No Assistance for Assad Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1706 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 MARCH 13, 2019 Mr. ENGEL (for himself, Mr. KINZINGER, Mr. MCCAUL, and Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Com- mittee 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 Gov- ernment of Syria or associated forces, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘No Assistance for 4 Assad Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress makes the following findings: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1706.IH H1706 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1706 IH (1) Seven years into the conflict in Syria, over 1 11 million Syrians have been displaced from their 2 homes and more than 470,000 have been killed. 3 (2) Since the conflict in Syria began, the 4 United States has provided more than $7.7 billion to 5 meet humanitarian needs of the Syrian people, mak- 6 ing the United States the world’s single largest 7 donor to the Syrian humanitarian response. 8 (3) It is estimated that the reconstruction of 9 Syria could cost between $200 and $350 billion. 10 (4) According to the 2018 Transparency Inter- 11 national Corruption Index, Syria is among the most 12 corrupt countries in the world. 13 (5) In August 2017, the Government of the 14 People’s Republic of China hosted a trade fair in 15 Syria, and a Chinese-Arab business group an- 16 nounced a $2 billion commitment from the Chinese 17 Government to fund the construction of industrial 18 parks in Syria. 19 (6) The Russian Federation’s Chamber of Com- 20 merce and Industry stated that Russian businesses 21 will have first ‘‘priority’’ in the allotment of recon- 22 struction funds that Syria receives, and Russia 23 signed a bilateral agreement with Syria giving Rus- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1706.IH H1706 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1706 IH sia exclusive oil and gas rights in areas under Assad 1 regime control. 2 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 3 It is the policy of the United States that United 4 States foreign assistance made available for reconstruction 5 or stabilization in Syria should be used only in a demo- 6 cratic Syria or in areas of Syria not controlled by a gov- 7 ernment led by Bashar al-Assad or associated forces. 8 SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON ASSISTANCE FOR AREAS OF SYRIA 9 CONTROLLED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF 10 SYRIA OR ASSOCIATED FORCES. 11 (a) LIMITATION.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub- 13 section (c), for each of the fiscal years 2020 through 14 2024, amounts authorized to be appropriated or oth- 15 erwise made available for assistance described in 16 paragraph (2) may not be provided, directly or indi- 17 rectly, for any area of Syria controlled by the Gov- 18 ernment of Syria or associated forces, as determined 19 by the Secretary of State, unless a certification de- 20 scribed in subsection (b) is in effect. 21 (2) ASSISTANCE DESCRIBED.—Assistance re- 22 ferred to in paragraph (1) is the following: 23 (A) Assistance to carry out stabilization 24 activities for the relevant area. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1706.IH H1706 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1706 IH (B) Assistance to carry out reconstruction 1 activities for the relevant area. 2 (b) CERTIFICATION.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—A certification described in 4 this subsection is a certification submitted by the 5 President to the appropriate congressional commit- 6 tees that contains a determination that the following 7 criteria have been met: 8 (A) The air space over Syria is no longer 9 being utilized by the Government of Syria or 10 the Government of the Russian Federation to 11 target civilian populations through the use of 12 incendiary devices, including barrel bombs, 13 chemical weapons, and conventional arms, in- 14 cluding air-delivered missiles and explosives. 15 (B) Areas of Syria besieged by the forces 16 of the Government of Syria, the Government of 17 the Russian Federation, the Government of 18 Iran, or associated forces are no longer cut off 19 from international aid and have regular access 20 to humanitarian assistance, freedom of travel, 21 and medical care. 22 (C) The Government of Syria is releasing 23 all political prisoners forcibly held within the 24 prison system of the regime of Bashar al-Assad 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1706.IH H1706 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1706 IH and the Government of Syria is allowing full ac- 1 cess to the same facilities for investigations by 2 appropriate international human rights organi- 3 zations. 4 (D) The forces of the Government of 5 Syria, the Government of the Russian Federa- 6 tion, the Government of Iran, and associated 7 forces are no longer engaged in deliberate tar- 8 geting of medical facilities, schools, residential 9 areas, and community gathering places, includ- 10 ing markets, in violation of international norms. 11 (E) The Government of Syria is— 12 (i) taking steps to verifiably fulfill its 13 commitments under the Convention on the 14 Prohibition of the Development, Produc- 15 tion, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical 16 Weapons and on their Destruction, done at 17 Geneva September 3, 1992, and entered 18 into force April 29, 1997 (commonly 19 known as the ‘‘Chemical Weapons Conven- 20 tion’’), and the Treaty on the Non-Pro- 21 liferation of Nuclear Weapons, done at 22 Washington, London, and Moscow July 1, 23 1968, and entered into force March 5, 24 1970 (21 UST 483); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1706.IH H1706 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1706 IH (ii) making tangible progress toward 1 becoming a signatory to the Convention on 2 the Prohibition of the Development, Pro- 3 duction and Stockpiling of Bacteriological 4 (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on 5 their Destruction, done at Washington, 6 London, and Moscow April 10, 1972, and 7 entered into force March 26, 1975 (26 8 UST 583). 9 (F) The Government of Syria is permitting 10 the safe, voluntary, and dignified return of Syr- 11 ians displaced by the conflict. 12 (G) The Government of Syria is taking 13 verifiable steps to establish meaningful account- 14 ability for perpetrators of war crimes in Syria 15 and justice for victims of war crimes committed 16 by the Assad regime, including by participation 17 in a credible and independent truth and rec- 18 onciliation process. 19 (H) The Government of Syria has halted 20 the development and deployment of ballistic and 21 cruise missiles. 