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(3) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 
‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’ means— 
(A) the congressional defense committees; 
(B) the Permanent Select Committee on 
Intelligence of the House of Representatives 
and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the 
Senate; and 
(C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 
the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. 
(c) FORM.—Each report required by this section shall 
be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a clas-
sified annex, if necessary. 
SEC. 1250. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATIONS RELATING TO 
STATUS OF FORCES AGREEMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—With respect to an agreement on 
the status of forces between the United States and a for-
eign country, the Secretary of Defense, in consultation 
with the Secretary of State, shall notify the appropriate 
congressional committees not later than 15 days after the 
date on which the agreement is signed, renewed, amended 
or otherwise revised, or terminated. 
(b) BRIEFINGS REQUIRED.—Not later than February 
1 of each calendar year, the Secretary of Defense, in con-
sultation with the Secretary of State, shall provide a brief-
706 
ing to the appropriate congressional committees on the fol-
lowing: 
(1) Status of forces agreements that the United 
States will seek to enter into in such calendar year. 
(2) Status of forces agreements that have ex-
pired and which the United States will seek to renew 
in such calendar year. 
(3) Amendments to status of forces agreements 
that the Secretary of Defense determines to be sub-
stantial and are likely to be negotiated in such cal-
endar year. 
(c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 
In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(1) the congressional defense committees; and 
(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 
House of Representatives. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 
on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply 
with respect to an agreement described in subsection (a) 
that is signed on or after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
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SEC. 1251. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON THE CONFLICT IN 
SYRIA. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) The conflict in Syria began in March 2011. 
(2) As of February 2013, the United Nations 
High Commissioner for Human Rights estimated 
that approximately 70,000 Syrians have been killed 
during the conflict. 
(3) According to the United Nations High Com-
missioner for Refugees, over 1,200,000 Syrians are 
registered refugees or persons of concern including, 
over 66,000 in Egypt, over 145,000 in Iraq, over 
461,000 in Jordan, over 462,000 in Lebanon, and 
over 329,000 in Turkey. 
(4) Jabhat al-Nusra, a group located in Syria 
and categorized as an affiliate of al-Qaeda by the in-
telligence community, presents a direct threat to the 
interests of the United States and could present a 
direct threat to the United States. 
(5) On August 19, 2011, President Obama 
stated: ‘‘The future of Syria must be determined by 
its people, but President Bashar al-Assad is stand-
ing in their way. We have consistently said that 
President Assad must lead a democratic transition 
or get out of the way. He has not led. For the sake
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of the Syrian people, the time has come for Presi-
dent Assad to step aside.’’. 
(6) The United States is deploying 200 military 
personnel from the headquarters of the 1st Armored 
Division to Jordan in order to ‘‘improve readiness 
and prepare for a number of scenarios’’. 
(7) In a letter from Miguel Rodriguez, the As-
sistant to the President for Legislative Affairs, to 
Senators McCain and Levin, dated April 25, 2013, 
it stated that ‘‘our intelligence community does as-
sess with varying degrees of confidence that the Syr-
ian regime has used chemical weapons on a small 
scale in Syria, specifically, the chemical agent sarin 
* * * We do believe that any use of chemical weap-
ons in Syria would very likely have originated with 
the Assad regime * * * the President has made it 
clear that the use of chemical weapons—or the 
transfer of chemical weapons to terrorist groups—is 
a red line for the United States of America’’. 
(8) In a press conference with Israel Prime 
Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, President Obama 
stated: ‘‘I have made clear that the use of chemical 
weapons is a game-changer’’. 
(9) In August 2012, during a White House 
press conference, President Obama stated: ‘‘We have
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been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to 
other players on the ground, that a redline for us is 
we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons 
moving around or being utilized.’’. 
(10) It is a threat to the vital national security 
interest of the United States if terrorist groups, 
such as al-Qaeda, obtain chemical or biological mate-
rial or weapons in Syria. 
(11) At a Pentagon press conference on May 2, 
2013, Secretary Hagel confirmed that the Obama 
Administration is re-thinking its opposition to arm-
ing the rebels. 
(12) On April 11, 2013, responding to a ques-
tion about the need for a supplemental funding re-
quest for any potential United States military effort 
in Syria, Secretary Hagel stated: ‘‘Yes, I think it is 
pretty clear that a supplemental would be re-
quired.’’. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
(1) President Obama should have a comprehen-
sive policy and should ensure robust contingency 
planning to secure United States’ interests in Syria;