IV 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 508 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President 
of the United States should use the full authority of his office to convene 
international negotiations intended to stop the civil war in Syria. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 2, 2015 
Mr. HIMES (for himself, Mr. RUSH, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. 
MOULTON, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. 
KILMER, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. ESTY, Mr. 
MCDERMOTT, Mr. ELLISON, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. CARNEY, Mr. 
TED LIEU of California, Mr. HONDA, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. JACKSON LEE, 
Mr. MCGOVERN, and Mr. POCAN) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the President of the United States should use the full 
authority of his office to convene international negotia-
tions intended to stop the civil war in Syria. 
Whereas, as of September 2015, the Syrian civil war has now 
lasted more than 4 years, resulting in the deaths of more 
than 300,000 people, creating more than 4,100,000 refu-
gees, and displacing more than 7,600,000 people within 
the country; 
Whereas the refugee crisis has been an immense and poten-
tially destabilizing challenge to the Middle East region, 
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and is now affecting Europe and the United States, 
which have already spent billions in resources in humani-
tarian assistance; 
Whereas continued military escalation, including the intro-
duction of military equipment, personnel, and air strikes 
by Russia, as well as the introduction of the Quds Force 
of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, will further the dev-
astation of the Syrian populace, exacerbate the refugee 
crisis, and risk potentially dangerous unintended encoun-
ters between the belligerents; 
Whereas the current United States strategies to resolve the 
conflict and defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Le-
vant in Syria have not been effective; 
Whereas this includes the military strategy to train, equip, 
and support Syrian rebels, as well as other efforts to re-
move President al-Assad and ensure peace and stability 
in the country; 
Whereas the United States, the United Nations, and the 
international community did attempt significant steps to 
resolve the conflict and transition to a new government 
in Syria in the Geneva I Conference on Syria on June 
30, 2012, and the Geneva II Conference on Syria in Jan-
uary and February of 2014; 
Whereas President Barack Obama and Secretary of State 
John Kerry made concerted efforts on September 27, 
2015, through September 30, 2015, at the United Na-
tions and with their Russian counterparts, President 
Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov, to seek a negotiated 
solution to the conflict in Syria, which is in the best secu-
rity and moral interests of the United States; and 
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Whereas Secretary of State John Kerry has followed these 
diplomatic efforts by participating in the multinational 
Vienna II talks on the political resolution of the Syrian 
conflict beginning on October 30, 2015: Now, therefore, 
be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) calls on the President to convene inter-
national negotiations intended to stop the civil war 
in Syria, which can and should include further pur-
suing the Vienna II effort; 
(2) requests that these negotiations— 
(A) stabilize the country and provide for 
political change towards a popularly supported, 
accountable Syrian leadership; 
(B) implement immediate measures to pro-
tect, and stem the flow of, refugees from Syria 
and provide for the return of those who have 
fled; and 
(C) create a coordinated international 
strategy for the defeat of the Islamic State of 
Iraq and the Levant, which is in the best inter-
ests of all international parties; and 
(3) calls on the other nations that have an in-
terest or involvement in the region and conflict to 
join these negotiations and commit to transitioning 
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from the current al-Assad government and coun-
tering the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. 
Æ 
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