Condemning the Assad regime and its backers for their continued support of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume, and I rise in support of this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Mast of Florida, who authored this measure, and I want to, again, extend my thanks to Chairman Royce, particularly for his very kind and generous words.

We have worked for the last several years, so many years, on the Foreign Affairs Committee to try to bring peace to Syria. We have been frustrated in watching the dictator kill hundreds of thousands of his own people, innocent men, women, and children.

I think one of the most horrific days that I have ever spent in Washington was when we had Caesar, the photographer who was part of the regime but defected and escaped with his pictures of genocide and pictures of unbearable, unthinkable atrocities that kind of scarred my brain forever, and I know the same goes for the chairman. We will never forget it. And we will keep trying to fight for the people of Syria and try to bring the dictator and the people who allow him to do these horrific things to justice.

It has been very difficult, because the Russians have embraced Assad, but it is absolutely disgraceful.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Royce for his kind words. He has said a lot of things about what I did, but it couldn't have possibly been done without him as the chairman working side by side, the two of us, pushing these important issues, and Syria has certainly been a situation that needed our attention.

I just regret that we weren't able to do more to stop the slaughter in Syria, but I want to thank Chairman Royce, who has just been fantastic in terms of having a moral compass to say that what is going on should not stand and calling attention to the atrocities.

So, Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Royce and Mr. Mast.

Mr. Speaker, the crisis in Syria has gone on for far too long, a civil war that has killed at least half a million people, displaced more than 11 million Syrians, and stoked instability and extremism well beyond Syria's borders.

Iran and al-Qaida are on Israel's doorstep; refugees have overwhelmed Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan; and the human suffering inside Syria is still unimaginable.

Just 2 weeks ago, an American family learned the tragic news that their daughter was tortured and killed in Assad's prison. Leila was one of thousands of cases of enforced disappearance in Syria.

The Assad regime has had plenty of help, as this resolution points out. The Syrian regime was on the ropes earlier in the conflict when Iran sent thousands of fighters to defend its ally, Bashar al-Assad. Iranian-backed Hezbollah has been battle hardened, gaining fighting experience in Syria, displacing communities wholesale, and remaking Syrian society in their image.

The Russian Government came in to save the Assad regime when they again seemed to be losing the war, and the Russians sent fighter jets to target civilian populations and infrastructure, hospitals, schools, markets. We have heard from Syrian doctors who were delivering babies as air strikes threatened them from above, and then when civilian defense workers, the White Helmets showed up to clear the rubble, Russian bombs targeted the emergency workers, too. That is just shameful.

And it is not over. Idlib, a city of 2 million people, many of whom fled other conflict zones, is now under threat of annihilation. Truth be told, terrorists have a strong presence there, emboldened by the war crimes of the Syrian regime and their allies.

As Assad seeks to consolidate power and territory, millions of innocent people stand in the crosshairs.

There is no military solution to this conflict. Assad may believe that he can bomb his way out of this, but the regime's presence will continue to be a magnet for extremists.

Iran's permanent presence in Syria will only lead to further instability. And let me be very clear: we cannot and should not rely on Russian assurances to remove Iran from Syria.

You know the old adage, ``Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.'' The only thing that the Russians can be trusted to do in Syria is foment further instability on behalf of the regime.

This resolution comes at a critical time. It calls on the administration to work toward a political solution to this conflict and it seeks to build American leverage in negotiations by opposing international reconstruction funds that would support projects in Assad-controlled territory.

Lastly, I want to thank the many Syrian-American groups, which I have worked closely with, who have been doing whatever they can possibly do to stop the carnage and the evilness of the Assad regime. I will be continuing to work with the Syrian-American groups. Hopefully we can one day restore freedom and democracy to that beleaguered land.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, let me say that this resolution reminds us of the importance of building leverage as we push for an end to the crisis in Syria. We can and we should do more to increase that leverage.

Congress, as Chairman Royce mentioned before, could do so today by passing the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, my legislation to pressure the Assad regime to stop the violence, to sit down and negotiate an end to this conflict.

It really breaks my heart that it is being held in the other body, and we are hoping, before the end of the year, that we can shake it loose. It had tremendous support in this Chamber, bipartisan support, support on both sides

of the aisle. The House passed it twice; the administration strongly supports it; and the Syrian people desperately need it. The clock is running out in the other body, with one single Member opposing it.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Caesar bill and the resolution before us today, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1165) condemning the Assad regime and its backers for their continued support of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, this resolution represents a broad bipartisan agreement that there will be no peace in Syria as long as the Assad regime remains in power and as long as Russia and Iran continue their entrenchment in that country.

For 7 years, the world has watched the brutal dictator, Bashar al- Assad, inflict untold suffering on the Syrian people. Since the beginning of the conflict, half a million people have been killed and 13 million, largely women and children, remain in dire need of basic humanitarian assistance in Syria.

The brutal Assad regime continues its onslaught on the civilian population in Syria, aided by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the ground and the Russian Air Force in the sky.

Rather than working to eject Iran from Syria, Russia has been directly coordinating with Hezbollah, with the IRGC, and with other Iranian-backed militias that have expanded significantly throughout Syria.

Russia has even now reportedly transferred the S-300 surface-to-air missile system to Syria, giving these militias additional cover for their activities in Syria.

Despite signing a deescalation agreement with President Trump last year

promising a cease-fire in southern Syria, Russia directly assisted Iranian-backed militias in their takeover of southern Syria, moving these militias right up to the border with Israel.

This resolution makes clear that it is unrealistic to believe that Russia will ever be a reliable partner to counter the Iranian presence in Syria.

As Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats has stated so clearly:

It's unlikely Russia has the will or capability to fully

implement and counter Iranian decision and influence in

Syria.

This resolution also states that Iranian-backed militias should be investigated for the war crime of sectarian cleansing for their forced displacement of civilians in the Damascus suburbs, which has included demolishing civilian areas, implementing brutal sieges, and selling housing developments and then turning them over, once they have been occupied by these militias, to Iranian-backed militias, including Hezbollah.

Finally, this resolution calls for the administration to act quickly to develop a strategy towards a political transition in Syria where the Assad regime leaves power and all Iranian and Russian forces leave the country.

The Assad regime's atrocities, which include the use of chemical weapons, barrel bombs, and brutal sieges, helped create the conditions whereby ISIS emerged in the first place.

The regime's continued survival, along with the Iranian influence in Syria, will only perpetuate the cycle of violence, once again creating the conditions for the reemergence of ISIS or al-Qaida and other radical Islamist groups.

After 7 years of horror, U.S. policy in Syria should be guided by this key reality: there is no solution to the conflict in Syria as long as the brutal Assad regime remains in power.

Efforts to legitimatize the regime through so-called constitutional reform negotiations or in allowing Assad to run in elections are unrealistic and are doomed to fail.

Mr. Speaker, lastly, I want to thank my colleague and friend, the ranking member of this committee, Mr. Engel, for his efforts over the years in order to try to focus our attention.

From the beginning, when this process of people protesting in Damascus began with people walking through the street saying, ``Peaceful, peaceful,'' and we watched on CNN as the automatic weapons of Assad's forces opened up on those peaceful protesters, from that day on, Mr. Engel worked to try to get engagement and to head off some of this crisis, the magnitude of which we deal with today as a result of the Iranian militias.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), who chairs the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mast), a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the author of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume

In closing, I thank my colleagues, the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Engel; Major Brian Mast of Florida; as well as the leadership on both sides of the aisle, for their bipartisan work on this resolution.

The Syrian people deserve a government that respects basic human rights and a government that is free of Iranian-backed militias. As long as the Assad regime remains in power, this will not be the case.

The administration needs to develop a strategy toward a sustainable political transition in Syria and to prevent Iranian entrenchment, recognizing that Russia has not been a reliable partner in either effort.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to back this resolution to once again condemn the Assad regime, Russia, and Iran for their unspeakable crimes against the Syrian people, and I yield back the balance of my time

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Royce for yielding me the time and for his continued leadership on this critical issue. It has been an honor to serve with him and to learn from him. Absolutely, I couldn't say that more seriously. It has been an honor.

Mr. Speaker, I do rise today in support of H. Res. 1165. It is a resolution condemning the Assad regime and its backers, including Iran and Russia, for their continued support of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria.

Now, after 7 years of war, as was already mentioned, the deaths of more than half a million people have occurred. Now, let's do a little bit of math on that. That would be over 70,000 people each year. When you think of the march of killing each and every day, that is a government march by the Assad regime of killing over 200 people every single day of the year.

