S.Amdt. 99

SA 99. Mr. TOOMEY (for himself, Mr. Van Hollen, Mrs. Shaheen, and Mr.
Johnson) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the
bill S. 1, to make improvements to certain defense and security
assistance provisions and to authorize the appropriation of funds to
Israel, to reauthorize the United States-Jordan Defense Cooperation Act
of 2015, and to halt the wholesale slaughter of the Syrian people, and
for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. REPORT ON UNITED STATES POLICY IN SYRIA.

(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The regime of Bashar al Assad has committed gross
atrocities against the people of Syria.
(2) The commission of these atrocities led to the eruption,
and continuation, of the Syrian civil war.
(3) The ensuing conflict has resulted in the death of over
400,000 Syrian civilians.
(4) The Syrian civil war has caused over 5,500,000 Syrians
to flee their country as refugees and over 6,000,000 others
to be displaced from their homes inside Syria.
(5) The Assad regime has repeatedly used chemical weapons
against its own people.
(6) In 2011 the Assad regime released from its prisons many
of the terrorists who would subsequently lead the Islamic
State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
(7) ISIS has organized, executed, and inspired countless
terror attacks throughout the world since its emergence,
including in the United States.
(8) By the end of 2014, ISIS controlled one third of the
territory of Syria and one third of the territory of Iraq.
(9) Since 2014, the United States has lead Operation
Inherent Resolve, with the help of allies, to degrade and
destroy ISIS.
(10) Approximately 2,000 members of the United States Armed
Forces are deployed to Syria under Operation Inherent
Resolve.
(11) The United States and its allies have succeeded in
seizing back nearly all the physical territory held by ISIS
in 2014.
(12) Tens of thousands of ISIS terrorists remain in Syria
and Iraq despite having lost much of their territorial
``Caliphate''.
(13) The Islamic State continues to pose a threat to the
security of the United States and that of its allies.
(14) Syrian Kurdish fighters in the People's Protection
Units, or YPG, have served as effective and trustworthy
allies in the fight against ISIS.
(15) The Government of Turkey views these Kurdish forces as
an enemy and has expressed its intention to destroy them.
(16) The support of the Russian and Iranian regimes in
Syria has been invaluable to the reinforcement of the Assad
government.
(17) Russian-backed forces have directly assaulted United
States Armed Forces deployed in Syria on at least one
occasion.
(18) The Government of Iran seeks to entrench its presence
in Syria as a means of supporting its terrorist proxies, like
Hezbollah and Hamas, and harming its enemies, like Israel.
(19) Ensuring the existence of Israel, America's most
important ally in the Middle East, remains a key United
States interest in the region.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the pursuit of a clear, publicly-articulated strategy
will guide any withdrawal of United States Armed Forces in
Syria;
(2) such a strategy aims to ensure that the Syrian civil
war ends through peaceful, political means;
(3) such a strategy includes the consideration of and
planning for the security interests of the Syrian Kurdish
allies of the United States;
(4) such a strategy recognizes that ISIS and al Qaeda
terrorists in Syria continue to pose a threat to the United
States and its allies;
(5) such a strategy includes among its objectives the
complete degradation and long-term destruction of ISIS;
(6) such a strategy will seek to prevent the emergence of
another terrorist group in Syria capable of threatening the
security of the United States once ISIS is defeated;
(7) such a strategy recognizes the destabilizing impact of
Iran in Syria; and
(8) such a strategy includes among its objectives the
removal of all Iranian-commanded forces from Syria.
(c) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit to
Congress a report detailing United States policy in Syria.
(2) Form.--The report required under paragraph (1) shall be
submitted in unclassified form but may contain a classified
annex.
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