IB 

Union Calendar No. 68 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1677 

[Report No. 115–115, Part I] 

To halt the wholesale slaughter of the Syrian people, encourage a negotiated 

political settlement, and hold Syrian human rights abusers accountable 

for their crimes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 22, 2017 

Mr. ENGEL (for himself, Mr. ROYCE of California, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. 

DEUTCH, Mr. KINZINGER, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. POE of Texas, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. MESSER, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mrs. 

MCMORRIS RODGERS, and Mr. BEYER) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition 

to the Committees on Financial Services, and the Judiciary, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

MAY 11, 2017 

Additional sponsors: Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. MOULTON, Mr. KEATING, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. RUSH, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. HILL, Ms. MENG, 

Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mrs. TORRES, Mr. 

LOWENTHAL, Mr. SIRES, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mrs. COMSTOCK, Ms. BASS, 

Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. ESTY

of Connecticut, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. 

ROKITA, Mr. STEWART, Mrs. WAGNER, Mrs. WALORSKI, Mr. WEBER of 

Texas, Mr. YOHO, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, Mr. HURD, Mr. CURBELO of Florida, 

Mr. POLIS, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. CAPUANO, Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. BARR, Mr. 

ISSA, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mrs. HARTZLER, 

Mr. JENKINS of West Virginia, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. 

MCCAUL, Mr. FARENTHOLD, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. DELANEY, Mr. RUSSELL, Mr. FRANCIS ROONEY of Florida, Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana, Ms. 

TITUS, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. RENACCI, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. KNIGHT, Mr. 


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ROSS, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. FRANKEL of Florida, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. CARSON

of Indiana, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. STIVERS, 

Mr. MEEKS, Mr. BUCSHON, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania, 

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. GALLAGHER, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. NEAL, Mr. DONOVAN, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. 

MAST, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. OLSON, Mr. REICHERT, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, 

Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. TIPTON, Mr. HOLLINGSWORTH, and Mr. BYRNE

MAY 11, 2017 

Reported from the Committee on Foreign Affairs with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

MAY 11, 2017 

The Committees on Financial Services and the Judiciary discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 

and ordered to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 22, 2017] 

A BILL 

To halt the wholesale slaughter of the Syrian people, encourage a negotiated political settlement, and hold Syrian 

human rights abusers accountable for their crimes. 


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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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2017’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 3. Statement of policy. 

TITLE I—ADDITIONAL ACTIONS IN CONNECTION WITH THE 

NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO SYRIA 

Sec. 101. Sanctions with respect to Central Bank of Syria and foreign persons 

that engage in certain transactions. 

Sec. 102. Prohibitions with respect to the transfer of arms and related materials 

to Syria. 

Sec. 103. Rule of construction. 

Sec. 104. Definitions. 

TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO SYRIA HUMAN RIGHTS 

ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2012 

Sec. 201. Imposition of sanctions with respect to certain persons who are responsible for or complicit in human rights abuses committed against 

citizens of Syria or their family members. 

Sec. 202. Imposition of sanctions with respect to the transfer of goods or technologies to Syria that are likely to be used to commit human 

rights abuses. 

Sec. 203. Imposition of sanctions with respect to persons who hinder humanitarian access. 

Sec. 204. Report on certain persons who are responsible for or complicit in certain human rights abuses in Syria. 

TITLE III—REPORTS AND WAIVER FOR HUMANITARIAN-RELATED 

ACTIVITIES WITH RESPECT TO SYRIA 

Sec. 301. Briefing on monitoring and evaluating of ongoing assistance programs 

in Syria and to the Syrian people. 

Sec. 302. Assessment of potential methods to enhance the protection of civilians. 

Sec. 303. Assistance to support entities taking actions relating to gathering evidence for investigations into war crimes or crimes against humanity in Syria since March 2011. 

TITLE IV—SUSPENSION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO SYRIA 

Sec. 401. Suspension of sanctions with respect to Syria. 

Sec. 402. Waivers and exemptions. 


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TITLE V—REGULATORY AUTHORITY, COST LIMITATION, AND 

SUNSET 

Sec. 501. Implementation and regulatory authorities. 

Sec. 502. Cost limitation. 

Sec. 503. Authority to consolidate reports. 

Sec. 504. Sunset. 

1 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 It is the sense of Congress that— 

3 (1) Bashar al-Assad’s murderous actions against 

4 the people of Syria have directly contributed to the 

5 deaths of more than 480,000 civilians, led to the de6 struction of more than 50 percent of Syria’s critical 

7 infrastructure, and forced the displacement of more 

8 than 14,000,000 people, precipitating one of the worst 

9 humanitarian crises in more than 60 years; 

10 (2) international actions to protect vulnerable 

11 populations from attack by uniformed and irregular 

12 forces associated with the Assad regime, including 

13 Hezbollah, on land and by air, including through the 

14 use of barrel bombs, chemical weapons, mass starva15 tion, industrial-scale torture and execution of polit16 ical dissidents, sniper attacks against pregnant 

17 women, and the deliberate targeting of medical facili18 ties, schools, residential areas, and community gath19 ering places, including markets, have been insufficient 

20 to date; 


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1 (3) Assad’s use of chemical weapons, including 

2 chlorine, against the Syrian people violates the Chem3 ical Weapons Convention, to which Syria is a party; 

4 (4) Assad’s abhorrent use of chemical weapons, 

5 most recently on April 4, 2017, in an attack on the 

6 town of Khan Shakhyn in which more than 90 people 

7 died, including women and children, and more than 

8 600 hundred people were injured, is condemned in the 

9 strongest terms; 

10 (5) violent attacks resulting in death, injury, im11 prisonment or threat of prosecution against humani12 tarian aid workers and diplomatic personnel, as well 

13 as attacks on humanitarian supplies, facilities, trans14 ports, and assets, and acts to impede the access and 

15 secure movement of all humanitarian personnel are 

16 in violation of international humanitarian law and 

17 impede the lifesaving work of humanitarian organiza18 tions and diplomatic institutions; and 

19 (6) Assad’s continued claim of leadership and 

20 war crimes in Syria have served as a rallying point 

21 for the extremist ideology of the Islamic State, Jabhat 

22 al-Nusra, and other terrorist organizations. 

23 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

24 It is the policy of the United States that all diplomatic 

25 and coercive economic means should be utilized to compel 


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1 the government of Bashar al-Assad to immediately halt the 

2 wholesale slaughter of the Syrian people and to support an 

3 immediate transition to a democratic government in Syria 

4 that respects the rule of law, human rights, and peaceful 

5 co-existence with its neighbors. 

6 TITLE I—ADDITIONAL ACTIONS 

7 IN CONNECTION WITH THE 

8 NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH 

9 RESPECT TO SYRIA 

10 SEC. 101. SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO CENTRAL BANK OF 

11 SYRIA AND FOREIGN PERSONS THAT ENGAGE 

12 IN CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS. 

13 (a) APPLICATION OF CERTAIN MEASURES TO CENTRAL

14 BANK OF SYRIA.—Except as provided in subsections (a) 

15 and (b) of section 402, the President shall apply the meas16 ures described in section 5318A(b)(5) of title 31, United 

17 States Code, to the Central Bank of Syria. 

18 (b) BLOCKING PROPERTY OF FOREIGN PERSONS THAT

19 ENGAGE IN CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on and after the 

21 date that is 30 days after the date of the enactment 

22 of this Act, the President shall impose on a foreign 

23 person the sanctions described in subsection (c) if the 

24 President determines that such foreign person, on or 


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1 after such date of enactment, knowingly engages in an 

2 activity described in paragraph (2). 

3 (2) ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED.—A foreign person 

4 engages in an activity described in this paragraph if 

5 the foreign person— 

6 (A) knowingly provides significant finan7 cial, material or technological support to (in8 cluding engaging in or facilitating a significant 

9 transaction or transactions with) or provides 

10 significant financial services for— 

11 (i) the Government of Syria (including 

12 government entities operating as a business 

13 enterprise) and the Central Bank of Syria, 

14 or any of its agencies or instrumentalities; 

15 or 

16 (ii) a foreign person subject to sanc17 tions pursuant to— 

18 (I) the International Emergency 

19 Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 

20 et seq.) with respect to Syria or any 

21 other provision of law that imposes 

22 sanctions with respect to Syria; or 

23 (II) a resolution that is agreed to 

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1 cil that imposes sanctions with respect 

2 to Syria; 

3 (B) knowingly— 

4 (i) sells or provides significant goods, 

5 services, technology, information, or other 

6 support that directly and significantly fa7 cilitates the maintenance or expansion of 

8 the Government of Syria’s domestic produc9 tion of natural gas or petroleum or petro10 leum products of Syrian origin in areas 

11 controlled by the Government of Syria or 

12 associated forces; 

13 (ii) sells or provides to the Government 

14 of Syria crude oil or condensate, refined pe15 troleum products, liquefied natural gas, or 

16 petrochemical products that have a fair 

17 market value of $500,000 or more or that 

18 during a 12-month period have an aggre19 gate fair market value of $2,000,000 or 

20 more in areas controlled by the Government 

21 of Syria or associated forces; 

22 (iii) sells or provides aircraft or spare 

23 parts, or provides significant goods, serv24 ices, or technologies associated with the op25 eration of such aircraft or air carriers to 


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1 any foreign person operating in areas con2 trolled by the Government of Syria or asso3 ciated forces that are used, in whole or in 

4 part, for military purposes; or 

5 (iv) sells or provides significant goods, 

6 services, or technology to a foreign person 

7 operating in the shipping (including ports 

8 and free trade zones), transportation, or 

9 telecommunications sectors in areas con10 trolled by the Government of Syria or asso11 ciated forces; 

12 (C) knowingly facilitates efforts by a foreign 

13 person to carry out an activity described in sub14 paragraph (A) or (B); or 

15 (D) knowingly provides significant loans, 

16 credits, including export credits, or financing to 

17 carry out an activity described in subparagraph 

18 (A) or (B). 

19 (c) SANCTIONS AGAINST A FOREIGN PERSON.—The 

20 sanctions to be imposed on a foreign person described in 

21 subsection (b) are the following: 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall exercise 

23 all of the powers granted to the President under the 

24 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

25 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the extent necessary to block 


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1 and prohibit all transactions in property and inter2 ests in property of the foreign person if such property 

3 and interests in property are in the United States, 

4 come within the United States, or are or come within 

5 the possession or control of a United States person. 

6 (2) ALIENS INELIGIBLE FOR VISAS, ADMISSION, 

7 OR PAROLE.— 

8 (A) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.—An 

9 alien who the Secretary of State or the Secretary 

10 of Homeland Security (or a designee of one of 

11 such Secretaries) knows, or has reason to believe, 

12 meets any of the criteria described in subsection 

13 (a) is— 

14 (i) inadmissible to the United States; 

15 (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 

16 documentation to enter the United States; 

17 and 

18 (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 

19 or paroled into the United States or to re20 ceive any other benefit under the Immigra21 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

22 seq.). 

23 (B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 

24 (i) IN GENERAL.—The issuing consular 

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1 retary of Homeland Security (or a designee 

2 of one of such Secretaries) shall revoke any 

3 visa or other entry documentation issued to 

4 an alien who meets any of the criteria de5 scribed in subsection (a) regardless of when 

6 issued. 

7 (ii) EFFECT OF REVOCATION.—A rev8 ocation under clause (i)— 

9 (I) shall take effect immediately; 

10 and 

11 (II) shall automatically cancel 

12 any other valid visa or entry docu13 mentation that is in the alien’s posses14 sion. 

15 (3) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH UNITED NA16 TIONS HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT.—Sanctions 

17 under paragraph (2) shall not apply to an alien if 

18 admitting the alien into the United States is nec19 essary to permit the United States to comply with the 

20 Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United 

21 Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and 

22 entered into force November 21, 1947, between the 

23 United Nations and the United States, or other appli24 cable international obligations. 


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1 (4) PENALTIES.—The penalties provided for in 

2 subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the Inter3 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 

4 1705) shall apply to a person that knowingly violates, 

5 attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 

6 violation of regulations promulgated under section 

7 501(a) to carry out paragraph (1) of this subsection 

8 to the same extent that such penalties apply to a per9 son that knowingly commits an unlawful act de10 scribed in section 206(a) of that Act. 

11 SEC. 102. PROHIBITIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE TRANSFER 

12 OF ARMS AND RELATED MATERIALS TO 

13 SYRIA. 

14 (a) SANCTIONS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on and after the 

16 date that is 30 days after the date of the enactment 

17 of this Act, the President shall impose on a foreign 

18 person the sanctions described in subsection (b) if the 

19 President determines that such foreign person, on or 

20 after such date of enactment, knowingly exports, 

21 transfers, or provides significant financial, material, 

22 or technological support to the Government of Syria 

23 to— 

24 (A) acquire or develop chemical, biological, 

25 or nuclear weapons or related technologies; 


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1 (B) acquire or develop ballistic or cruise 

2 missile capabilities; 

3 (C) acquire or develop destabilizing num4 bers and types of advanced conventional weap5 ons; or 

6 (D) acquire defense articles, defense services, 

7 or defense information (as such terms are defined 

8 under the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 

9 2751 et seq.)), if the President determines that a 

10 significant type or amount of such articles, serv11 ices, or information has been so acquired. 

