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 re-
ferred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Com-
mittee 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 Gov-
ernment of Syria or associated forces, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Assistance for 
Assad Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
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(1) Seven years into the conflict in Syria, over 
11 million Syrians have been displaced from their 
homes and more than 470,000 have been killed. 
(2) Since the conflict in Syria began, the 
United States has provided more than $7.7 billion to 
meet humanitarian needs of the Syrian people, mak-
ing the United States the world’s single largest 
donor to the Syrian humanitarian response. 
(3) It is estimated that the reconstruction of 
Syria could cost between $200 and $350 billion. 
(4) According to the 2018 Transparency Inter-
national Corruption Index, Syria is among the most 
corrupt countries in the world. 
(5) In August 2017, the Government of the 
People’s Republic of China hosted a trade fair in 
Syria, and a Chinese-Arab business group an-
nounced a $2 billion commitment from the Chinese 
Government to fund the construction of industrial 
parks in Syria. 
(6) The Russian Federation’s Chamber of Com-
merce and Industry stated that Russian businesses 
will have first ‘‘priority’’ in the allotment of recon-
struction funds that Syria receives, and Russia 
signed a bilateral agreement with Syria giving Rus-
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sia exclusive oil and gas rights in areas under Assad 
regime control. 
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It is the policy of the United States that United 
States foreign assistance made available for reconstruction 
or stabilization in Syria should be used only in a demo-
cratic Syria or in areas of Syria not controlled by a gov-
ernment led by Bashar al-Assad or associated forces. 
SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON ASSISTANCE FOR AREAS OF SYRIA 
CONTROLLED 
BY 
THE 
GOVERNMENT 
OF 
SYRIA OR ASSOCIATED FORCES. 
(a) LIMITATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub-
section (c), for each of the fiscal years 2020 through 
2024, amounts authorized to be appropriated or oth-
erwise made available for assistance described in 
paragraph (2) may not be provided, directly or indi-
rectly, for any area of Syria controlled by the Gov-
ernment of Syria or associated forces, as determined 
by the Secretary of State, unless a certification de-
scribed in subsection (b) is in effect. 
(2) ASSISTANCE
DESCRIBED.—Assistance re-
ferred to in paragraph (1) is the following: 
(A) Assistance to carry out stabilization 
activities for the relevant area. 
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(B) Assistance to carry out reconstruction 
activities for the relevant area. 
(b) CERTIFICATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A certification described in 
this subsection is a certification submitted by the 
President to the appropriate congressional commit-
tees that contains a determination that the following 
criteria have been met: 
(A) The air space over Syria is no longer 
being utilized by the Government of Syria or 
the Government of the Russian Federation to 
target civilian populations through the use of 
incendiary devices, including barrel bombs, 
chemical weapons, and conventional arms, in-
cluding air-delivered missiles and explosives. 
(B) Areas of Syria besieged by the forces 
of the Government of Syria, the Government of 
the Russian Federation, the Government of 
Iran, or associated forces are no longer cut off 
from international aid and have regular access 
to humanitarian assistance, freedom of travel, 
and medical care. 
(C) The Government of Syria is releasing 
all political prisoners forcibly held within the 
prison system of the regime of Bashar al-Assad 
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and the Government of Syria is allowing full ac-
cess to the same facilities for investigations by 
appropriate international human rights organi-
zations. 
(D) The forces of the Government of 
Syria, the Government of the Russian Federa-
tion, the Government of Iran, and associated 
forces are no longer engaged in deliberate tar-
geting of medical facilities, schools, residential 
areas, and community gathering places, includ-
ing markets, in violation of international norms. 
(E) The Government of Syria is— 
(i) taking steps to verifiably fulfill its 
commitments under the Convention on the 
Prohibition of the Development, Produc-
tion, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical 
Weapons and on their Destruction, done at 
Geneva September 3, 1992, and entered 
into force April 29, 1997 (commonly 
known as the ‘‘Chemical Weapons Conven-
tion’’), and the Treaty on the Non-Pro-
liferation of Nuclear Weapons, done at 
Washington, London, and Moscow July 1, 
1968, and entered into force March 5, 
1970 (21 UST 483); and 
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