Title: No Assistance for Assad Act
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
No Assistance for Assad Act
This bill prohibits FY2018-FY2022 reconstruction or stabilization assistance from being provided for any area of Syria controlled by the Syrian government or associated forces unless the President certifies that the Syrian government has stopped attacking civilians and is making progress in areas such as human rights, complying with international obligations, ending missile development and deployment, and refugee repatriation.
The President shall recertify whether such conditions are being met every 90 days.
Such prohibition shall not apply to assistance for locally administered projects and humanitarian needs.
The Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development shall report to Congress regarding the delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance to Syria.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4681 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4681

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

                           December 19, 2017

Mr. Engel (for himself, Mr. Kinzinger, Mr. Royce of California, and Mr. 
Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which 
 was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to 
 the Committee 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 Government of 
          Syria or associated forces, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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:
            (1) Six years into the conflict in Syria, over 11 million 
        Syrians have been displaced from their homes and over 400,000 
        civilians have been killed.
            (2) Since the conflict in Syria began, the United States 
        has provided more than $7.4 billion to meet humanitarian needs 
        of the Syrian people, making the United States the world's 
        single largest donor to the Syrian humanitarian response.
            (3) As the Syrian regime continues the use cluster 
        munitions to carry out indiscriminate attacks against 
        civilians, the United States has played an essential role in 
        clearing unexploded ordnance in Syria, as civilians seek to 
        return home to areas liberated from Islamic State of Iraq and 
        Syria (ISIS).
            (4) It is estimated that the reconstruction of Syria could 
        cost between $200 and $350 billion.
            (5) According to the 2016 Transparency International 
        Corruption Index, Syria is among the most corrupt countries in 
        the world.
            (6) Reconstruction funds can be expected to be siphoned off 
        to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, given the 
        rampant corruption.
            (7) In October 2015, a visiting Russian delegation to Syria 
        announced that Russian firms would lead in the effort to 
        rebuild Syria, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reportedly 
        said, ``Syria is ready to provide Russian companies with all 
        the contracts worth hundreds of billions of dollars.''.
            (8) In August 2017, the Government of the People's Republic 
        of China hosted a trade fair in Syria, and a Chinese-Arab 
        business group announced a $2,000,000,000 commitment from the 
        Chinese government to fund the construction of industrial parks 
        in Syria.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It shall be the policy of the United States that United States 
assistance made available for early recovery, reconstruction, or 
stabilization in Syria should be used in a democratic Syria or in areas 
of Syria not controlled by the Government of Syria 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 subsection (d), 
        amounts authorized to be appropriated for each of the fiscal 
        years 2018 through 2022 for assistance described in paragraph 
        (2) may be provided under any other provision of law, directly 
        or indirectly, for any area of Syria controlled by the 
        Government of Syria or associated forces only during a period 
        for which a certification described in subsection (b) is in 
        effect.
            (2) Assistance described.--Assistance referred to in 
        paragraph (1) is the following:
                    (A) Assistance to enable disaster-affected 
                populations to transition from dependence upon 
                emergency assistance to early recovery and self-
                reliance, including the restoration of basic services, 
                livelihoods, shelter, and security, and the 
                reintegration of displaced populations.
                    (B) Assistance to carry out stabilization 
                activities for the relevant area.
                    (C) Assistance to carry out reconstruction 
                activities for the relevant area.
    (b) Certification.--A certification described in this subsection is 
a certification submitted by the President to the appropriate 
congressional committees that contains a determination of the President 
that the Government of Syria--
            (1) has ceased any attacks against civilians and civilian 
        infrastructure as such, including attacks against medical 
        facilities and personnel, and any indiscriminate use of 
        weapons, including through shelling and aerial bombardment, as 
        demanded in United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254 
        (2015);
            (2) 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;
            (3) is taking verifiable steps to remove senior officials 
        of the Government of Syria who are complicit in the planning, 
        implementation, or coverup of war crimes, crimes against 
        humanity, or human rights abuses and any person subject to 
        sanctions under any provision of law from government positions;
            (4) is in the process of organizing free and fair elections 
        for a new government to be held in a timely manner and to be 
        conducted under the supervision of United Nations observers 
        with all Syrians, including members of the diaspora, eligible 
        to participate, as supported in United Nations Security Council 
        Resolution 2254 (2015);
            (5) is making tangible progress toward establishing an 
        independent judiciary;
            (6) is demonstrating respect for and compliance with 
        internationally recognized human rights and basic freedoms as 
        specified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
            (7) is taking steps to verifiably fulfill its commitments 
        under the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, 
        Production, Stockpiling 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 to the Convention on the Prohibition of the 
        Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological 
        (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction, and 
        adhering to the Missile Technology Control Regime and other 
        control lists, as necessary;
            (8) has halted the development and deployment of ballistic 
        and cruise missiles;
            (9) is taking verifiable steps to remove from positions of 
        authority within the intelligence and security services as well 
        as the military those individuals who were in a position of 
        authority or responsibility during the conflict or who are in a 
        position of authority or responsibility during a transition and 
        who under the authority of their position are implicated in or 
        complicit in the torture, extrajudicial killing, or execution 
        of civilians, to include those who were involved in decision 
        making or execution of plans to use chemical weapons;
            (10) is making verifiable progress of reforming the Syrian 
        military and security services so as to minimize the Government 
        of Syria's reliance on Iran and Iranian proxy forces to act on 
        behalf or in support of Syria; and
            (11) is in the process of organizing the safe, unfettered 
        and voluntary return of Syrian refugees and internally 
        displaced persons to their homes so that Syrians may return 
        without fear of retribution by the Government of Syria or 
        associated forces.
    (c) Recertifications.--Not later than 90 days after the date on 
which the President submits to the appropriate congressional committees 
an initial certification under subsection (b), and every 90 days 
thereafter through September 30, 2022--
            (1) the President shall submit to the appropriate 
        congressional committees a recertification that the conditions 
        described in subsection (b) are continuing to be met; or
            (2) if the President is unable to make such a 
        recertification, the President shall submit to the appropriate 
        congressional committees a report that contains--
                    (A) the reasons for which the President is unable 
                to make such a recertification; and
                    (B) a certification that no funds will be obligated 
                or expended to provide assistance described in 
                subsection (a) in contravention of subsection (a).
    (d) Exception.--
            (1) In general.--The limitation on assistance under 
        subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to--
                    (A) assistance for projects to be administered by 
                local organizations that reflect the aims, needs, and 
                priorities of local communities in Syria; and
                    (B) assistance for projects to meet humanitarian 
                needs, including demining and needs for food, medicine, 
                medical supplies and equipment, education, and 
                clothing.
            (2) Report.--The President shall submit to the appropriate 
        congressional committees an annual report on each project with 
        respect to which this subsection applies during the preceding 
        calendar year, including--
                    (A) a description of the project;
                    (B) a description of how United States funds with 
                respect to the project were used;
                    (C) the geographic location or locations of the 
                project; and
                    (D) an identification of the implementing partner 
                and a list of senior officials of the implementing 
                partner.
            (3) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that, 
        to the extent practicable, the United States should only fund 
        projects described in this subsection with respect to which the 
        Government of Syria, any official of the Government of Syria, 
        and any immediate family member of an official of the 
        Government of Syria do not have a financial or material 
        interest and are not affiliated with the implementing partner 
        of the project.
    (e) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
                Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
                Representatives; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 
                Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
            (2) Associated forces.--The term ``associated forces'' 
        includes forces of the Government of the Russian Federation, 
        the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iranian-backed 
        proxy militias, and Hezbollah.
            (3) Directly or indirectly.--The term ``directly or 
        indirectly'' includes assistance to multilateral institutions 
        and international governmental organizations, such as the 
        United Nations and related agencies, the International Monetary 
        Fund, and the World Bank.