12 (2) APPLICABILITY TO OTHER FOREIGN PER13 SONS.—The sanctions described in subsection (b) shall 

14 also be imposed on any foreign person that is a suc15 cessor entity to a foreign person described in para16 graph (1). 

17 (b) SANCTIONS AGAINST A FOREIGN PERSON.—The 

18 sanctions to be imposed on a foreign person described in 

19 subsection (a) are the following: 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall exercise 

21 all powers granted by the International Emergency 

22 Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the 

23 extent necessary to freeze and prohibit all trans24 actions in all property and interests in property of 

25 the foreign person if such property and interests in 


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1 property are in the United States, come within the 

2 United States, or are or come within the possession 

3 or control of a United States person. 

4 (2) ALIENS INELIGIBLE FOR VISAS, ADMISSION, 

5 OR PAROLE.— 

6 (A) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.—An 

7 alien who the Secretary of State or the Secretary 

8 of Homeland Security (or a designee of one of 

9 such Secretaries) knows, or has reason to believe, 

10 meets any of the criteria described in subsection 

11 (a) is— 

12 (i) inadmissible to the United States; 

13 (ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other 

14 documentation to enter the United States; 

15 and 

16 (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 

17 or paroled into the United States or to re18 ceive any other benefit under the Immigra19 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

20 seq.). 

21 (B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 

22 (i) IN GENERAL.—The issuing consular 

23 officer, the Secretary of State, or the Sec24 retary of Homeland Security (or a designee 

25 of one of such Secretaries) shall revoke any 


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1 visa or other entry documentation issued to 

2 an alien who meets any of the criteria de3 scribed in subsection (a) regardless of when 

4 issued. 

5 (ii) EFFECT OF REVOCATION.—A rev6 ocation under clause (i)— 

7 (I) shall take effect immediately; 

8 and 

9 (II) shall automatically cancel 

10 any other valid visa or entry docu11 mentation that is in the alien’s posses12 sion. 

13 (3) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH UNITED NA14 TIONS HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT.—Sanctions 

15 under paragraph (2) shall not apply to an alien if 

16 admitting the alien into the United States is nec17 essary to permit the United States to comply with the 

18 Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United 

19 Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and 

20 entered into force November 21, 1947, between the 

21 United Nations and the United States, or other appli22 cable international obligations. 

23 (4) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at24 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a vio25 lation of any regulation, license, or order issued to 


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1 carry out this section shall be subject to the penalties 

2 set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of 

3 the International Emergency Economic Powers Act 

4 (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as a person that 

5 commits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) 

6 of that section. 

7 SEC. 103. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

8 Nothing in this title shall be construed to limit the au9 thority of the President pursuant to the International 

10 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). 

11 SEC. 104. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this title: 

13 (1) ADMITTED; ALIEN.—The terms ‘‘admitted’’ 

14 and ‘‘alien’’ have the meanings given such terms in 

15 section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

16 (8 U.S.C. 1101). 

17 (2) FINANCIAL, MATERIAL, OR TECHNOLOGICAL

18 SUPPORT.—The term ‘‘financial, material, or techno19 logical support’’ has the meaning given such term in 

20 section 542.304 of title 31, Code of Federal Regula21 tions, as such section was in effect on the date of the 

22 enactment of this Act. 

23 (3) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per24 son’’ means any citizen or national of a foreign coun25 try, or any entity not organized solely under the laws 


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1 of the United States or existing solely in the United 

2 States. 

3 (4) GOVERNMENT OF SYRIA.—The term ‘‘Govern4 ment of Syria’’ has the meaning given such term in 

5 section 542.305 of title 31, Code of Federal Regula6 tions, as such section was in effect on the date of the 

7 enactment of this Act. 

8 (5) KNOWINGLY.—The term ‘‘knowingly’’ has the 

9 meaning given such term in section 566.312 of title 

10 31, Code of Federal Regulations, as such section was 

11 in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

12 (6) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in13 dividual or entity. 

14 (7) PETROLEUM OR PETROLEUM PRODUCTS OF

15 SYRIAN ORIGIN.—The term ‘‘petroleum or petroleum 

16 products of Syrian origin’’ has the meaning given 

17 such term in section 542.314 of title 31, Code of Fed18 eral Regulations, as such section was in effect on the 

19 date of the enactment of this Act. 

20 (8) SIGNIFICANT TRANSACTION OR TRANS21 ACTIONS; SIGNIFICANT FINANCIAL SERVICES.—A 

22 transaction or transactions or financial services shall 

23 be determined to be a significant for purposes of this 

24 section in accordance with section 566.404 of title 31, 


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1 Code of Federal Regulations, as such section was in 

2 effect on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

3 (9) SYRIA.—The term ‘‘Syria’’ has the meaning 

4 given such term in section 542.316 of title 31, Code 

5 of Federal Regulations, as such section was in effect 

6 on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

7 (10) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

8 ‘‘United States person’’ means any United States cit9 izen, permanent resident alien, entity organized 

10 under the laws of the United States (including foreign 

11 branches), or any person in the United States. 

12 TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO 

13 SYRIA HUMAN RIGHTS AC14 COUNTABILITY ACT OF 2012 

15 SEC. 201. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO 

16 CERTAIN PERSONS WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE 

17 FOR OR COMPLICIT IN HUMAN RIGHTS 

18 ABUSES COMMITTED AGAINST CITIZENS OF 

19 SYRIA OR THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 702(c) of the Syria Human 

21 Rights Accountability Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8791(c)) is 

22 amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(c) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall exercise 

25 all powers granted by the International Emergency 


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1 Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the 

2 extent necessary to freeze and prohibit all trans3 actions in all property and interests in property of 

4 a person on the list required by subsection (b) if such 

5 property and interests in property are in the United 

6 States, come within the United States, or are or come 

7 within the possession or control of a United States 

8 person. 

9 ‘‘(2) ALIENS INELIGIBLE FOR VISAS, ADMISSION, 

10 OR PAROLE.— 

11 ‘‘(A) VISAS, ADMISSION, OR PAROLE.—An 

12 alien who the Secretary of State or the Secretary 

13 of Homeland Security (or a designee of one of 

14 such Secretaries) knows, or has reason to believe, 

15 meets any of the criteria described in subsection 

16 (b) is— 

17 ‘‘(i) inadmissible to the United States; 

18 ‘‘(ii) ineligible to receive a visa or 

19 other documentation to enter the United 

20 States; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) otherwise ineligible to be admit22 ted or paroled into the United States or to 

23 receive any other benefit under the Immi24 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 

25 et seq.). 


