Directs the President to impose two or more specified sanctions against Syria.
Requires maintenance of such prohibition and sanctions until the President certifies that Syria meets specified requirements, including that it: (1) does not support international terrorist groups; (2) has withdrawn all of its military personnel from Lebanon; (3) has ceased the development and deployment of ballistic missiles and biological and chemical weapons; (4) is no longer in violation of United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 661 and subsequent relevant resolutions; (5) has made substantial progress in negotiations aimed at a peace agreement with Israel and a peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon; and (6) is respecting the sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon as required under UN Security Council Resolution 520. Authorizes the President to provide development assistance to Syria and Lebanon if these six requirements are met.
[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4483 Introduced in House (IH)]
107th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4483
To halt Syrian support for terrorism, end its occupation of Lebanon,
stop its development of weapons of mass destruction, cease its illegal
importation of Iraqi oil, and by so doing hold Syria accountable for
the serious international security problems it has caused in the Middle
East, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 18, 2002
Mr. Armey (for himself and Mr. Engel) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on International Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To halt Syrian support for terrorism, end its occupation of Lebanon,
stop its development of weapons of mass destruction, cease its illegal
importation of Iraqi oil, and by so doing hold Syria accountable for
the serious international security problems it has caused in the Middle
East, 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 ``Syria Accountability Act of 2002''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) On September 20, 2001, President George Bush stated at
a joint session of Congress that ``[e]very nation, in every
region, now has a decision to make . . . [e]ither you are with
us, or you are with the terrorists . . . [f]rom this day
forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support
terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile
regime''.
(2) United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373
(September 28, 2001) mandates that all states ``refrain from
providing any form of support, active or passive, to entities
or persons involved in terrorist acts'', take ``the necessary
steps to prevent the commission of terrorist acts'', and ``deny
safe haven to those who finance, plan, support, or commit
terrorist acts''.
(3) The Government of Syria is currently prohibited by
United States law from receiving United States assistance
because it is listed as state sponsor of terrorism.
(4) Although the Department of State lists Syria as a state
sponsor of terrorism and reports that Syria provides ``safe
haven and support to several terrorist groups'', fewer United
States sanctions apply with respect to Syria than with respect
to any other country that is listed as a state sponsor of
terrorism.
(5) Terrorist groups, including Hizballah, Hamas, the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine--General Command maintain
offices, training camps, and other facilities on Syrian
territory and operate in areas of Lebanon occupied by the
Syrian armed forces and receive supplies from Iran through
Syria.
(6) United Nations Security Council Resolution 520
(September 17, 1982) calls for ``strict respect of the
sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity and political
independence of Lebanon under the sole and exclusive authority
of the Government of Lebanon through the Lebanese Army
throughout Lebanon''.
(7) More than 20,000 Syrian troops and security personnel
occupy much of the sovereign territory of Lebanon exerting
undue influence upon its government and undermining its
political independence.
(8) Since 1990 the Senate and House of Representatives have
passed seven bills and resolutions which call for the
withdrawal of Syrian armed forces from Lebanon.
(9) Large and increasing numbers of the Lebanese people
from across the political spectrum in Lebanon have mounted
peaceful and democratic calls for the withdrawal of the Syrian
Army from Lebanese soil.
(10) Israel has withdrawn all of its armed forces from
Lebanon in accordance with United Nations Security Council
Resolution 425 (March 19, 1978), as certified by the United
Nations Secretary General.
(11) Even in the face of this United Nations certification
that acknowledged Israel's full compliance with Resolution 425,
Syria permits attacks by Hizballah and other militant
organizations on Israeli outposts at Shebaa Farms, under the
false guise that it remains Lebanese land, and is also
permitting attacks on civilian targets in Israel.
(12) Syria will not allow Lebanon--a sovereign country--to
fulfill its obligation in accordance with Security Council
Resolution 425 to deploy its troops to southern Lebanon.
(13) As a result, the Israeli-Lebanese border and much of
southern Lebanon is under the control of Hizballah which
continues to attack Israeli positions and allows Iranian
Revolutionary Guards and other militant groups to operate
freely in the area, destabilizing the entire region.
(14) The United States provides $40,000,000 in assistance
to the Lebanese people through private nongovernmental
organizations, $7,900,000 of which is provided to Lebanese-
American educational institutions.
(15) In the State of the Union address on January 29, 2002,
President Bush declared that the United States will ``work
closely with our coalition to deny terrorists and their state
sponsors the materials, technology, and expertise to make and
deliver weapons of mass destruction''.
(16) The Government of Syria continues to develop and
deploy short and medium range ballistic missiles.
(17) The Government of Syria is pursuing the development
and production of biological and chemical weapons.
(18) United Nations Security Council Resolution 661 (August
6, 1990) and subsequent relevant resolutions restrict the sale
of oil and other commodities by Iraq, except to the extent authorized
by other relevant resolutions.
(19) Syria, a non-permanent United Nations Security Council
member, is receiving between 150,000 and 200,000 barrels of oil
from Iraq in violation of Security Council Resolution 661 and
subsequent relevant resolutions.
(20) Syrian President Bashar Assad promised Secretary of
State Powell in February 2001 to end violations of Security
Council Resolution 661 but this pledge has not been fulfilled.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Government of Syria should immediately and
unconditionally halt support for terrorism, permanently and
openly declare its total renunciation of all forms of
terrorism, and close all terrorist offices and facilities in
Syria, including the offices of Hamas, Hizballah, the Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Popular Front
for the Liberation of Palestine--General Command;
(2) the Government of Syria should immediately declare its
commitment to completely withdraw its armed forces, including
military, paramilitary, and security forces, from Lebanon, and
set a firm timetable for such withdrawal;
(3) the Government of Lebanon should deploy the Lebanese
armed forces to all areas of Lebanon, including South Lebanon,
in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution
520 (September 17, 1982), in order to assert the sovereignty of
the Lebanese state over all of its territory, and should evict
all terrorist and foreign forces from southern Lebanon,
including Hizballah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards;
(4) the Government of Syria should halt the development and
deployment of short and medium range ballistic missiles and
cease the development and production of biological and chemical
weapons;
(5) the Government of Syria should halt illegal imports and
transshipments of Iraqi oil and come into full compliance with
United Nations Security Council Resolution 661 and subsequent
relevant resolutions;
(6) the Governments of Lebanon and Syria should enter into
serious unconditional bilateral negotiations with the
Government of Israel in order to realize a full and permanent
peace; and
(7) the United States should continue to provide
humanitarian and educational assistance to the people of
Lebanon only through appropriate private, nongovernmental
organizations and appropriate international organizations,
until such time as the Government of Lebanon asserts
sovereignty and control over all of its territory and borders
and achieves full political independence, as called for in
United Nations Security Council Resolution 520.
SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It should be the policy of the United States that--
(1) the United States will continue its campaign against
international terror to all places where terrorism exists;
(2) Syria will be held responsible for all attacks
committed by Hizballah and other terrorist groups with offices
or other facilities in Syria, or bases in areas of Lebanon
occupied by Syria;
(3) the United States will work to deny Syria the ability
to support acts of international terrorism and efforts to
develop or acquire weapons of mass destruction;
(4) the Secretary of State will continue to list Syria as a
state sponsor of terrorism until Syria ends its support for
terrorism, including its support of Hizballah and other
terrorist groups in Lebanon and its hosting of terrorist groups
in Damascus, and comes into full compliance with United States
law relating to terrorism and United Nations Security Council
Resolution 1373 (September 28, 2001);
(5) the full restoration of Lebanon's sovereignty,
political independence, and territorial integrity is in the
national security interest of the United States;
(6) Syria is in violation of United Nations Security
Council Resolution 520 (September 17, 1982) through its
continued occupation of Lebanese territory and its encroachment
upon its political independence;
(7) Syria's obligation to withdraw from Lebanon is not
conditioned upon progress in the Israeli-Syrian or Israeli-
Lebanese peace process but derives from Syria's obligation
under Security Council Resolution 520;
(8) Syria's acquisition of weapons of mass destruction and
ballistic missile programs threaten the security of the Middle
East and the national security interests of the United States;
(9) Syria is in violation of United Nations Security
Council Resolution 661 (August 6, 1990) and subsequent
relevant resolutions through its continued purchase of oil from Iraq;
and
(10) the United States will not provide any assistance to
Syria and will oppose multilateral assistance for Syria until
Syria withdraws its armed forces from Lebanon, halts the
development and deployment of weapons of mass destruction and
ballistic missiles, and complies with Security Council
Resolution 661 and subsequent relevant resolutions.
SEC. 5. PENALTIES AND AUTHORIZATION.
(a) Penalties.--Until the President makes the determination that
Syria meets the requirements described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of
subsection (c) and certifies such determination to Congress in
accordance with such subsection--
(1) the President shall prohibit the export to Syria of any
item, including the issuance of a license for the export of any
item, on the United States Munitions List or Commerce Control
List of dual-use items in the Export Administration Regulations
(15 C.F.R. part 730 et seq.);
(2) the President shall prohibit United States Government
assistance, including loans, credits, or other financial
assistance, to United States businesses with respect to
investment or other activities in Syria;
(3) the President shall prohibit the conduct of programs of
the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the Trade and
Development Agency in or with respect to Syria; and
(4) the President shall impose two or more of the following
sanctions:
(A) Prohibit the export of products of the United
States (other than food and medicine) to Syria.
(B) Prohibit United States businesses from
investing or operating in Syria.
(C) Restrict Syrian diplomats in Washington, D.C.,
and at the United Nations in New York City, to travel
only within a 25-mile radius of Washington, D.C., or
the United Nations headquarters building, respectively.
(D) Prohibit aircraft of any air carrier owned or
controlled by Syria to take off from, land in, or
overfly the United States.
(E) Reduce United States diplomatic contacts with
Syria (other than those contacts required to protect
United States interests or carry out the purposes of
this Act).
(F) Block transactions in any property in which the
Government of Syria has any interest, by any person, or
with respect to any property, subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States.
(b) Waiver.--The President may waive the application of either
paragraph (2) or (3) (or both) of subsection (a) if the President
determines that it is in the national security interest of the United
States to do so.
(c) Authority To Provide Assistance to Syria and Lebanon.--If the
President--
(1) makes the determination that Syria meets the
requirements described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of
subsection (d) and certifies such determination to Congress in
accordance with such subsection;
(2) determines that substantial progress has been made both
in negotiations aimed at achieving a peace agreement between
Israel and Syria and in negotiations aimed at achieving a peace
agreement between Israel and Lebanon; and
(3) determines that the Government of Syria is strictly
respecting the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity, and
political independence of Lebanon under the sole and exclusive
authority of the Government of Lebanon through the Lebanese
army throughout Lebanon, as required under paragraph (4) of
United Nations Security Council Resolution 520 (1982), then the
President is authorized notwithstanding any other provision of
law to provide assistance to Syria and Lebanon under chapter 1
of Part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (relating to
development assistance).
(d) Certification.--A certification under this subsection is a
certification transmitted to the appropriate congressional committees
of a determination made by the President that--
(1) the Government of Syria does not provide support for
international terrorist groups and does not allow terrorist
groups, such as Hamas, Hizballah, the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine, and the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine--General Command to maintain facilities
in Syria;
(2) the Government of Syria has withdrawn all Syrian
military, intelligence, and other security personnel from
Lebanon;
(3) the Government of Syria has ceased the development and
deployment of ballistic missiles and has ceased the development
and production of biological and chemical weapons; and
(4) the Government of Syria is no longer in violation of
United Nations Security Council Resolution 661 and subsequent
relevant resolutions.
SEC. 6. REPORT.
(a) Report.--Not later than 6 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and every 12 months thereafter until the
conditions described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 5(c) are
satisfied, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report on--
(1) Syria's progress toward meeting the conditions
described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 5(c); and
(2) connections, if any, between individual terrorists and
terrorist groups which maintain offices, training camps, or
other facilities on Syrian territory, or operate in areas of
Lebanon occupied by the Syrian armed forces, and the attacks
against the United States that occurred on September 11, 2001,
and other terrorist attacks on the United States or its
citizens, installations, or allies.
(b) Form.--The report submitted under subsection (a) shall be in
unclassified form but may include a classified annex.
SEC. 7. DEFINITION OF APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.
In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means the Committee on International Relations of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia.
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
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