SEC. 5. REPORT ON DELIVERY OF UNITED STATES HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO 
              SYRIA.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State and the Administrator of 
the United States Agency for International Development shall submit to 
the appropriate congressional committees a report on delivery of United 
States humanitarian assistance to Syria.
    (b) Matters To Be Included.--The report required by subsection (a) 
shall include the following:
            (1) A description of the challenges of access to areas of 
        Syria controlled by the Government of Syria or associated 
        forces for purposes of providing United States humanitarian 
        assistance, including assistance funded through multilateral 
        institutions and international governmental organizations.
            (2) A description of where such United States humanitarian 
        assistance has been able to be delivered in such areas.
            (3) A description of where such United States humanitarian 
        assistance has been denied access in such areas.
            (4) A description of how the United States Government is 
        working to improve access to such areas.
            (5) A description of the roles and responsibilities of 
        United States allies and partners and other countries in the 
        region in ensuring access to such areas.
            (6) A description of how such United States humanitarian 
        assistance and implementing partners of such assistance are 
        monitored and evaluated.
            (7) A description of the major challenges that the United 
        States faces in monitoring such United States humanitarian 
        assistance and how the United States is working to overcome 
        such challenges.
            (8) A description of the strategy of the United States to 
        deliver humanitarian assistance to areas of Syria controlled by 
        the Government of Syria or associated forces and in which the 
        Government of Syria or associated forces is impeding access to 
        such areas.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section, the term ``appropriate 
congressional committees'' and ``associated forces'' have the meanings 
given such terms in section 4(f).
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