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1 ‘‘(B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The issuing con3 sular officer, the Secretary of State, or the 

4 Secretary of Homeland Security (or a des5 ignee of one of such Secretaries) shall revoke 

6 any visa or other entry documentation 

7 issued to an alien who meets any of the cri8 teria described in subsection (b) regardless 

9 of when issued. 

10 ‘‘(ii) EFFECT OF REVOCATION.—A rev11 ocation under clause (i)— 

12 ‘‘(I) shall take effect immediately; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(II) shall automatically cancel 

15 any other valid visa or entry docu16 mentation that is in the alien’s posses17 sion. 

18 ‘‘(3) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at19 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a vio20 lation of this section or any regulation, license, or 

21 order issued to carry out this section shall be subject 

22 to the penalties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of 

23 section 206 of the International Emergency Economic 

24 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as a 


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1 person that commits an unlawful act described in 

2 subsection (a) of that section. 

3 ‘‘(4) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The President 

4 shall, not later than 180 days after the date of the en5 actment of this section, promulgate regulations as 

6 necessary for the implementation of this section. 

7 ‘‘(5) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH UNITED NA8 TIONS HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT.—Sanctions 

9 under paragraph (2) shall not apply to an alien if 

10 admitting the alien into the United States is nec11 essary to permit the United States to comply with the 

12 Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United 

13 Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and 

14 entered into force November 21, 1947, between the 

15 United Nations and the United States, or other appli16 cable international obligations. 

17 ‘‘(6) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

18 section shall be construed to limit the authority of the 

19 President pursuant to the International Emergency 

20 Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), rel21 evant Executive orders, regulations, or other provi22 sions of law.’’. 

23 (b) SERIOUS HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES DESCRIBED.— 

24 Section 702 of the Syria Human Rights Accountability Act 


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1 of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8791) is amended by adding at the end 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(d) SERIOUS HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES DESCRIBED.— 

4 In subsection (b), the term ‘serious human rights abuses’ 

5 includes— 

6 ‘‘(1) the deliberate targeting of civilian infra7 structure to include schools, hospitals, markets, and 

8 other infrastructure that is essential to human life, 

9 such as power and water systems; and 

10 ‘‘(2) the deliberate diversion, hindering, or block11 ing of access for humanitarian purposes, including 

12 access across conflict lines and borders.’’. 

13 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by sub14 sections (a) and (b) shall take effect on the date of the enact15 ment of this Act and shall apply with respect to the imposi16 tion of sanctions under section 702(a) of the Syria Human 

17 Rights Accountability Act of 2012 on after such date of en18 actment. 

19 SEC. 202. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO 

20 THE TRANSFER OF GOODS OR TECH21 NOLOGIES TO SYRIA THAT ARE LIKELY TO BE 

22 USED TO COMMIT HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES. 

23 Section 703(b)(2)(C) of the Syria Human Rights Ac24 countability Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8792(b)(2)(C)) is 

25 amended— 


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1 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

2 (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the 

3 end and inserting a semicolon; and 

4 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(iii) any article— 

6 ‘‘(I) designated by the President 

7 for purposes of the United States Mu8 nitions List under section 38(a)(1) of 

9 the Arms Export Control Act (22 

10 U.S.C. 2778(a)(1)); and 

11 ‘‘(II) with respect to which the 

12 President determines is significant for 

13 purposes of the imposition of sanctions 

14 under subsection (a); or 

15 ‘‘(iv) other goods or technologies that 

16 the President determines may be used by the 

17 Government of Syria to commit human 

18 rights abuses against the people of Syria.’’. 

19 SEC. 203. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO 

20 PERSONS WHO HINDER HUMANITARIAN AC21 CESS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Syria Human Rights Account23 ability Act of 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8791 et seq.) is amended— 

24 (1) by redesignating sections 705 and 706 as sec25 tions 706 and 707, respectively; 


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1 (2) by inserting after section 704 the following: 

2 ‘‘SEC. 705. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO 

3 PERSONS WHO HINDER HUMANITARIAN AC4 CESS. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall impose sanc6 tions described in section 702(c) with respect to each person 

7 on the list required by subsection (b). 

8 ‘‘(b) LIST OF PERSONS WHO HINDER HUMANITARIAN

9 ACCESS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 

11 after the date of the enactment of the Caesar Syria 

12 Civilian Protection Act of 2017, the President shall 

13 submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 

14 list of persons that the President determines have en15 gaged in deliberate diversion, hindering, or blocking 

16 of access for humanitarian purposes for the United 

17 Nations, its specialized agencies and implementing 

18 partners, national and international nongovern19 mental organizations, and all other actors engaged in 

20 humanitarian relief activities in Syria, including 

21 through the deliberate targeting of such humanitarian 

22 actors and activities in Syria and across conflict 

23 lines and borders. 


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1 ‘‘(2) UPDATES OF LIST.—The President shall 

2 submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

3 an updated list under paragraph (1)— 

4 ‘‘(A) not later than 300 days after the date 

5 of the enactment of the Caesar Syria Civilian 

6 Protection Act of 2017 and every 180 days there7 after; and 

8 ‘‘(B) as new information becomes available. 

9 ‘‘(3) FORM.—The list required by paragraph (1) 

10 shall be submitted in unclassified form but may con11 tain a classified annex.’’; and 

12 (3) in section 706 (as so redesignated), by strik13 ing ‘‘or 704’’ and inserting ‘‘704, or 705’’. 

14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents for 

15 the Syria Human Rights Accountability Act of 2012 is 

16 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 704 

17 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 705. Imposition of sanctions with respect to persons who hinder humanitarian access.’’. 

18 SEC. 204. REPORT ON CERTAIN PERSONS WHO ARE RE19 SPONSIBLE FOR OR COMPLICIT IN CERTAIN 

20 HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN SYRIA. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 

22 date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit 

23 to the appropriate congressional committees a detailed re24 port with respect to whether each person described in subVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 May 11, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1677.RH H1677

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1 section (c) meets the requirements described in section 

2 702(b) of the Syria Human Rights Accountability Act of 

3 2012 (22 U.S.C. 8791(b)) for purposes of inclusion on the 

4 list of persons who are responsible for or complicit in cer5 tain human rights abuses under such section. 

