IV 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 508 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President 

of the United States should use the full authority of his office to convene 

international negotiations intended to stop the civil war in Syria. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 2, 2015 

Mr. HIMES (for himself, Mr. RUSH, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. 

MOULTON, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. 

KILMER, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. ESTY, Mr. 

MCDERMOTT, Mr. ELLISON, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. CARNEY, Mr. 

TED LIEU of California, Mr. HONDA, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. JACKSON LEE, 

Mr. MCGOVERN, and Mr. POCAN) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

the President of the United States should use the full 

authority of his office to convene international negotiations intended to stop the civil war in Syria. 

Whereas, as of September 2015, the Syrian civil war has now 

lasted more than 4 years, resulting in the deaths of more 

than 300,000 people, creating more than 4,100,000 refugees, and displacing more than 7,600,000 people within 

the country; 

Whereas the refugee crisis has been an immense and potentially destabilizing challenge to the Middle East region, 


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•HRES 508 IH 

and is now affecting Europe and the United States, 

which have already spent billions in resources in humanitarian assistance; 

Whereas continued military escalation, including the introduction of military equipment, personnel, and air strikes 

by Russia, as well as the introduction of the Quds Force 

of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, will further the devastation of the Syrian populace, exacerbate the refugee 

crisis, and risk potentially dangerous unintended encounters between the belligerents; 

Whereas the current United States strategies to resolve the 

conflict and defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Syria have not been effective; 

Whereas this includes the military strategy to train, equip, 

and support Syrian rebels, as well as other efforts to remove President al-Assad and ensure peace and stability 

in the country; 

Whereas the United States, the United Nations, and the 

international community did attempt significant steps to 

resolve the conflict and transition to a new government 

in Syria in the Geneva I Conference on Syria on June 

30, 2012, and the Geneva II Conference on Syria in January and February of 2014; 

Whereas President Barack Obama and Secretary of State 

John Kerry made concerted efforts on September 27, 

2015, through September 30, 2015, at the United Nations and with their Russian counterparts, President 

Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov, to seek a negotiated 

solution to the conflict in Syria, which is in the best security and moral interests of the United States; and 


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•HRES 508 IH 

Whereas Secretary of State John Kerry has followed these 

diplomatic efforts by participating in the multinational 

Vienna II talks on the political resolution of the Syrian 

conflict beginning on October 30, 2015: Now, therefore, 

be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) calls on the President to convene inter3 national negotiations intended to stop the civil war 

4 in Syria, which can and should include further pur5 suing the Vienna II effort; 

6 (2) requests that these negotiations— 

7 (A) stabilize the country and provide for 

8 political change towards a popularly supported, 

9 accountable Syrian leadership; 

10 (B) implement immediate measures to pro11 tect, and stem the flow of, refugees from Syria 

12 and provide for the return of those who have 

13 fled; and 

14 (C) create a coordinated international 

15 strategy for the defeat of the Islamic State of 

16 Iraq and the Levant, which is in the best inter17 ests of all international parties; and 

18 (3) calls on the other nations that have an in19 terest or involvement in the region and conflict to 

20 join these negotiations and commit to transitioning 


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•HRES 508 IH 

1 from the current al-Assad government and coun2 tering the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. 

Æ 


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