Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2016
Latest action · Nov 16, 2016 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJul 12, 2016
- Passed HouseNov 15, 2016
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2016
This bill declares that it is U.S. policy that all diplomatic and coercive economic means should be used to compel the government of Bashar al Assad to halt the slaughter of the Syrian people and actively work toward transition to a democratic and peaceful government.
The President shall prohibit, or impose conditions on, the opening or maintaining in the United States of a correspondent account or payable-through account by any domestic financial institution or domestic financial agency for or on behalf of the Central Bank of Syria that is of primary money laundering concern.
The bill directs the President to impose specified entry and U.S.-based property sanctions against a foreign person that knowingly: (1) provided significant financial, material, or technological support to Syria (including its intelligence and security services or its armed forces), the Central Bank of Syria, or to a foreign person subject to specified sanctions; (2) supported Syria's domestic production of natural gas or petroleum or sold or provided Syria with crude oil, refined petroleum products, liquefied natural gas, or petrochemical products in excess of $2 million in a 12-month period; (3) sold or provided civilian aircraft or spare parts or provides related goods, services, or technologies to a foreign person operating in Syrian-controlled areas, or sold or provided significant goods, services, or technology to a foreign person operating in Syria's shipping, transportation, or telecommunications sectors; or (4) facilitated or financed money laundering or petroleum-related activities; and (5) is owned or controlled by a foreign person engaged in such activities.
The President shall impose specified entry and U.S.-based property sanctions against a foreign person that has knowingly assisted Syria to acquire or develop ballistic missiles, chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons, destabilizing numbers and types of advanced conventional weapons, or specified defense articles or information.
The Syria Human Rights Accountability Act of 2012 is amended to direct the President to impose entry and U.S.-based property sanctions against persons responsible for or complicit in: (1) directing the commission of serious human rights abuses against Syrian citizens or their family members, regardless of whether such abuses occurred in Syria; or (2) transferring to Syria certain military items or goods or technologies that may be used to commit human rights abuses.
The President shall submit and update a list of, and impose entry and U.S.-based property sanctions against, persons responsible for hindering access to humanitarian relief activities in Syria.
The Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development shall report on the monitoring and evaluation of ongoing assistance programs in Syria and to the Syrian people.
The President shall report with respect to: (1) whether each of specified Syrian persons, including Bashar al Assad, meets the requirements for inclusion on the list of persons who are responsible for or complicit in certain human rights abuses against Syrian citizens and, for any such person not included in such report, a description of the reasons why the person was not included; and (2) the potential effectiveness of a no-fly zone over Syria.
The State Department may provide assistance to entities taking criminal and evidence gathering actions for prosection of individuals who have committed crimes against humanity or war crimes in Syria since March 2011.
The President may suspend sanctions against Syria under specified conditions.
The bill: (1) expresses the sense of Congress with respect to what shall constitute a transitional government in Syria, (2) sets forth activities and transactions that are exempt from sanctions, and (3) declares it to be U.S. policy to waive sanctions to ensure that adequate humanitarian relief or support for democracy promotion is provided to the Syrian people.
Cosponsors 89
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 12, 2016 to Nov 15, 2016; 12 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-IL | Adam Kinzinger | Original | Jul 12, 2016 |
| D-CA | Alan S. Lowenthal | Original | Jul 12, 2016 |
| R-WA | Cathy McMorris Rodgers | Original | Jul 12, 2016 |
| D-MI | Daniel T. Kildee | Original | Jul 12, 2016 |
| D-VA | Donald S. Beyer, Jr. | Original | Jul 12, 2016 |
| R-CA | Edward R. Royce | Original | Jul 12, 2016 |
| R-FL | Ileana Ros-Lehtinen | Original | Jul 12, 2016 |
| D-MN | Keith Ellison | Original | Jul 12, 2016 |
| R-IN | Luke Messer | Original | Jul 12, 2016 |
| D-CA | Ted Lieu | Original | Jul 12, 2016 |
| R-TX | Ted Poe | Original | Jul 12, 2016 |
| D-FL | Theodore E. Deutch | Original | Jul 12, 2016 |
| D-RI | David N. Cicilline | Jul 13, 2016 | |
| D-FL | Lois Frankel | Jul 13, 2016 | |
| D-CA | Brad Sherman | Jul 14, 2016 |
Committees 4
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Foreign Affairs Committee | Referred Jul 12, 2016Markup Jul 14, 2016 |
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Jul 12, 2016 |
| House | Financial Services Committee | Referred Jul 12, 2016 |
| Senate | Foreign Relations Committee | Referred Nov 17, 2016 |
Actions 10
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Nov 16, 2016Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
- Nov 15, 2016Mr. Royce moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Nov 15, 2016Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H6192-6202)
- Nov 15, 2016DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 5732.
- Nov 15, 2016Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR H6192-6197)
- Nov 15, 2016Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- Jul 14, 2016Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Jul 14, 2016Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
- Jul 12, 2016Introduced in House
- Jul 12, 2016Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and 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.
In the Congressional Record 4
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H6274 | Doug LaMalfa R-CA | Nov 17, 2016 |
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E1489 | Adam Kinzinger R-IL | Nov 16, 2016 |
| House | Debate and remarks H6192–H6202Text printed H6192–H6197 | Carlos Curbelo R-FL, Christopher H. Smith R-NJ, Daniel T. Kildee D-MI, Edward R. Royce R-CA, Eliot L. Engel D-NY, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen R-FL, Sheila Jackson Lee D-TX | Nov 15, 2016 |
| House | Debate and remarks H5346 | Alexander X. Mooney R-WV | Sep 13, 2016 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Sep 13, 2016H.R. 5732, Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2016As ordered reported by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on July 14, 2016
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 162, no. 112, July 12, 2016, page H4815.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 114-207 | VARIOUS MEASURES265 pages | Foreign Affairs Committee | Jul 14, 2016 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 3536 | Preventing Destabilization of Iraq and Syria Act of 2016 | Related bill | Dec 8, 2016 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To halt the wholesale slaughter of the Syrian people, encourage a negotiated political settlement, and hold Syrian human rights abusers accountable for their crimes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2016
- Short Titles as Passed House
- Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2016
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: International Affairs.
- Arms control and nonproliferation
- Aviation and airports
- Chemical and biological weapons
- Conflicts and wars
- Congressional oversight
- Correctional facilities and imprisonment
- Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
- Detention of persons
- Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
- Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
- Evidence and witnesses
- Foreign aid and international relief
- Foreign and international banking
- Foreign property
- Fraud offenses and financial crimes
- Health facilities and institutions
- Human rights
- Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information
- International Affairs
- International organizations and cooperation
- Judicial procedure and administration
- Middle East
- Military assistance, sales, and agreements
- Military operations and strategy
- Nuclear weapons
- Oil and gas
- Performance measurement
- Refugees, asylum, displaced persons
- Russia
- Sanctions
- Sovereignty, recognition, national governance and status
- Syria
- Technology transfer and commercialization
- Terrorism
- Trade restrictions
- Visas and passports
- War and emergency powers
- War crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity
Text 3
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Nov 16, 2016Referred in Senate
- Nov 15, 2016Engrossed in House
- Jul 12, 2016Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
