline, and anticipated completion 

25 date for the planned activity. 


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1 (c) CODE OF CONDUCT.—The United States Govern2 ment shall encourage any entity receiving assistance pur3 suant to subsection (a) to commit to a code of conduct 

4 that includes respect for the applicable laws of war, human 

5 rights, fundamental freedoms, and a commitment to re6 frain from sectarian violence. 

7 (d) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—In the event that 

8 the President exercises the authority in subsection (a), the 

9 President shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

10 committees every 90 days thereafter until such time as 

11 the authority is no longer being exercised, a detailed re12 port on— 

13 (1) the education, training or assistance pro14 vided; 

15 (2) the vetting conducted to satisfy the certifi16 cation requirement in subsection (b)(1); and 

17 (3) steps taken to encourage the development of 

18 a code of conduct outlined in subsection (c). 

19 (e) SUNSET PROVISION.—The authority described in 

20 subsection (a) shall terminate on October 1, 2018. 

Æ 


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