6 (b) JUSTIFICATION.—The President shall include in 

7 the report required by subsection (a) a description of the 

8 reasons why any of the persons described in subsection (c) 

9 do not meet the requirements described in section 702(b) 

10 of the Syria Human Rights Accountability Act of 2012 (22 

11 U.S.C. 8791(b)), including information on whether suffi12 cient credible evidence of responsibility for such abuses was 

13 found or whether any of the persons described in subsection 

14 (c) have been designated pursuant to— 

15 (1) Executive Order 13572 of April 29, 2011 (76 

16 Fed. Reg. 24787; relating to blocking property of cer17 tain persons with respect to human rights abuses in 

18 Syria); 

19 (2) Executive Order 13573 of May 18, 2011 (76 

20 Fed. Reg. 29143; relating to blocking property of sen21 ior officials of the Government of Syria); 

22 (3) Executive Order 13582 of August 17, 2011 

23 (76 Fed. Reg. 52209; relating to blocking property of 

24 the Government of Syria and prohibiting certain 

25 transactions with respect to Syria); or 


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1 (4) Executive Order 13606 of April 22, 2012 (77 

2 Fed. Reg. 24571; relating to blocking the property 

3 and suspending entry into the United States of cer4 tain persons with respect to grave human rights 

5 abuses by the Governments of Iran and Syria via in6 formation technology). 

7 (c) PERSONS DESCRIBED.—The persons described in 

8 this subsection are the following: 

9 (1) Bashar Al-Assad. 

10 (2) Asma Al-Assad. 

11 (3) Rami Makhlouf. 

12 (4) Bouthayna Shaaban. 

13 (5) Walid Moallem. 

14 (6) Ali Al-Salim. 

15 (7) Wael Nader Al-Halqi. 

16 (8) Jamil Hassan. 

17 (9) Suhail Hassan. 

18 (10) Ali Mamluk. 

19 (11) Muhammed Khadour, Deir Ez Zor Military 

20 and Security. 

21 (12) Jamal Razzouq, Security Branch 243. 

22 (13) Munzer Ghanam, Air Force Intelligence. 

23 (14) Daas Hasan Ali, Branch 327. 

24 (15) Jassem Ali Jassem Hamad, Political Secu25 rity. 


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1 (16) Samir Muhammad Youssef, Military Intel2 ligence. 

3 (17) Ali Ahmad Dayoub, Air Force Intelligence. 

4 (18) Khaled Muhsen Al-Halabi, Security Branch 

5 335. 

6 (19) Mahmoud Kahila, Political Security. 

7 (20) Zuhair Ahmad Hamad, Provincial Secu8 rity. 

9 (21) Wafiq Nasser, Security Branch 245. 

10 (22) Qussay Mayoub, Air Force Intelligence. 

11 (23) Muhammad Ammar Sardini, Political Se12 curity. 

13 (24) Fouad Hammouda, Military Security. 

14 (25) Hasan Daaboul, Branch 261. 

15 (26) Yahia Wahbi, Air Force Intelligence. 

16 (27) Okab Saqer, Security Branch 318. 

17 (28) Husam Luqa, Political Security. 

18 (29) Sami Al-Hasan, Security Branch 219. 

19 (30) Yassir Deeb, Political Security. 

20 (31) Ibrahim Darwish, Security Branch 220. 

21 (32) Nasser Deeb, Political Security. 

22 (33) Abdullatif Al-Fahed, Security Branch 290. 

23 (34) Adeeb Namer Salamah, Air Force Intel24 ligence. 

25 (35) Akram Muhammed, State Security. 


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1 (36) Reyad Abbas, Political Security. 

2 (37) Ali Abdullah Ayoub, Syrian Armed Forces. 

3 (38) Fahd Jassem Al-Freij, Defense Ministry. 

4 (39) Issam Halaq, Air Force. 

5 (40) Ghassan Al-Abdullah, General Intelligence 

6 Directorate. 

7 (41) Maher Al-Assad, Republican Guard. 

8 (42) Fahad Al-Farouch. 

9 (43) Rafiq Shahada, Military Intelligence. 

10 (44) Loay Al-Ali, Military Intelligence. 

11 (45) Nawfal Al-Husayn, Military Intelligence. 

12 (46) Muhammad Zamrini, Military Intelligence. 

13 (47) Muhammad Mahallah, Military Intel14 ligence. 

15 (d) FORM.—The report required by subsection (a) shall 

16 be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classi17 fied annex if necessary. 

18 (e) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘appro19 priate congressional committees’’ means— 

20 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Com21 mittee on Financial Services, the Committee on Ways 

22 and Means, and the Committee on the Judiciary of 

23 the House of Representatives; and 

24 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the 

25 Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, 


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1 the Committee on Finance, and the Committee on the 

2 Judiciary of the Senate. 

3 TITLE III—REPORTS AND WAIV4 ER FOR HUMANITARIAN-RE5 LATED ACTIVITIES WITH RE6 SPECT TO SYRIA 

7 SEC. 301. BRIEFING ON MONITORING AND EVALUATING OF 

8 ONGOING ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS IN SYRIA 

9 AND TO THE SYRIAN PEOPLE. 

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

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

12 and the Administrator of the United States Agency for 

13 International Development shall brief the Committee on 

14 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 

15 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate on the moni16 toring and evaluation of ongoing assistance programs in 

17 Syria and for the Syrian people, including assistance pro18 vided through multilateral organizations. 

19 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The briefing re20 quired by subsection (a) shall include— 

21 (1) the specific project monitoring and evalua22 tion efforts, including measurable goals and perform23 ance metrics for assistance in Syria; 

24 (2) a description of the memoranda of under25 standing entered into by the Department of State, the 


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1 United States Agency for International Development, 

2 and their respective Inspectors General and the multi3 lateral organizations through which United States as4 sistance will be delivered that formalize requirements 

5 for the sharing of information between such entities 

6 for the conduct of audits, investigations, and evalua7 tions; and 

8 (3) the major challenges to monitoring and eval9 uating such programs. 

10 SEC. 302. ASSESSMENT OF POTENTIAL METHODS TO EN11 HANCE THE PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

13 date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit 

14 to the appropriate congressional committees a report that— 

15 (1) assesses the potential effectiveness, risks, and 

16 operational requirements of the establishment and 

17 maintenance of a no-fly zone over part or all of 

18 Syria, including— 

19 (A) the operational and legal requirements 

20 for United States and coalition air power to es21 tablish a no-fly zone in Syria; 

22 (B) the impact a no-fly zone in Syria 

23 would have on humanitarian and counterter24 rorism efforts in Syria and the surrounding re25 gion; and 


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1 (C) the potential for force contributions 

2 from other countries to establish a no-fly zone in 

3 Syria; 

4 (2) assesses the potential effectiveness, risks, and 

5 operational requirements for the establishment of one 

6 or more safe zones in Syria for internally displaced 

7 persons or for the facilitation of humanitarian assist8 ance, including— 

9 (A) the operational and legal requirements 

10 for United States and coalition forces to establish 

11 one or more safe zones in Syria; 

