III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 76 

Expressing deepest condolences to and solidarity with the people of Tu ̈rkiye 

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 

MARCH 29, 2023 

Committee discharged; considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing deepest condolences to and solidarity with the 

people of Tu ̈rkiye and Syria following the devastating 

earthquake on February 6, 2023. 

Whereas, on February 6, 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake 

struck southern and central Tu ̈rkiye, a North Atlantic 

Treaty Organization (NATO) ally, and western Syria; 

Whereas this is the most powerful earthquake recorded in 

Tu ̈rkiye since 1939; 

Whereas, according to the United States Geological Survey 

(USGS), the earthquake epicenter was located approximately 16 miles east of Nurdagi, in Tu ̈rkiye’s Gaziantep 

province; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
2 

SRES 76 ATS 

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 

Tu ̈rkiye 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 Tu ̈rkiye, including nearly 160 urban searchand-rescue teams, to provide life-saving assistance on 

both sides of the Tu ̈rkiye-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 Tu ̈rkiye and Syria; 

Whereas individuals, businesses, and philanthropic and humanitarian organizations across the United States and 

throughout the international community have responded 

in support of Tu ̈rkiye and Syria; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
3 

SRES 76 ATS 

Whereas humanitarian access has been constrained by road 

closures, infrastructural damage, and weather conditions 

in Tu ̈rkiye; and 

Whereas access to the one official crossing for cross-border 

aid from the United Nations from Tu ̈rkiye to northern 

Syria was heavily damaged, further delaying humanitarian access: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) expresses its deepest condolences to and sol3 idarity with the people of Tu ̈rkiye and Syria fol4 lowing the devastating earthquake on February 6, 

5 2023; 

6 (2) commends the efforts and honors the sac7 rifice of the men and women engaged in the humani8 tarian response on the ground in the affected re9 gions of Tu ̈rkiye and Syria; 

10 (3) commends as well the international humani11 tarian and nongovernmental organizations engaged 

12 in this effort; 

13 (4) urges the United States Government, in co14 ordination with appropriate local authorities in 

15 Tu ̈rkiye and internationally recognized organizations 

16 and institutions in Syria, as well as other donors, to 

17 continue to provide emergency relief and reconstruc18 tion efforts in both countries as provided in the hu19 manitarian exemptions of the United States Treas20 ury’s Syria Sanctions program; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
4 

SRES 76 ATS 

1 (5) urges the United States Government to en2 sure that earthquake assistance does not— 

3 (A) violate the Caesar Syria Civilian Pro4 tection Act of 2019 (title LXXIV of Public Law 

5 116–92; 22 U.S.C. 8791 note); 

6 (B) facilitate reconstruction efforts that di7 rectly benefit the Assad regime; 

8 (C) signal or support normalization with 

9 the Assad regime; or 

10 (D) fuel continued regime atrocities 

11 against the people of Syria; 

12 (6) encourages efforts by the North Atlantic 

13 Treaty Organization and allies to assist Tu ̈rkiye by 

14 providing— 

15 (A) search-and-rescue teams; 

16 (B) firefighters and structural engineers; 

17 (C) medical personnel and supplies; and 

18 (D) technical experts; 

19 (7) urges the international community to con20 tinue to find alternative border crossings to ensure 

21 aid gets into affected areas in Syria; 

22 (8) calls on the United Nations Security Coun23 cil, to pass a resolution to allow for additional bor24 der crossings from Tu ̈rkiye into northern Syria for 

25 aid convoys; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
5 

SRES 76 ATS 

1 (9) to allow full access for humanitarian aid or2 ganizations, urges the immediate cessation of vio3 lence in northern Syria. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB