I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1706 

To limit assistance for areas of Syria controlled by the Government of Syria 

or associated forces, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 13, 2019 

Mr. ENGEL (for himself, Mr. KINZINGER, Mr. MCCAUL, and Mr. BRENDAN

F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, 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 

A BILL 

To limit assistance for areas of Syria controlled by the Government of Syria or associated forces, 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 ‘‘No Assistance for 

5 Assad Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) Seven years into the conflict in Syria, over 

2 11 million Syrians have been displaced from their 

3 homes and more than 470,000 have been killed. 

4 (2) Since the conflict in Syria began, the 

5 United States has provided more than $7.7 billion to 

6 meet humanitarian needs of the Syrian people, mak7 ing the United States the world’s single largest 

8 donor to the Syrian humanitarian response. 

9 (3) It is estimated that the reconstruction of 

10 Syria could cost between $200 and $350 billion. 

11 (4) According to the 2018 Transparency Inter12 national Corruption Index, Syria is among the most 

13 corrupt countries in the world. 

14 (5) In August 2017, the Government of the 

15 People’s Republic of China hosted a trade fair in 

16 Syria, and a Chinese-Arab business group an17 nounced a $2 billion commitment from the Chinese 

18 Government to fund the construction of industrial 

19 parks in Syria. 

20 (6) The Russian Federation’s Chamber of Com21 merce and Industry stated that Russian businesses 

22 will have first ‘‘priority’’ in the allotment of recon23 struction funds that Syria receives, and Russia 

24 signed a bilateral agreement with Syria giving RusVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1706.IH H1706

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1 sia exclusive oil and gas rights in areas under Assad 

2 regime control. 

3 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

4 It is the policy of the United States that United 

5 States foreign assistance made available for reconstruction 

6 or stabilization in Syria should be used only in a demo7 cratic Syria or in areas of Syria not controlled by a gov8 ernment led by Bashar al-Assad or associated forces. 

9 SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON ASSISTANCE FOR AREAS OF SYRIA 

10 CONTROLLED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF 

11 SYRIA OR ASSOCIATED FORCES. 

12 (a) LIMITATION.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub14 section (c), for each of the fiscal years 2020 through 

15 2024, amounts authorized to be appropriated or oth16 erwise made available for assistance described in 

17 paragraph (2) may not be provided, directly or indi18 rectly, for any area of Syria controlled by the Gov19 ernment of Syria or associated forces, as determined 

20 by the Secretary of State, unless a certification de21 scribed in subsection (b) is in effect. 

22 (2) ASSISTANCE DESCRIBED.—Assistance re23 ferred to in paragraph (1) is the following: 

24 (A) Assistance to carry out stabilization 

25 activities for the relevant area. 


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1 (B) Assistance to carry out reconstruction 

2 activities for the relevant area. 

3 (b) CERTIFICATION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—A certification described in 

5 this subsection is a certification submitted by the 

6 President to the appropriate congressional commit7 tees that contains a determination that the following 

8 criteria have been met: 

9 (A) The air space over Syria is no longer 

10 being utilized by the Government of Syria or 

11 the Government of the Russian Federation to 

12 target civilian populations through the use of 

13 incendiary devices, including barrel bombs, 

14 chemical weapons, and conventional arms, in15 cluding air-delivered missiles and explosives. 

16 (B) Areas of Syria besieged by the forces 

17 of the Government of Syria, the Government of 

18 the Russian Federation, the Government of 

19 Iran, or associated forces are no longer cut off 

20 from international aid and have regular access 

21 to humanitarian assistance, freedom of travel, 

22 and medical care. 

23 (C) The Government of Syria is releasing 

24 all political prisoners forcibly held within the 

25 prison system of the regime of Bashar al-Assad 


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1 and the Government of Syria is allowing full ac2 cess to the same facilities for investigations by 

3 appropriate international human rights organi4 zations. 

5 (D) The forces of the Government of 

6 Syria, the Government of the Russian Federa7 tion, the Government of Iran, and associated 

8 forces are no longer engaged in deliberate tar9 geting of medical facilities, schools, residential 

10 areas, and community gathering places, includ11 ing markets, in violation of international norms. 

12 (E) The Government of Syria is— 

13 (i) taking steps to verifiably fulfill its 

14 commitments under the Convention on the 

15 Prohibition of the Development, Produc16 tion, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical 

17 Weapons and on their Destruction, done at 

18 Geneva September 3, 1992, and entered 

19 into force April 29, 1997 (commonly 

20 known as the ‘‘Chemical Weapons Conven21 tion’’), and the Treaty on the Non-Pro22 liferation of Nuclear Weapons, done at 

23 Washington, London, and Moscow July 1, 

24 1968, and entered into force March 5, 

25 1970 (21 UST 483); and 


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1 (ii) making tangible progress toward 

2 becoming a signatory to the Convention on 

3 the Prohibition of the Development, Pro4 duction and Stockpiling of Bacteriological 

5 (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on 

6 their Destruction, done at Washington, 

7 London, and Moscow April 10, 1972, and 

8 entered into force March 26, 1975 (26 

9 UST 583). 

10 (F) The Government of Syria is permitting 

11 the safe, voluntary, and dignified return of Syr12 ians displaced by the conflict. 