12 (B) the impact one or more safe zones in 

13 Syria would have on humanitarian and counter14 terrorism efforts in Syria and the surrounding 

15 region; and 

16 (C) the potential for contributions from 

17 other countries and vetted non-state actor part18 ners to establish and maintain one or more safe 

19 zones in Syria; 

20 (3) assesses the potential effectiveness, risks, and 

21 operational requirements of other non-military means 

22 to enhance the protection of civilians, especially civil23 ians who are in besieged areas, trapped at borders, or 

24 internally displaced; and 


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1 (4) describes the Administration’s plan for re2 cruitment, training, and retention of partner forces, 

3 including— 

4 (A) identification of the United States part5 ner forces operating on the ground; 

6 (B) the primary source of strength for each 

7 armed actor engaged in hostilities; 

8 (C) the capabilities, requirements, and 

9 vulnerabilities of each armed actor; 

10 (D) the United States role in mitigating 

11 vulnerabilities of partner forces; and 

12 (E) the Administration’s measures of suc13 cess for partner forces, including— 

14 (i) increasing Syrian civilian security; 

15 and 

16 (ii) working toward an end to the con17 flict in Syria. 

18 (b) FORM.—The report required by subsection (a) shall 

19 be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classi20 fied annex if necessary. 

21 (c) CONSULTATION.—The report required by subsection 

22 (a) shall be informed by consultations with the Department 

23 of State, the United States Agency for International Devel24 opment, the Department of Defense, and international and 


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1 local organizations operating in Syria or in neighboring 

2 countries to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people. 

3 (d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘appro4 priate congressional committees’’ means— 

5 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

6 Committee on Armed Services of the House of Rep7 resentatives; and 

8 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 

9 Committee on Armed Services of the Senate. 

10 SEC. 303. ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT ENTITIES TAKING AC11 TIONS RELATING TO GATHERING EVIDENCE 

12 FOR INVESTIGATIONS INTO WAR CRIMES OR 

13 CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN SYRIA SINCE 

14 MARCH 2011. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi16 sion of law, the Secretary of State, acting through the As17 sistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor 

18 and the Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and 

19 Law Enforcement Affairs, is authorized to provide assist20 ance to support entities that are conducting criminal inves21 tigations, building Syrian investigative capacity, sup22 porting prosecutions in national courts, collecting evidence 

23 and preserving the chain of evidence for eventual prosecu24 tion against those who have committed war crimes or 

25 crimes against humanity in Syria, including the aiding 


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1 and abetting of such crimes by foreign governments and or2 ganizations supporting the Government of Syria, since 

3 March 2011. 

4 (b) BRIEFING.—Not later than one year after the date 

5 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall 

6 brief the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep7 resentatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 

8 Senate on assistance provided under subsection (a). 

9 TITLE IV—SUSPENSION OF 

10 SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT 

11 TO SYRIA 

12 SEC. 401. SUSPENSION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO 

13 SYRIA. 

14 (a) SUSPENSION OF SANCTIONS.— 

15 (1) NEGOTIATIONS NOT CONCLUDING IN AGREE16 MENT.—If the President determines that internation17 ally recognized negotiations to resolve the violence in 

18 Syria have not concluded in an agreement or are like19 ly not to conclude in an agreement, the President 

20 may suspend, as appropriate, in whole or in part, the 

21 imposition of sanctions otherwise required under this 

22 Act or any amendment made by this Act for a period 

23 not to exceed 120 days, and renewable for additional 

24 periods not to exceed 120 days, if the President sub25 mits to the appropriate congressional committees in 


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1 writing a determination and certification that the 

2 Government of Syria has ended military attacks 

3 against and gross violations of the human rights of 

4 the Syrian people, specifically— 

5 (A) the air space over Syria is no longer 

6 being utilized by the Government of Syria and 

7 associated forces to target civilian populations 

8 through the use of incendiary devices, including 

9 barrel bombs, chemical weapons, and conven10 tional arms, including air-delivered missiles and 

11 explosives; 

12 (B) areas besieged by the Assad regime and 

13 associated forces, including Hezbollah and irreg14 ular Iranian forces, are no longer cut off from 

15 international aid and have regular access to hu16 manitarian assistance, freedom of travel, and 

17 medical care; 

18 (C) the Government of Syria is releasing all 

19 political prisoners forcibly held within the Assad 

20 regime prison system, including the facilities 

21 maintained by various security, intelligence, and 

22 military elements associated with the Govern23 ment of Syria and allowed full access to the 

24 same facilities for investigations by appropriate 

25 international human rights organizations; and 


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1 (D) the forces of the Government of Syria 

2 and associated forces, including Hezbollah, irreg3 ular Iranian forces, and Russian government air 

4 assets, are no longer engaged in deliberate tar5 geting of medical facilities, schools, residential 

6 areas, and community gathering places, includ7 ing markets, in flagrant violation of inter8 national norms. 

9 (2) NEGOTIATIONS CONCLUDING IN AGREE10 MENT.— 

11 (A) INITIAL SUSPENSION OF SANCTIONS.—If 

12 the President determines that internationally 

13 recognized negotiations to resolve the violence in 

14 Syria have concluded in an agreement or are 

15 likely to conclude in an agreement, the President 

16 may suspend, as appropriate, in whole or in 

17 part, the imposition of sanctions otherwise re18 quired under this Act or any amendment made 

19 by this Act for a period not to exceed 120 days 

20 if the President submits to the appropriate con21 gressional committees in writing a determina22 tion and certification that— 

23 (i) in the case in which the negotia24 tions are likely to conclude in an agree25 ment— 


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1 (I) the Government of Syria, the 

2 Syrian High Negotiations Committee 

3 or its internationally-recognized suc4 cessor, and appropriate international 

5 parties are participating in direct, 

6 face-to-face negotiations; and 

7 (II) the suspension of sanctions 

8 under this Act or any amendment 

9 made by this Act is essential to the ad10 vancement of such negotiations; and 

11 (ii) the Government of Syria has dem12 onstrated a commitment to a significant 

13 and substantial reduction in attacks on and 

14 violence against the Syrian people by the 

15 Government of Syria and associated forces. 

16 (B) RENEWAL OF SUSPENSION OF SANC17 TIONS.—The President may renew a suspension 

18 of sanctions under subparagraph (A) for addi19 tional periods not to exceed 120 days if, for each 

20 such additional period, the President submits to 

21 the appropriate congressional committees in 

22 writing a determination and certification that— 

23 (i) the conditions described in clauses 

24 (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) are con25 tinuing to be met; 


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1 (ii) the renewal of the suspension of 

2 sanctions is essential to implementing an 

3 agreement described in subparagraph (A) or 

4 making progress toward concluding an 

5 agreement described in subparagraph (A); 

6 (iii) the Government of Syria and as7 sociated forces have ceased attacks against 

8 Syrian civilians; and 

9 (iv) the Government of Syria has pub10 licly committed to negotiations for a transi11 tional government in Syria and continues 

12 to demonstrate that commitment through 

13 sustained engagement in talks and sub14 stantive and verifiable progress towards the 

15 implementation of such an agreement. 