22 (2) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—A certification shall 23 be in effect under this subsection for a period of 90 24 days beginning on the date on which the President 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1706.IH H1706 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1706 IH submits the certification to the appropriate congres- 1 sional committees. 2 (3) RENEWAL OR REPORT.—Not later than 90 3 days after the date on which the President submits 4 to the appropriate congressional committees a cer- 5 tification under this subsection the President shall 6 submit to the appropriate congressional committees 7 either— 8 (A) a new certification under this sub- 9 section indicating that the conditions described 10 in paragraph (1) are continuing to be met; or 11 (B) a report that— 12 (i) describes why the President is un- 13 able to make a new certification under this 14 subsection; and 15 (ii) contains a certification that no 16 funds will be obligated or expended to pro- 17 vide assistance described in subsection (a) 18 in contravention of subsection (a). 19 (c) EXCEPTION.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The limitation on assistance 21 under subsection (a) shall not apply with respect 22 to— 23 (A) assistance for projects to be adminis- 24 tered by local organizations that reflect the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1706.IH H1706 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1706 IH aims, needs, and priorities of local communities 1 in Syria; 2 (B) assistance for projects to meet basic 3 human needs in Syria, including— 4 (i) drought relief; 5 (ii) assistance to refugees, internally 6 displaced persons, and conflict victims; 7 (iii) the distribution of food and medi- 8 cine; and 9 (iv) the provision of health services; 10 and 11 (C) assistance to carry out the activities 12 described in subsection (b)(1)(E). 13 (2) REPORT AND DETERMINATION.—The Presi- 14 dent shall submit to the appropriate congressional 15 committees a report and determination for each of 16 the fiscal years 2020 through 2024 on each project 17 with respect to which this subsection applies during 18 the preceding fiscal year, including— 19 (A) a description of the project; 20 (B) a description of how United States 21 funds with respect to the project were used; 22 (C) the geographic location or locations of 23 the project; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1706.IH H1706 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1706 IH (D) a determination with respect to wheth- 1 er the project benefitted an official of the Assad 2 regime. 3 (3) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 4 Congress that, to the greatest extent practicable, the 5 United States should not fund projects described in 6 this subsection with respect to which the Govern- 7 ment of Syria, any official of the Government of 8 Syria, and any immediate family member of an offi- 9 cial of the Government of Syria have a financial or 10 material interest or are affiliated with the imple- 11 menting partner of the project. 12 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 13 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 14 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 15 mittees’’ means— 16 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 17 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 18 of Representatives; and 19 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 20 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 21 Senate. 22 (2) ASSOCIATED FORCES.—The term ‘‘associ- 23 ated forces’’ includes forces of the Government of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1706.IH H1706 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1706 IH the Russian Federation, the Government of Iran, 1 Iranian-backed proxy militias, and Hezbollah. 2 (3) DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY.—The term ‘‘di- 3 rectly or indirectly’’ includes assistance to multilat- 4 eral institutions and international governmental or- 5 ganizations, such as the United Nations and related 6 agencies, the International Monetary Fund, and the 7 World Bank. 8 SEC. 5. REPORT ON DELIVERY OF UNITED STATES HUMANI- 9 TARIAN ASSISTANCE TO SYRIA. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 11 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 12 and the Administrator of the United States Agency for 13 International Development shall submit to the appropriate 14 congressional committees a report on delivery of United 15 States humanitarian assistance to Syria. 16 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The report re- 17 quired by subsection (a) shall include the following: 18 (1) A description of the challenges of access to 19 areas of Syria controlled by the Government of Syria 20 or associated forces for purposes of providing United 21 States humanitarian assistance, including assistance 22 funded through multilateral institutions and inter- 23 national governmental organizations. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1706.IH H1706 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1706 IH (2) A description of where such United States 1 humanitarian assistance has been able to be deliv- 2 ered in such areas. 3 (3) A description of where such United States 4 humanitarian assistance has been denied access in 5 such areas. 6 (4) A description of how the United States Gov- 7 ernment is working to improve access to such areas. 8 (5) A description of the roles and responsibil- 9 ities of United States allies and partners and other 10 countries in the region in ensuring access to such 11 areas. 12 (6) A description of how such United States hu- 13 manitarian assistance and implementing partners of 14 such assistance are monitored and evaluated. 15 (7) A description of the major challenges that 16 the United States faces in monitoring such United 17 States humanitarian assistance and how the United 18 States is working to overcome such challenges. 19 (8) A description of the strategy of the United 20 States to deliver humanitarian assistance to areas of 21 Syria controlled by the Government of Syria or asso- 22 ciated forces and in which the Government of Syria 23 or associated forces is impeding access to such 24 areas. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1706.IH H1706 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1706 IH (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the term ‘‘appro- 1 priate congressional committees’’ and ‘‘associated forces’’ 2 have the meanings given such terms in section 4(d). 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:00 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1706.IH H1706 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS