IIB 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4681 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
APRIL 25, 2018 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 
AN ACT 
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, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Assistance for 
Assad Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) Seven years into the conflict in Syria, over 
11 million Syrians have been displaced from their 
homes and more than 400,000 have been killed. 
(2) Since the conflict in Syria began, the 
United States has provided more than $7.6 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 2016 Transparency Inter-
national Corruption Index, Syria is among the most 
corrupt countries in the world. 
(5) In October 2015, a visiting Russian delega-
tion to Syria announced that Russian firms would 
lead in the effort to rebuild Syria, and Syrian Presi-
dent Bashar al-Assad reportedly said, ‘‘Syria is 
ready to provide Russian companies with all the con-
tracts worth hundreds of billions of dollars.’’. 
(6) In August 2017, the Government of the 
People’s Republic of China hosted a trade fair in 
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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. 
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It is the policy of the United States that United 
States foreign assistance made available for early recov-
ery, reconstruction, or stabilization in Syria should be 
used only in a democratic Syria or in areas of Syria not 
controlled by a government led by Bashar al-Assad or as-
sociated 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 2019 through 
2023, 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. 
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(2) ASSISTANCE
DESCRIBED.—Assistance re-
ferred to in paragraph (1) is the following: 
(A) Assistance to carry out stabilization 
activities for the relevant area. 
(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 Govern-
ment of Syria— 
(A) has ceased attacks against civilians 
and civilian infrastructure as such, including at-
tacks against medical facilities and personnel, 
and the indiscriminate use of weapons, includ-
ing through shelling and aerial bombardment, 
as demanded in United Nations Security Coun-
cil Resolution 2254 (2015); 
(B) is taking verifiable steps to release all 
political prisoners and is providing full access to 
Syrian prisons for investigations by appropriate 
international human rights organizations; 
(C) is taking verifiable steps to remove 
from government positions senior officials of the 
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Government of Syria who are complicit in the 
planning or commission of war crimes, crimes 
against humanity, or human rights abuses, as 
well as any government official subject to sanc-
tions under any provision of law; 
(D) is organizing free and fair elections for 
a new government to be held in a timely man-
ner and under the supervision of United Na-
tions observers, with all Syrians, including 
members of the diaspora, eligible to participate, 
as supported in United Nations Security Coun-
cil Resolution 2254 (2015); 
(E) is making tangible progress toward es-
tablishing an independent judiciary; 
(F) is demonstrating respect for and com-
pliance with internationally recognized human 
rights and basic freedoms as specified in the 
Universal Declaration of Human Rights; 
(G) is taking steps to verifiably fulfill its 
commitments under the Convention on the Pro-
hibition of the Development, Production, Stock-
piling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on 
their Destruction and the Treaty on the Non- 
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, is making 
tangible progress toward becoming a signatory 
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