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Disarmament DocumentationBack to Disarmament Documentation U.S. House Approves Legislation To Impose Sanctions on Syria, October 15Congressional Report, October 16: Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan Issues The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation October 15 that would call for new sanctions against Syria until President Bush declares that it has stopped providing support to terrorists and halted development of its chemical and biological weapons programs. By a vote of 398-4, the measure -- known as the Syria Accountability Act -- won widespread support from Republicans and Democrats. The sanctions bill moved swiftly from the House International Relations Committee on October 8 to full House consideration on October 15. Normally, Congress takes considerably longer to debate and vote on bills that carry economic and political sanctions. During the last session of Congress, the White House convinced the legislators not to take a final vote on the bill. The measure now awaits action in the Senate, and Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Richard Lugar (Republican, Indiana) said he will open hearings on the Syria sanctions measure later in October. "Every indication is that the president will sign the bill," said Representative Eliot Engel, a New York Democrat. The bill calls for sanctions to be imposed until such time as President Bush declares that Syria has stopped sponsoring terrorism and has halted chemical and biological weapons development programs. Provisions in the bill would allow the president to waive sanctions for reasons of national security, with the lone exception of a ban on the export of military and dual-use items. It would also require the president to select two sanctions from a list that includes: -- barring U.S. exports to and investment in Syria, except for
food and medicine; The measure would also keep Syria on the Department of State's list of nations that sponsor terrorism, demand that Syria withdraw its troops from Lebanon, condemn Syria's chemical and biological weapons programs, and hold Syria responsible for terrorism against U.S. military forces in Iraq. The House bill had 281 co-sponsors while the Senate version has 76 co-sponsors. The level of co-sponsorship is generally indicative of a piece of legislation's support in Congress and chances of final passage. In other legislative action October 16, both the Senate and the House of Representatives continued debate on an $87 billion supplemental spending bill designed to pay for continuing military operations in Iraq as well as reconstruction operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Passage of both the Senate and House versions of the bill could come as early as October 16, but are more likely to win approval on October 17. Following are the White House's recommendations on how the supplemental funding should be spent: Iraq Relief and Reconstruction -- $20.3 billion ($20,300 million) -- electrical generation and distribution, $5.7 billion; Afghanistan Relief and Reconstruction -- $800 million Military Spending -- $65.6 billion -- operations and maintenance, $40.4 billion; Source: US State Department, Washington File, http://usinfo.state.gov. © 2003 The Acronym Institute. |