IV 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 346 
Condemning the use of toxic chemicals as weapons in the Syrian Arab 
Republic. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 25, 2015 
Mr. YOHO (for himself, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. WILSON of 
South Carolina, Mr. COOK, Mr. RIBBLE, Mr. ISSA, and Mr. CLAWSON of 
Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Condemning the use of toxic chemicals as weapons in the 
Syrian Arab Republic. 
Whereas, as a result of over four years of civil war in the 
Syrian Arab Republic, Syrian deaths have climbed to 
more than 230,000 deaths, and more than 6,000,000 
Syrians have been displaced; 
Whereas the United Nations Mission to Investigate Allega-
tions of the Use of Chemical Weapons in the Syrian Arab 
Republic released its report on September 16, 2013, con-
firming that surface-to-surface rockets containing the 
nerve agent Sarin were used in the Ghouta area of Da-
mascus on August 21, 2013, an attack which killed over 
1,400 people according to a United States Government 
assessment; 
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•HRES 346 IH 
Whereas the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical 
Weapons (OPCW) Executive Council adopted a decision 
on September 27, 2013, which required Syria to destroy 
its chemical weapons program by June 30, 2014; 
Whereas a White House statement on August 18, 2014, 
marking the end of destruction operations on the MV 
Cape Ray said that ‘‘serious questions remain with re-
spect to the omissions and discrepancies in Syria’s dec-
laration to the OPCW and about continued allegations of 
use’’; 
Whereas chlorine gas attacks in northern Syria have been re-
peatedly reported since mid-April 2014; 
Whereas although chlorine is not required to be declared or 
destroyed under the Chemical Weapons Convention, its 
use in warfare is still prohibited under the Convention; 
Whereas the OPCW established a Fact-Finding Mission to 
investigate allegations of the use of weaponized chlorine; 
Whereas in the OPCW’s second report released on September 
10, 2014, the investigators concluded they have ‘‘compel-
ling confirmation’’ that a toxic chemical was used ‘‘sys-
tematically and repeatedly’’ as a weapon against villages 
in northern Syria and that ‘‘chlorine, either pure or in 
mixture’’ was used in attacks on the villages of 
Talmanes, Al Tamanah, and Kafr Zeta; 
Whereas, on March 6, 2015, the United Nations Security 
Council adopted Resolution 2209 (2015), condemning the 
use of chlorine gas as a weapon in Syria and that those 
responsible for the use of chemical weapons including 
chlorine must be held accountable; 
Whereas in a June 16, 2015, hearing of the House Foreign 
Affairs Committee, United States Permanent Representa-
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•HRES 346 IH 
tive to the United Nations, Samantha Power, testified 
that there are alarming and grave reports that the Assad 
regime has been turning chlorine into a chemical weapon; 
Whereas Secretary of State John Kerry stated on June 16, 
2015, that he was ‘‘absolutely certain’’ that the Assad re-
gime has used chlorine against his people; 
Whereas despite the adoption of United Nations Security 
Council Resolution 2209, the Assad regime has continued 
its chlorine attacks; 
Whereas chemical weapons, including chlorine, are but one of 
the many heinous and violent methods with which the 
Assad regime kills its own citizens; 
Whereas barrel bombs dropped from helicopters are the pri-
mary method of delivery for the Assad regime’s chemical 
weapons; 
Whereas the Assad regime’s control over Syrian airspace fa-
cilitates his regime’s use of chlorine gas against his citi-
zens; and 
Whereas Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mar-
tin Dempsey stated in a letter to Congress that a no-fly 
zone would result in ‘‘the near total elimination of the re-
gime’s ability to bomb opposition strongholds and sustain 
its forces by air’’: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) condemns the Assad regime for its atrocities 
against the Syrian people, including its use of chlo-
rine as a weapon; 
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(2) condemns the use of any toxic chemical, in-
cluding chlorine, as a weapon in the Syrian Arab 
Republic; 
(3) maintains that those who have engaged in 
such unlawful actions should be held accountable by 
the international community and urges the President 
to report to Congress on the use of chemical weap-
ons, including chlorine, in Syria; 
(4) maintains that no party in Syria should use, 
develop, produce, acquire, stockpile, retain, or trans-
fer chemical weapons, including weapons employing 
chlorine; 
(5) calls on the Administration to— 
(A) continue offering material support to 
appropriate programs and individuals collecting 
evidence of the use of chemical weapons inside 
of Syria; 
(B) assist in the cataloguing and preserva-
tion of evidence of use and responsibility of use 
of chemical weapons; and 
(C) facilitate the future transfer of evi-
dence of the use of chemical weapons to an ap-
propriate legal forum for use in prosecuting 
those responsible for the illegal use of chemical 
weapons; and 
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(6) urges the international community to estab-
lish a comprehensive strategy regarding Syria which 
may include the possibility of establishing a no-fly 
zone in Syria. 
Æ 
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