[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2935 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2935
To prohibit any official action to recognize or normalize relations
with any Government of Syria that is led by Bashar al-Assad.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 27 (legislative day, September 22), 2023
Mr. Risch (for himself and Mr. Rubio) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit any official action to recognize or normalize relations
with any Government of Syria that is led by Bashar al-Assad.
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 ``Assad Regime Anti-Normalization Act
of 2023''.
SEC. 2. MODIFICATIONS TO THE CAESAR SYRIA CIVILIAN PROTECTION ACT.
(a) Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act.--Section 7412 of the
Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 (title LXXIV of the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020; 22 U.S.C. 8791
note) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``the President
shall impose'' and all that follows through the end of
the paragraph and inserting ``the President--
``(A) shall impose the sanctions described in
subsection (b) with respect to a foreign person that
the President determines--
``(i) knowingly engages, on or after such
date of enactment, in an activity described in
paragraph (2);
``(ii) is an adult family member of a
foreign person described in clause (i), unless
the President determines there is clear and
convincing evidence that such adult family
member has disassociated themselves from the
foreign person described in such clause and has
no history of helping such foreign person
conceal assets; or
``(iii) is owned or controlled by a foreign
person described in clause (i) or (ii); and
``(B) may impose the sanctions described in
subsection (b) with respect to a foreign person that
the President determines knowingly provides, on or
after such date of enactment, significant financial,
material, or technological support to a foreign person
engaging in an activity described in any of
subparagraphs (B) through (H) of paragraph (2);''.
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in subparagraph (A)--
(I) by amending clause (i) to read
as follows:
``(i) the Government of Syria (including
any entity owned or controlled by the
Government of Syria), a senior political figure
of the Government of Syria, a member of the
People's Assembly of Syria, or a senior foreign
political figure (as such term is defined in
section 101.605 of title 31, Code of Federal
Regulations) of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party
of Syria, including any such senior foreign
political figure who is--
``(I) a member of the Central
Command, Central Committee, or Auditing
and Inspection Committee of such Party;
or
``(II) a leader of a local branch
of such Party;'';
(II) in clause (ii), by striking
``or'' at the end;
(III) in clause (iii), by adding
``or'' after the semicolon; and
(IV) by adding at the end the
following:
``(iv) Syria Arab Airlines, Cham Wings, or
any foreign person owned or controlled by Syria
Arab Airlines or Cham Wings;'';
(ii) by amending subparagraph (C) to read
as follows:
``(C) knowingly sells or provides aircraft or spare
aircraft parts--
``(i) to the Government of Syria; or
``(ii) for or on behalf of the Government
of Syria to any foreign person operating in an
area directly or indirectly controlled by the
Government of Syria or foreign forces
associated with the Government of Syria;'';
(iii) in subparagraph (D), by striking
``or'' at the end;
(iv) in subparagraph (E)--
(I) by striking ``construction or
engineering services'' and inserting
``construction, engineering, or
commercial financial services''; and
(II) by striking the period at the
end and inserting a semicolon; and
(v) by adding at the end the following:
``(F) purposefully engages in or directs--
``(i) the diversion of goods (including
agricultural commodities, food, medicine, and
medical devices), or any international
humanitarian assistance, intended for the
people of Syria; or
``(ii) the dealing in proceeds from the
sale or resale of such diverted goods or
international humanitarian assistance, as the
case may be;
``(G) knowingly (directly or indirectly) engages in
or attempts to engage in, the seizure, confiscation,
theft, or expropriation for personal gain or political
purposes of property, including real property, in Syria
or owned by a citizen of Syria;
``(H) knowingly (directly or indirectly) engages in
or attempts to engage in a transaction or transactions
for or with such seized, confiscated, stolen, or
expropriated property described in subparagraph (G); or
``(I) knowingly provides significant financial,
material, or technological support to a foreign person
engaging in any activity described in subparagraph
(A).''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) Definitions.--In this section:
``(A) Appropriate congressional committees.--The
term `appropriate congressional committees' means--
``(i) the Committee on Foreign Relations of
the Senate;
``(ii) the Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs of the Senate;
``(iii) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of
the House of Representatives; and
``(iv) the Committee on Financial Services
of the House of Representatives.
``(B) Commercial financial services.--The term
`commercial financial services' means any transaction
between the Government of Syria and a foreign bank or
foreign financial institution operating in an area
under the control of the Government of Syria that has a
valuation of more than $5,000,000.
``(C) Financial institution.--The term `financial
institution' means a financial institution specified in
any of subparagraphs (A) through (K), (M), (N), (P),
(R), (T), (Y), or (Z) of section 5312(a)(2) of title
31, United States Code.
``(D) Significant transaction.--The term
````significant transaction'''' includes any natural
gas, electricity, or other energy-related transaction.