16 (3) BRIEFING AND REIMPOSITION OF SANC17 TIONS.— 

18 (A) BRIEFING.—Not later than 30 days 

19 after the President submits to the appropriate 

20 congressional committees a determination and 

21 certification in the case of a renewal of suspen22 sion of sanctions under paragraph (2)(B), and 

23 every 30 days thereafter, the President shall pro24 vide a briefing to the appropriate congressional 


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1 committees on the status and frequency of nego2 tiations described in paragraph (2). 

3 (B) RE-IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.—If the 

4 President provides a briefing to the appropriate 

5 congressional committees under subparagraph 

6 (A) with respect to which the President indicates 

7 a lapse in negotiations described in paragraph 

8 (2) for a period that equals or exceeds 90 days, 

9 the sanctions that were suspended under para10 graph (2)(B) shall be re-imposed and any fur11 ther suspension of such sanctions is prohibited. 

12 (4) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

13 ‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’ means— 

14 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

15 Committee on Financial Services, the Committee 

16 on Ways and Means, and the Committee on the 

17 Judiciary of the House of Representatives; and 

18 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 

19 the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 

20 Affairs, the Committee on Finance, and the 

21 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate. 

22 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR

23 DETERMINING A TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT IN SYRIA.— 

24 It is the sense of Congress that a transitional government 

25 in Syria is a government that— 


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1 (1) is taking verifiable steps to release all polit2 ical prisoners and is providing full access to Syrian 

3 prisons for investigations by appropriate inter4 national human rights organizations; 

5 (2) is taking verifiable steps to remove former 

6 senior Syrian Government officials who are complicit 

7 in the conception, implementation, or cover up of war 

8 crimes, crimes against humanity, or human rights 

9 abuses and any person subject to sanctions under any 

10 provision of law from government positions; 

11 (3) is in the process of organizing free and fair 

12 elections for a new government— 

13 (A) to be held in a timely manner and 

14 scheduled while the suspension of sanctions or 

15 the renewal of the suspension of sanctions under 

16 this section is in effect; and 

17 (B) to be conducted under the supervision of 

18 internationally recognized observers; 

19 (4) is making tangible progress toward estab20 lishing an independent judiciary; 

21 (5) is demonstrating respect for and compliance 

22 with internationally recognized human rights and 

23 basic freedoms as specified in the Universal Declara24 tion of Human Rights; 


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1 (6) is taking steps to verifiably fulfill its com2 mitments under the Chemical Weapons Convention 

3 and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear 

4 Weapons and is making tangible progress toward be5 coming a signatory to Convention on the Prohibition 

6 of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of 

7 Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and 

8 on their Destruction, entered into force March 26, 

9 1975, and adhering to the Missile Technology Control 

10 Regime and other control lists, as necessary; 

11 (7) has halted the development and deployment 

12 of ballistic and cruise missiles; and 

13 (8) is taking verifiable steps to remove from posi14 tions of authority within the intelligence and security 

15 services as well as the military those who were in a 

16 position of authority or responsibility during the con17 flict and who under the authority of their position 

18 were implicated in or implicit in the torture, 

19 extrajudicial killing, or execution of civilians, to in20 clude those who were involved in decisionmaking or 

21 execution of plans to use chemical weapons. 

22 SEC. 402. WAIVERS AND EXEMPTIONS. 

23 (a) EXEMPTIONS.—The following activities and trans24 actions shall be exempt from sanctions authorized under 

25 this Act or any amendment made by this Act: 


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1 (1) Any activity subject to the reporting require2 ments under title V of the National Security Act of 

3 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.), or to any authorized 

4 intelligence activities of the United States. 

5 (2) Any transaction necessary to comply with 

6 United States obligations under— 

7 (A) the Agreement between the United Na8 tions and the United States of America regard9 ing the Headquarters of the United Nations, 

10 signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and en11 tered into force November 21, 1947; 

12 (B) the Convention on Consular Relations, 

13 done at Vienna April 24, 1963, and entered into 

14 force March 19, 1967; or 

15 (C) any other international agreement to 

16 which the United States is a party. 

17 (b) HUMANITARIAN, STABILIZATION, AND DEMOCRACY

18 ASSISTANCE WAIVER.— 

19 (1) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It shall be the pol20 icy of the United States to fully utilize the waiver au21 thority under this subsection to ensure that adequate 

22 humanitarian relief or support for stabilization and 

23 democracy promotion is provided to the Syrian peo24 ple. 


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1 (2) WAIVER.—Except as provided in paragraph 

2 (5) and subsection (d), the President may waive, on 

3 a case-by-case basis, for a period not to exceed one 

4 year, and renewable for additional periods not to ex5 ceed one year, the application of sanctions authorized 

6 under this Act with respect to a person if the Presi7 dent submits to the appropriate congressional com8 mittees a written determination that the waiver is 

9 necessary for purposes of providing humanitarian or 

10 stabilization assistance or support for democracy pro11 motion to the people of Syria. 

12 (3) CONTENT OF WRITTEN DETERMINATION.—A 

13 written determination submitted under paragraph (2) 

14 with respect to a waiver shall include a description 

15 of all notification and accountability controls that 

16 have been employed in order to ensure that the activi17 ties covered by the waiver are humanitarian or sta18 bilization assistance or support for democracy pro19 motion and do not entail any activities in Syria or 

20 dealings with the Government of Syria not reasonably 

21 related to humanitarian or stabilization assistance or 

22 support for democracy promotion. 

23 (4) CLARIFICATION OF PERMITTED ACTIVITIES

24 UNDER WAIVER.—The President may not impose 


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1 sanctions authorized under this Act against a human2 itarian organization for— 

3 (A) engaging in a financial transaction re4 lating to humanitarian assistance or for human5 itarian purposes pursuant to a waiver issued 

6 under paragraph (2); 

7 (B) transporting goods or services that are 

8 necessary to carry out operations relating to hu9 manitarian assistance or humanitarian purposes 

10 pursuant to such a waiver; or 

11 (C) having incidental contact, in the course 

12 of providing humanitarian assistance or aid for 

13 humanitarian purposes pursuant to such a 

14 waiver, with individuals who are under the con15 trol of a foreign person subject to sanctions 

16 under this Act or any amendment made by this 

17 Act unless the organization or its officers, mem18 bers, representatives or employees have engaged 

19 in (or the President knows or has reasonable 

20 ground to believe is engaged in or is likely to en21 gage in) conduct described in section 

22 212(a)(3)(B)(iv)(VI) of the Immigration and 

23 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

24 1182(a)(3)(B)(iv)(VI)). 


