A resolution expressing deepest condolences to and solidarity with the people of Turkiye and Syria following the devastating earthquake on February 6, 2023.

III 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 76 Expressing deepest condolences to and solidarity with the people of Tu¨rkiye and Syria following the devastating earthquake on February 6, 2023. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 16, 2023 Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. CRAMER, and Mr. DURBIN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations MARCH 29, 2023 Committee discharged; considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Expressing deepest condolences to and solidarity with the people of Tu¨rkiye and Syria following the devastating earthquake on February 6, 2023. Whereas, on February 6, 2023, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southern and central Tu¨rkiye, a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally, and western Syria; Whereas this is the most powerful earthquake recorded in Tu¨rkiye since 1939; Whereas, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake epicenter was located approxi- mately 16 miles east of Nurdagi, in Tu¨rkiye’s Gaziantep province; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Mar 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR76.ATS SR76 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 SRES 76 ATS Whereas the USGS has registered more than 100 aftershocks between magnitudes 4.5 and 7.5; Whereas the reported death toll has reached 42,000, thou- sands more people have been reported injured, hundreds of thousands have been displaced from their homes, and thousands of buildings have collapsed; Whereas the World Health Organization estimates that 23,000,000 people, including 1,400,000 children, in Tu¨rkiye and Syria have likely been affected by the earth- quake and more than 4,000,000 people already rely on humanitarian assistance in the region of northwest Syria that was affected by the earthquake; Whereas countless people in the region and across the world have lost family, friends, and loved ones to the earth- quakes and will be mourning their loss; Whereas the United States Government responded imme- diately to the disaster and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has deployed a nearly 200-member Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to Tu¨rkiye, including nearly 160 urban search- and-rescue teams, to provide life-saving assistance on both sides of the Tu¨rkiye-Syria border; Whereas USAID has committed $85,000,000 to date for USAID’s humanitarian partners to deliver urgently need- ed aid for millions of people in Tu¨rkiye and Syria; Whereas individuals, businesses, and philanthropic and hu- manitarian organizations across the United States and throughout the international community have responded in support of Tu¨rkiye and Syria; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Mar 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR76.ATS SR76 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 SRES 76 ATS Whereas humanitarian access has been constrained by road closures, infrastructural damage, and weather conditions in Tu¨rkiye; and Whereas access to the one official crossing for cross-border aid from the United Nations from Tu¨rkiye to northern Syria was heavily damaged, further delaying humani- tarian access: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) expresses its deepest condolences to and sol- 2 idarity with the people of Tu¨rkiye and Syria fol- 3 lowing the devastating earthquake on February 6, 4 2023; 5 (2) commends the efforts and honors the sac- 6 rifice of the men and women engaged in the humani- 7 tarian response on the ground in the affected re- 8 gions of Tu¨rkiye and Syria; 9 (3) commends as well the international humani- 10 tarian and nongovernmental organizations engaged 11 in this effort; 12 (4) urges the United States Government, in co- 13 ordination with appropriate local authorities in 14 Tu¨rkiye and internationally recognized organizations 15 and institutions in Syria, as well as other donors, to 16 continue to provide emergency relief and reconstruc- 17 tion efforts in both countries as provided in the hu- 18 manitarian exemptions of the United States Treas- 19 ury’s Syria Sanctions program; 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Mar 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR76.ATS SR76 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 SRES 76 ATS (5) urges the United States Government to en- 1 sure that earthquake assistance does not— 2 (A) violate the Caesar Syria Civilian Pro- 3 tection Act of 2019 (title LXXIV of Public Law 4 116–92; 22 U.S.C. 8791 note); 5 (B) facilitate reconstruction efforts that di- 6 rectly benefit the Assad regime; 7 (C) signal or support normalization with 8 the Assad regime; or 9 (D) fuel continued regime atrocities 10 against the people of Syria; 11 (6) encourages efforts by the North Atlantic 12 Treaty Organization and allies to assist Tu¨rkiye by 13 providing— 14 (A) search-and-rescue teams; 15 (B) firefighters and structural engineers; 16 (C) medical personnel and supplies; and 17 (D) technical experts; 18 (7) urges the international community to con- 19 tinue to find alternative border crossings to ensure 20 aid gets into affected areas in Syria; 21 (8) calls on the United Nations Security Coun- 22 cil, to pass a resolution to allow for additional bor- 23 der crossings from Tu¨rkiye into northern Syria for 24 aid convoys; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Mar 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR76.ATS SR76 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 SRES 76 ATS (9) to allow full access for humanitarian aid or- 1 ganizations, urges the immediate cessation of vio- 2 lence in northern Syria. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:34 Mar 30, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR76.ATS SR76 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB