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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 76 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 76

  Expressing deepest condolences to and solidarity with the people of 
 Turkiye and Syria following the devastating earthquake on February 6, 
                                 2023.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 16, 2023

Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Sullivan, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Cramer, and 
 Mr. Durbin) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                   the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
  Expressing deepest condolences to and solidarity with the people of 
 Turkiye and Syria following the devastating earthquake on February 6, 
                                 2023.

Whereas, on February 6, 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southern and 
        central Turkiye, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally, and 
        western Syria;
Whereas this is the most powerful earthquake recorded in Turkiye since 1939;
Whereas, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake 
        epicenter was located approximately 16 miles east of Nurdagi, in 
        Turkiye's Gaziantep province;
Whereas the USGS has registered more than 100 aftershocks between magnitudes 4.5 
        and 7.5;
Whereas the reported death toll has reached 42,000, thousands more people have 
        been reported injured, hundreds of thousands have been displaced from 
        their homes, and thousands of buildings have collapsed;
Whereas the World Health Organization estimates that 23,000,000 people, 
        including 1,400,000 children, in Turkiye and Syria have likely been 
        affected by the earthquake and more than 4,000,000 people already rely 
        on humanitarian assistance in the region of northwest Syria that was 
        affected by the earthquake;
Whereas countless people in the region and across the world have lost family, 
        friends, and loved ones to the earthquakes and will be mourning their 
        loss;
Whereas the United States Government responded immediately to the disaster and 
        the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has 
        deployed a nearly 200-member Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to 
        Turkiye, including nearly 160 urban search-and-rescue teams, to provide 
        life-saving assistance on both sides of the Turkiye-Syria border;
Whereas USAID has committed $85,000,000 to date for USAID's humanitarian 
        partners to deliver urgently needed aid for millions of people in 
        Turkiye and Syria;
Whereas individuals, businesses, and philanthropic and humanitarian 
        organizations across the United States and throughout the international 
        community have responded in support of Turkiye and Syria;
Whereas humanitarian access has been constrained by road closures, 
        infrastructural damage, and weather conditions in Turkiye; and
Whereas access to the one official crossing for cross-border aid from the United 
        Nations from Turkiye to northern Syria was heavily damaged, further 
        delaying humanitarian access: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) expresses its deepest condolences to and solidarity 
        with the people of Turkiye and Syria following the devastating 
        earthquake on February 6, 2023;
            (2) commends the efforts and honors the sacrifice of the 
        men and women engaged in the humanitarian response on the 
        ground in the affected regions of Turkiye and Syria;
            (3) commends as well the international humanitarian and 
        nongovernmental organizations engaged in this effort;
            (4) urges the United States Government, in coordination 
        with appropriate local authorities in Turkiye and 
        internationally recognized organizations and institutions in 
        Syria, as well as other donors, to continue to provide 
        emergency relief and reconstruction efforts in both countries 
        as provided in the humanitarian exemptions of the United States 
        Treasury's Syria Sanctions program;
            (5) urges the United States Government to ensure that 
        earthquake assistance does not--
                    (A) violate the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection 
                Act of 2019 (title LXXIV of Public Law 116-92; 22 
                U.S.C. 8791 note);
                    (B) facilitate reconstruction efforts that directly 
                benefit the Assad regime;
                    (C) signal or support normalization with the Assad 
                regime; or
                    (D) fuel continued regime atrocities against the 
                people of Syria;
            (6) encourages efforts by the North Atlantic Treaty 
        Organization and allies to assist Turkiye by providing--
                    (A) search-and-rescue teams;
                    (B) firefighters and structural engineers;
                    (C) medical personnel and supplies; and
                    (D) technical experts;
            (7) urges the international community to continue to find 
        alternative border crossings to ensure aid gets into affected 
        areas in Syria;
            (8) calls on the United Nations Security Council, to pass a 
        resolution to allow for additional border crossings from 
        Turkiye into northern Syria for aid convoys; and
            (9) to allow full access for humanitarian aid 
        organizations, urges the immediate cessation of violence in 
        northern Syria.
                                 <all>
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