13 (G) The Government of Syria is taking 

14 verifiable steps to establish meaningful account15 ability for perpetrators of war crimes in Syria 

16 and justice for victims of war crimes committed 

17 by the Assad regime, including by participation 

18 in a credible and independent truth and rec19 onciliation process. 

20 (H) The Government of Syria has halted 

21 the development and deployment of ballistic and 

22 cruise missiles. 

23 (2) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—A certification shall 

24 be in effect under this subsection for a period of 90 

25 days beginning on the date on which the President 


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1 submits the certification to the appropriate congres2 sional committees. 

3 (3) RENEWAL OR REPORT.—Not later than 90 

4 days after the date on which the President submits 

5 to the appropriate congressional committees a cer6 tification under this subsection the President shall 

7 submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

8 either— 

9 (A) a new certification under this sub10 section indicating that the conditions described 

11 in paragraph (1) are continuing to be met; or 

12 (B) a report that— 

13 (i) describes why the President is un14 able to make a new certification under this 

15 subsection; and 

16 (ii) contains a certification that no 

17 funds will be obligated or expended to pro18 vide assistance described in subsection (a) 

19 in contravention of subsection (a). 

20 (c) EXCEPTION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The limitation on assistance 

22 under subsection (a) shall not apply with respect 

23 to— 

24 (A) assistance for projects to be adminis25 tered by local organizations that reflect the 


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1 aims, needs, and priorities of local communities 

2 in Syria; 

3 (B) assistance for projects to meet basic 

4 human needs in Syria, including— 

5 (i) drought relief; 

6 (ii) assistance to refugees, internally 

7 displaced persons, and conflict victims; 

8 (iii) the distribution of food and medi9 cine; and 

10 (iv) the provision of health services; 

11 and 

12 (C) assistance to carry out the activities 

13 described in subsection (b)(1)(E). 

14 (2) REPORT AND DETERMINATION.—The Presi15 dent shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

16 committees a report and determination for each of 

17 the fiscal years 2020 through 2024 on each project 

18 with respect to which this subsection applies during 

19 the preceding fiscal year, including— 

20 (A) a description of the project; 

21 (B) a description of how United States 

22 funds with respect to the project were used; 

23 (C) the geographic location or locations of 

24 the project; and 


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1 (D) a determination with respect to wheth2 er the project benefitted an official of the Assad 

3 regime. 

4 (3) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

5 Congress that, to the greatest extent practicable, the 

6 United States should not fund projects described in 

7 this subsection with respect to which the Govern8 ment of Syria, any official of the Government of 

9 Syria, and any immediate family member of an offi10 cial of the Government of Syria have a financial or 

11 material interest or are affiliated with the imple12 menting partner of the project. 

13 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT15 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com16 mittees’’ means— 

17 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

18 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

19 of Representatives; and 

20 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

21 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

22 Senate. 

23 (2) ASSOCIATED FORCES.—The term ‘‘associ24 ated forces’’ includes forces of the Government of 


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1 the Russian Federation, the Government of Iran, 

2 Iranian-backed proxy militias, and Hezbollah. 

3 (3) DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY.—The term ‘‘di4 rectly or indirectly’’ includes assistance to multilat5 eral institutions and international governmental or6 ganizations, such as the United Nations and related 

7 agencies, the International Monetary Fund, and the 

8 World Bank. 

9 SEC. 5. REPORT ON DELIVERY OF UNITED STATES HUMANI10 TARIAN ASSISTANCE TO SYRIA. 

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

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

13 and the Administrator of the United States Agency for 

14 International Development shall submit to the appropriate 

15 congressional committees a report on delivery of United 

16 States humanitarian assistance to Syria. 

17 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The report re18 quired by subsection (a) shall include the following: 

19 (1) A description of the challenges of access to 

20 areas of Syria controlled by the Government of Syria 

21 or associated forces for purposes of providing United 

22 States humanitarian assistance, including assistance 

23 funded through multilateral institutions and inter24 national governmental organizations. 


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1 (2) A description of where such United States 

2 humanitarian assistance has been able to be deliv3 ered in such areas. 

4 (3) A description of where such United States 

5 humanitarian assistance has been denied access in 

6 such areas. 

7 (4) A description of how the United States Gov8 ernment is working to improve access to such areas. 

9 (5) A description of the roles and responsibil10 ities of United States allies and partners and other 

11 countries in the region in ensuring access to such 

12 areas. 

13 (6) A description of how such United States hu14 manitarian assistance and implementing partners of 

15 such assistance are monitored and evaluated. 

16 (7) A description of the major challenges that 

17 the United States faces in monitoring such United 

18 States humanitarian assistance and how the United 

19 States is working to overcome such challenges. 

20 (8) A description of the strategy of the United 

21 States to deliver humanitarian assistance to areas of 

22 Syria controlled by the Government of Syria or asso23 ciated forces and in which the Government of Syria 

24 or associated forces is impeding access to such 

25 areas. 


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1 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the term ‘‘appro2 priate congressional committees’’ and ‘‘associated forces’’ 

3 have the meanings given such terms in section 4(d). 

Æ 


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