I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 914 

To limit the use of funds to reduce the total number of members of the 

Armed Forces serving on active duty who are deployed to Syria, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 30, 2019 

Mr. MALINOWSKI (for himself, Mr. TAYLOR, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. GALLAGHER, 

Mr. KIM, Ms. STEFANIK, Mr. ROSE of New York, and Mr. HURD of 

Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To limit the use of funds to reduce the total number of 

members of the Armed Forces serving on active duty 

who are deployed to Syria, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Responsible With5 drawal from Syria Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS TO REDUCE THE 

2 TOTAL NUMBER OF MEMBERS OF THE 

3 ARMED FORCES SERVING ON ACTIVE DUTY 

4 WHO ARE DEPLOYED TO SYRIA. 

5 (a) LIMITATION.—None of the funds made available 

6 to the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2019 may 

7 be used to reduce the total number of members of the 

8 United States Armed Forces serving on active duty who 

9 are deployed to Syria below 1,500, unless and until the 

10 Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, and the Di11 rector of National Intelligence submit to the relevant con12 gressional committees a report that addresses the fol13 lowing: 

14 (1) The current strength and regenerative ca15 pacity of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), 

16 including an assessment of how many fighters ISIS 

17 fields in Syria and Iraq, the threat it continues to 

18 pose to the United States and its allies, its likely re19 action to the withdrawal of United States and coali20 tion forces, and of the operational risks involved 

21 with conducting counter-ISIS operations following a 

22 withdrawal. 

23 (2) The Administration’s military and political 

24 strategy for meeting any remaining threat from 

25 ISIS. 


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1 (3) The viability of the Syrian Democratic 

2 Forces (SDF) to remain a viable fighting force in 

3 the absence of a United States military presence in 

4 Syria. 

5 (4) Whether the Euphrates will remain the aer6 ial and land deconfliction line between United 

7 States-backed forces and Assad regime forces and 

8 their allies, and if so, how will the Administration 

9 ensure it will be respected. 

10 (5) Actions the Administration plans to take to 

11 ensure the safety of Syrian nationals who took part 

12 in or provided support to the coalition to defeat 

13 ISIS, including members of the SDF, and the form 

14 and amount of assistance the Administration plans 

15 to provide to the SDF following a withdrawal of 

16 United States and coalition forces. 

17 (6) The likelihood that the Assad regime and 

18 its allies, including Hezbollah and Iranian forces, 

19 will retake areas where United States personnel and 

20 Syrian allies have operated or created demilitarized 

21 zones, and the actions the Administration plans to 

22 take to ensure the safety, and prevent the exodus, 

23 of civilians living in those areas. 

24 (7) The actions the Administration plans to 

25 take to ensure the safety of civilians living in refugee 


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1 camps that may fall under the control of the Assad 

2 regime following withdrawal of United States forces, 

3 including Rubkan Camp, and to ensure access by 

4 humanitarian organizations to areas being vacated 

5 by United States forces and Syrian allies. 

6 (8) The expected windfall in oil revenue the 

7 Assad regime is likely to gain if the regime or its al8 lies retake areas currently held by United States-al9 lied groups. 

10 (9) The impact a withdrawal from Syria would 

11 have on Iranian power and influence in the Middle 

12 East, including an assessment of the current status 

13 of Iranian backed forces in Syria, whether with14 drawal is likely to make easier Iranian advanced 

15 weapon transfers to Syria and Lebanon, the impact 

16 on the security of Israel, the prospect of large scale 

17 conflict between Israel and Iran in Syria and Leb18 anon, and a strategy to counter any such threats. 

19 (10) The impact any United States withdrawal 

20 from Syria would have on Russian power and influ21 ence in the Middle East. 

22 (11) The impact any United States withdrawal 

23 from Syria would have on diplomatic efforts to end 

24 the Syrian conflict, and on United States influence 

25 on those efforts, including a statement of the AdVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:27 Feb 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H914.IH H914

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1 ministration’s current diplomatic objectives in that 

2 process. 

3 (12) The commitments, if any, Turkey has ex4 tended with respect to fighting ISIS and refraining 

5 from military action against the Kurds following a 

6 withdrawal of United States forces. 

7 (13) The commitments, if any, Saudi Arabia or 

8 any coalition partners have made to assist in Syria’s 

9 reconstruction, including any plans to ensure that 

10 funding of these efforts are transparent and ac11 countable. 

12 (14) Any efforts the Administration plans to 

13 undertake to support legitimate, effective and demo14 cratic local governance in areas from which United 

15 States and coalition forces are withdrawing, to di16 minish the likelihood that extremist forces will re17 turn. 

18 (15) Any consultations that have taken place 

19 with coalition allies in Operation Inherent Resolve 

20 about withdrawal of forces from Syria, including 

21 how the governments of Israel, Jordan, Saudi Ara22 bia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Russia, Iran, 

23 the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Turkey 

24 and the Kurdistan Regional Government are likely 

25 to respond to any withdrawal. 


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1 (16) The assurances, if any, that religious and 

2 ethnic minority communities will be secure from 

3 ISIS threats. 

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

5 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain 

6 a classified annex. 

7 (c) WAIVER.—The Secretary of Defense may waive 

8 the limitation under subsection (a) if, upon advice of the 

9 relevant military commanders, the Secretary determines 

10 that the waiver is necessary due to an imminent and ex11 traordinary threat to members of the United States 

12 Armed Forces in Syria. 

13 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

14 may be construed to obstruct or prevent the normal rota15 tion of United States Armed Forces into and out of Syria. 

16 (e) RELEVANT CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE17 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘relevant congressional 

18 committees’’ means— 

19 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

20 Committee on Armed Services of the House of Rep21 resentatives; and 

22 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 

23 the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate. 

Æ 


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