The atrocities of the Assad regime are still ongoing with the help of Russia and Iran. And what do these atrocities look like: burning individuals to death, having them buried under rubble, having an adult put a 7.62 Kalashnikov round into a child, the use of chemical devices. The United States must push for an end to this and must push to hold these perpetrators accountable.

Currently, Iran is estimated to have deployed over 3,000 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps soldiers into the area. Iran is also responsible for directing Hezbollah and other militia fighters to battle on behalf of the regime.

Should Iran be allowed to maintain a permanent military presence in Syria, it will pose an even greater threat to Israel, to Jordan, and to all United States interests in the region.

This resolution calls upon the President and the Secretary of State to work towards a sustainable political transition in Syria and a strategy to stop a permanent Iranian presence in the region.

The resolution also condemns the Russian Federation, which has deployed more than 68,000 Russian personnel, for their continued support of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria.

H. Res. 1165 reiterates Congress' opposition to U.S. assistance to government-controlled areas in Syria.

Mr. Speaker, the United States must continue to work with our partners to condemn the Assad regime's horrific abuses against the Syrian people and counter Iran and Russia's malign influence in the region.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this critical resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel for their leadership in bringing this bipartisan measure to the floor today.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to especially thank the author of this important resolution, my Florida colleague, Brian Mast, for his efforts in calling attention to the bloody Assad regime. What a highly valued member Mr. Mast is to our committee and to this institution. He is an American hero and an American treasure.

There is no one more responsible for what is going on in Syria, as Mr. Mast

has pointed out in his resolution, than Bashar al-Assad. Who is the one responsible for this massacre of his own people? Al-Assad.

Assad brutally repressed peaceful Syrians who were demanding change in their country. Assad unleashed thousands of terrorists from the prisons into Iraq in 2003, helping to create the precursor to ISIS, and he did so again during the Syrian protests of 2011, leading to the founding and growth of ISIS.

And Assad, with his brutal and insidious tactics, is responsible for the hundreds of thousands of murders, for war crimes, for crimes against humanity. He continues to be responsible for the daily terror occurring in Syria to this day. Bashar al-Assad is the one responsible.

This is not a man who can lead a country. So we must use every tool at our disposal to put pressure on Assad and his backers, including pressure on Iran, pressure on Russia. They are the ones who are backing him. We have got to pass my good friend Mr. Engel's bill, the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, and the bill that he puts forth with Mr. Royce, the No Assistance for Assad Act. These are important bills, and they are still pending in the Senate, as all good bills go, pending in the Senate.

We must ensure that Assad is not allowed to participate in any future election in Syria.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Mr. Mast of Florida, for authoring this important resolution. I urge all of my colleagues to give it their support.

Mr. Speaker, for more than 7 years, the butcher of Syria has been slaughtering his own people. This relentless mass murderer has left half a million dead and millions others displaced. He has bombed, gassed, gunned down, and executed the Syrian people. He is, obviously, the Satan of Syria.

After the horrors of World War II, we were supposed to have rid the world of such evil, but, for years, we have shamefully watched it unfold. Mr. Speaker, it has always been crystal-clear who is responsible. The criminal butcher, the barbarian, Bashar al-Assad and his Russian and Iranian outlaws have turned the cradle of civilization into ashes.

Russian and Syrian warplanes have laid waste to Syrian towns, hospitals, and aid convoys from the air. On the ground, thousands of Iranian-backed militiamen have waged a campaign of outright sectarian cleansing.

These militias are the wicked arm of the IRGC and the Ayatollah of Iran. These militias are one of the most dangerous aspects of this chaotic war. They not only kill innocents today, but they kill any hope for a future Syria by sowing deep divisions along sectarian lines.

The time is well past that they are all called to be accountable. That is why I introduced legislation more than a year ago calling on the State Department to designate some of these Iranian-supported militias as terrorists. I am pleased this resolution also calls for these groups to be designated as such. These killers must meet justice for the crimes they have committed against the people of the world.

I congratulate Mr. Mast on bringing this to the House floor. I also thank Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel for their tenacious efforts in making sure the American people understand what is taking place throughout the world.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

And that is just the way it is.