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1 (5) EXCEPTION TO WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The 

2 President may not exercise the waiver authority 

3 under paragraph (2) with respect to a foreign person 

4 who has (or whose officers, members, representatives 

5 or employees have) engaged in (or the President 

6 knows or has reasonable ground to believe is engaged 

7 in or is likely to engage in) conduct described in sec8 tion 212(a)(3)(B)(iv)(VI) of the Immigration and Na9 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(iv)(VI)). 

10 (c) WAIVER.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may, for peri12 ods not to exceed 120 days, waive the application of 

13 sanctions under this Act with respect to a foreign per14 son if the President certifies to the appropriate con15 gressional committees that such waiver is vital to the 

16 national security interests of the United States. 

17 (2) CONSULTATION.— 

18 (A) BEFORE WAIVER ISSUED.—Not later 

19 than 5 days before the issuance of a waiver 

20 under paragraph (1) is to take effect, the Presi21 dent shall notify and brief the appropriate con22 gressional committees on the status of the foreign 

23 person’s involvement in activities described in 

24 this Act. 


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1 (B) AFTER WAIVER ISSUED.—Not later 

2 than 90 days after the issuance of a waiver 

3 under paragraph (1), and every 120 days there4 after if the waiver remains in effect, the Presi5 dent shall brief the appropriate congressional 

6 committees on the status of the foreign person’s 

7 involvement in activities described in this Act. 

8 (3) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

9 ‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’ means— 

10 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

11 Committee on Financial Services, the Committee 

12 on Ways and Means, and the Committee on the 

13 Judiciary of the House of Representatives; and 

14 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 

15 the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 

16 Affairs, the Committee on Finance, and the 

17 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate. 

18 (d) CODIFICATION OF CERTAIN SERVICES IN SUPPORT

19 OF NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS’ ACTIVITIES AU20 THORIZED.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para22 graph (2), section 542.516 of title 31, Code of Federal 

23 Regulations (relating to certain services in support of 

24 nongovernmental organizations’ activities authorized), 


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1 as in effect on the day before the date of the enact2 ment of this Act, shall— 

3 (A) remain in effect on and after such date 

4 of enactment; and 

5 (B) in the case of a nongovernmental orga6 nization that is authorized to export or reexport 

7 services to Syria under such section on the day 

8 before such date of enactment, shall apply to 

9 such organization on and after such date of en10 actment to the same extent and in the same 

11 manner as such section applied to such organiza12 tion on the day before such date of enactment. 

13 (2) EXCEPTION.—Section 542.516 of title 31, 

14 Code of Federal Regulations, as codified under para15 graph (1), shall not apply with respect to a foreign 

16 person who has (or whose officers, members, represent17 atives or employees have) engaged in (or the President 

18 knows or has reasonable ground to believe is engaged 

19 in or is likely to engage in) conduct described in sec20 tion 212(a)(3)(B)(iv)(VI) of the Immigration and Na21 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(iv)(VI)). 

22 (e) STRATEGY REQUIRED.— 

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

24 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 

25 shall submit to the appropriate congressional commitVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:17 May 11, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1677.RH H1677

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1 tees a report containing a strategy to ensure that hu2 manitarian organizations can access financial serv3 ices to ensure the safe and timely delivery of assist4 ance to communities in need in Syria. 

5 (2) CONSIDERATION OF DATA FROM OTHER

6 COUNTRIES AND NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZA7 TIONS.—In preparing the strategy required by para8 graph (1), the President shall consider credible data 

9 already obtained by other countries and nongovern10 mental organizations, including organizations oper11 ating in Syria. 

12 (3) FORM.—The strategy required by paragraph 

13 (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may 

14 contain a classified annex. 

15 TITLE V—REGULATORY AUTHOR16 ITY, COST LIMITATION, AND 

17 SUNSET 

18 SEC. 501. IMPLEMENTATION AND REGULATORY AUTHORI19 TIES. 

20 (a) IMPLEMENTATION AUTHORITY.—The President 

21 may exercise all authorities provided to the President under 

22 sections 203 and 205 of the International Emergency Eco23 nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) for purposes 

24 of carrying out this Act and the amendments made by this 

25 Act. 


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1 (b) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The President shall, 

2 not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of 

3 this Act, promulgate regulations as necessary for the imple4 mentation of this Act and the amendments made by this 

5 Act. 

6 (c) BRIEFING TO CONGRESS.—Not less than 10 days 

7 before the promulgation of regulations under subsection (a), 

8 the President shall brief the appropriate congressional com9 mittees on the proposed regulations and the provisions of 

10 this Act and the amendments made by this Act that the 

11 regulations are implementing. 

12 (d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘appro13 priate congressional committees’’ means— 

14 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

15 Committee on Financial Services of the House of Rep16 resentatives; and 

17 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 

18 Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

19 of the Senate. 

20 SEC. 502. COST LIMITATION. 

21 No additional funds are authorized to carry out the 

22 requirements of this Act and the amendments made by this 

23 Act. Such requirements shall be carried out using amounts 

24 otherwise authorized. 


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1 SEC. 503. AUTHORITY TO CONSOLIDATE REPORTS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any reports required to be sub3 mitted to the appropriate congressional committees under 

4 this Act or any amendment made by this Act that are sub5 ject to a deadline for submission consisting of the same unit 

6 of time may be consolidated into a single report that is sub7 mitted to appropriate congressional committees pursuant to 

8 such deadline. The consolidated reports shall contain all in9 formation required under this Act or any amendment made 

10 by this Act, in addition to all other elements mandated by 

11 previous law. 

12 (b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘appro13 priate congressional committees’’ means— 

14 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

15 Committee on Financial Services of the House of Rep16 resentatives; and 

17 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 

18 Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

19 of the Senate. 

20 SEC. 504. SUNSET. 

21 This Act shall cease to be effective beginning on Decem22 ber 31, 2021. 


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Union Calendar No. 68 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1677 

[Report No. 115–115, Part I] 

A BILL 

To halt the wholesale slaughter of the Syrian peoable for their crimes. and hold Syrian human rights abusers account- ple, encourage a negotiated political settlement, 

MAY 11, 2017 

Reported from the Committee on Foreign Affairs with an 

amendment 

MAY 11, 2017 

The Committees on Financial Services and the Judiciary 

printed House on the State of the Union and ordered to be discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole 


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