The U.S. House of Representatives last week approved two bipartisan bills cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) that would support the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and would hold war criminals in Syria responsible for their crimes.
The House on Jan. 22 approved the NATO Support Act, H.R. 676, in a 357-22 vote. The U.S. Senate received the bill on Jan. 23.
Additionally, the House on Jan. 22 passed the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019, H.R. 31, by voice vote. The Senate also received H.R. 31 on Jan. 23 and referred it for consideration to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“NATO is not some outdated relic from past conflicts. We are living in a world where repression is on the rise and human freedom is increasingly in jeopardy,” Rep. Kinzinger said in submitted remarks to the congressional record supporting H.R. 676.
Rep. Kinzinger is an original cosponsor for H.R. 676, introduced on Jan. 17 by U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), to prohibit the appropriation or use of funds to withdraw the United States from NATO. Other cosponsors of the bill include U.S. Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE), Fred Upton (R-MI), Will Hurd (R-TX) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA).
For almost 70 years, Rep. Kinzinger said that the United States, through its alliance with NATO, has “successfully defeated communism, halted genocide in the Balkans, defended against threats from terrorism in Afghanistan, and maintained cohesion with our like-minded democratic partners.”
“While we no longer face the same existential threat posed by the Soviet Union, NATO’s resolve and stability has helped maintain peace in a world drowning with strongmen,” he added. “That is why I stand in support of” H.R. 676.
Regarding H.R. 31, Rep. Kinzinger introduced the bipartisan bill on Jan. 3 with U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), the main sponsor of the proposal, which has 57 cosponsors.
If enacted, H.R. 31 would require certain additional actions in connection with the national emergency with respect to Syria, among other purposes, according to the congressional record.
“We know that Bashar al-Assad, and his Russian and Iranian backers, have committed countless war crimes, and our lack of action has empowered them to continue this genocide of the Syrian people,” the congressman said. “We know about these crimes because of brave individuals like Caesar, a Syrian defector from the Assad regime who shared thousands of photographs and documents proving the horrific war crimes carried out by these bad actors.”
Specifically, H.R. 31 would require the U.S. Treasury Secretary to determine “whether reasonable grounds exist for concluding that the Central Bank of Syria is a financial institution of primary money laundering concern,” according to the bill’s text.
Likewise, under H.R. 31, U.S. sanctions would be approved on any foreign person who “knowingly provides significant financial, material, or technological support to, or knowingly engages in a significant transaction with the Government of Syria (including any entity owned or controlled by the Government of Syria) or a senior political figure of the Government of Syria,” among other provisions in the bill.
Similar bills to H.R. 31 were cosponsored by Kinzinger in July 2016 and March 2017 and also received House approval, but they stalled in the U.S. Senate, according to his office.
Following House passage of H.R. 31 last week, the lawmaker said he was proud to see the House, once again, pass what he considers to be important legislation.
“I implore my Senate colleagues to join us. Let’s pass the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act and make this law, so we can sanction regime officials involved in this torture and hold these war criminals accountable,” he said. “This humanitarian crisis demands our attention and our action.”