``(E) Transaction.--In making a determination under
subparagraph (a)(2)(A), the term `transaction' includes
in-kind transactions.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Congressional Requests.--Not later than 120 days after
receiving a request from the chairman and ranking member of 1 of the
appropriate congressional committees with respect to whether a foreign
person knowingly engages in an activity described in subsection (a)(2)
the President shall--
``(1) make the determination specified in subsection (a)(1)
with respect to such foreign person; and
``(2) submit, to the chairman and ranking member who
submitted the request, a report with respect to such
determination that includes a statement explaining whether the
President has imposed or intends to impose the sanctions
described in subsection (b) with respect to such foreign
person.''.
(b) Extension of Sunset.--Section 7438 of the Caesar Syria Civilian
Protection Act of 2019 (22 U.S.C. 8791 note), is amended by striking
``the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this
Act'' and inserting ``December 31, 2032''.
(c) Determinations With Respect to Syria Trust for Development.--
(1) Defined term.--In this subsection, the term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate;
(C) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs of the Senate;
(D) the Committee on Armed Services of the House of
Representatives;
(E) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives; and
(F) the Committee on Financial Services of the
House of Representatives.
(2) Determinations.--Not later than 120 days after the
enactment of this Act, the President shall--
(A) determine whether the nonprofit organization
chaired by Asma Al-Assad, the First Lady of Syria,
known as the ``Syria Trust for Development'' meets the
criteria for the imposition of sanctions--
(i) under section 7412(a) of the Caesar
Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019, as
amended by subsection (a);
(ii) under Executive Order 13894 (84 Fed.
Reg. 55851; relating to blocking property and
suspending entry of certain persons
contributing to the situation in Syria); or
(iii) by nature of being owned or
controlled by a person designated under any
executive order or regulation administered by
the Office of Foreign Assets Control; and
(B) submit to the appropriate congressional
committees each such determination, including a
justification for the determination.
(3) Form.--The determination made pursuant to paragraph
(2)(B) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but the
justification specified in such paragraph may be included in a
classified annex. The unclassified determination shall be made
available on a publicly available website of the Federal
government.
(d) Findings Regarding Applicability With Respect to Syrian Arab
Airlines, Cham Wings Airlines, and Related Entities.--Congress finds
the following:
(1) In 2013, the President identified Syrian Arab Airlines
as a blocked instrumentality or controlled entity of the
Government of Syria and concurrently sanctioned Syrian Arab
Airlines pursuant to Executive Order 13224 for acting for or on
behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force of
Iran.
(2) In 2016, the President sanctioned Syria-based Cham
Wings Airlines pursuant to Executive Order 13582 for having
materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial,
material, or technological support for, or goods or services in
support of, the Government of Syria and Syrian Arab Airlines.
(3) Section 7412(a)(2)(A)(iii) of the Caesar Syria Civilian
Protection Act of 2019 (22 U.S.C. 8791 note) mandates the
application of sanctions against any foreign person that
``knowingly provides significant financial, material, or
technological support to, or knowingly engages in a significant
transaction with . . . a foreign person subject to sanctions
pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50
U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) with respect to Syria or any other
provision of law that imposes sanctions with respect to
Syria,'', which applies to airport service providers outside of
Syria.
(e) Severability.--If any provision of this Act, or the application
of such provision to any person or circumstance, is found to be
unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, or the application of that
provision to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF RECOGNITION OF ASSAD REGIME.
(a) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States--
(1) not to recognize or normalize relations with any
Government of Syria that is led by Bashar al-Assad due to the
Assad regime's ongoing crimes against the Syrian people,
including failure to meet the criteria outlined in section
7431(a) of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 (22
U.S.C. 8791 note);
(2) to actively oppose recognition or normalization of
relations by other governments with any Government of Syria
that is led by Bashar Al-Assad, including by fully implementing
the mandatory primary and secondary sanctions in the Caesar
Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 (title LXXIV of Public
Law 116-92) and Executive Order 13894; and
(3) to use the full range of authorities, including those
provided under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019
and Executive Order 13894, to deter reconstruction activities
in areas under the control of Bashar al-Assad.
(b) Prohibition.--In accordance with subsection (a), no Federal
official or employee may take any action, and no Federal funds may be
made available, to recognize or otherwise imply, in any manner, United
States recognition of Bashar al-Assad or any Government in Syria that
is led by Bashar al-Assad.
SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY STRATEGY TO COUNTER NORMALIZATION WITH ASSAD
REGIME.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate;
(B) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs of the Senate;
(D) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(E) the Select Committee on Intelligence of the
Senate;
(F) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives;
(G) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives;
(H) the Committee on Financial Services of the
House of Representatives;
(I) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives; and
(J) the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
of the House of Representatives.
(2) Covered transaction.--The term ``covered transaction''
means a transaction, including an investment, grant, contract,
or donation (including a loan or other extension of credit)
that--
(A) is provided by a foreign person located in
Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq,
Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, or Lebanon; and
(B) is received by a person or entity in any area
of Syria held by the Assad regime.
(b) Report and Strategy Required.--
(1) Submission.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 5 years,
the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of
the Treasury, the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement
Administration, and the heads of other appropriate Federal
departments and agencies, shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report and strategy to describe and
counter actions taken or planned by foreign governments to
normalize, engage with, or upgrade political, diplomatic, or
economic ties with the regime led by Bashar al-Assad in Syria
(referred to in this section as the ``Assad regime'').
(2) Elements.--The elements of the report under paragraph
(1) shall include--
(A) a description of violations of international
law and human rights abuses committed by Bashar al-
Assad, the Government of the Russian Federation, or the
Government of Iran and progress towards justice and
accountability for the Syrian people;
(B) a full list of diplomatic meetings at the
Ambassador level or above, between the Syrian regime
and any representative of the Governments of Turkey,
the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Oman,
Bahrain, Kuwait, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Tunisia,
Algeria, Morocco, Libya, or Lebanon, respectively;
(C) a list including an identification of--
(i) any single covered transaction
exceeding $500,000; and
(ii) any combination of covered
transactions by the same source that, in
aggregate, exceed $500,000 and occur within a
single year;
(D) for each identified single transaction or
aggregate transactions, as the case may be, included in
the list described in subparagraph (C), a determination
of whether such transaction subjects any of the parties
to the transaction to sanctions under the Caesar Syria
Civilian Protection Act of 2019, as amended by section
2;
(E) a description of the steps the United States is
taking to actively deter recognition or normalization
of relations by other governments with the Assad
regime, including specific diplomatic engagements and
use of economic sanctions authorized by statutes or
implemented through Executive orders, including--
(i) the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection
Act of 2019 (22 U.S.C. 8791 note);
(ii) the Syria Accountability and Lebanese
Sovereignty Restoration Act (22 U.S.C. 2151
note);
(iii) the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions,
Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (22
U.S.C. 8501 et seq.);
(iv) Executive Order 13894 (84 Fed. Reg.
55851; relating to blocking property and
suspending entry of certain persons
contributing to the situation in Syria);
(v) the Global Magnitsky Human Rights
Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.);
(vi) the Countering America's Adversaries
Through Sanctions Act (22 U.S.C. 9401 et seq.);
and
(vii) the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin
Designation Act (21 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.); and
(F) an assessment of how recognition or
normalization of relations by other governments with
the Assad regime impacts the national security of the
United States, prospects for implementation of the
United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254,
prospects for justice and accountability for war crimes
in Syria, and the benefits derived by the Government of
the Russian Federation or the Government of Iran.
(c) Scope.--The initial report required under subsection (b) shall
address the period beginning on January 1, 2021, and ending on the date
of the enactment of this Act, and each subsequent report shall address
the 1-year period following the conclusion of the scope of the prior
report.
(d) Form.--Each report required under subsection (b) shall be
submitted in an unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex.
The unclassified section of such a report shall be made publicly
available on a website of the United States Federal Government.
SEC. 5. REPORTS ON MANIPULATION OF UNITED NATIONS BY ASSAD REGIME IN
SYRIA.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, and annually thereafter for the following 5 years, the Secretary
of State shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of
the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives describing the manipulation of the United Nations by
the regime led by Bashar al-Assad in Syria (referred to in this section
as the ``Assad regime''), including--
(1) a description of conditions, both explicit and
implicit, set by the Assad regime with respect to United
Nations operations in Syria including with respect to
implementing partners, hiring practices, allocation of grants
and contracts, and procurement of goods and services;
(2) a description of the extent to which the United Nations
has rejected or otherwise opposed any of the conditions
described in paragraph (1);
(3) an identification of officials or employees of the
United Nations (including funds, programs and specialized
agencies of the United Nations) with ties to the Assad regime,
including family ties, or persons designated for sanctions by
United Nations donor countries;
(4) a full account of access restrictions imposed by the
Assad regime and the overall impact on the ability of the
United Nations to deliver international assistance to target
beneficiaries in areas outside regime control;
(5) a description of ways in which United Nations aid
improperly benefits the Assad regime and its associates in
defiance of basic humanitarian principles;
(6) a description of the due diligence mechanisms and
vetting procedures in place to ensure entities contracted by
the United Nations to ensure goods, supplies, or services
provided to Syria do not have links to the Assad regime, known
human rights abusers, or persons designated for sanctions by
United Nations donor countries;
(7) an identification of entities affiliated with the Assad
regime, including the Syria Trust for Development and the
Syrian Arab Red Crescent, foreign government ministries, and
private corporations owned or controlled directly or indirectly
by the Assad regime, that have received United Nations funding,
contracts, or grants or have otherwise entered into a
formalized partnership with the United Nations;
(8) an assessment of how the Assad regime sets arbitrary or
punitive exchange rates to extract funding from the United
Nations, as well as the total amount extracted by such means;
(9) an assessment of the degree to which the various forms
of manipulation described in this section has resulted in
compromises of the humanitarian principles of humanity,
neutrality, impartiality, and independence of the United
Nations; and
(10) a strategy to reduce the ability of the Assad regime
to manipulate or otherwise influence the United Nations and
other aid operations in Syria and ensure United States and
international aid is delivered in a neutral and impartial
manner consistent with basic humanitarian principles.
<all>