The House passed by voice vote a bill Tuesday ensuring that the regime of Bashar al-Assad won't get any U.S. taxpayer funds slated to help Syria.The legislation was introduced in December by House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.). It garnered 21 additional bipartisan co-sponsors.
"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," states the bill.
On the House floor, Royce said the bill "comes at a critical time."
"After seven years of devastating civil war, the destruction inflicted on the Syrian people by the Assad regime and its allies is catastrophic. Even now, Iranian backed militias are engaged in sectarian cleansing and forcing people from their homes. Russian war planes continue to drop bombs on hospitals. Just two weeks ago, the regime again used chemical weapons outside of Damascus as part of an operation that has displaced 55,000 people," he said.
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04.28.2025