Description:
H.R. 4681 would make certain foreign assistance to Syria subject to a Presidential certification and would require the President to report to the Congress on such certifications and on the deliver y of humanitarian assistance to Syria.
Under the bill, the Administration would generally be prohibited from using amounts appropriated over the 2019-2023 period to stabilize or reconstruct areas of Syria controlled by the Syrian government or associated forces. The bill would allow such assistance only if the President certified that the Syrian government had stopped attacking civilians and was making progress in other areas such as protecting human rights, restoring law and order, and comp lying with its obligations under international treaties. Certain types of assistance, including humanitarian assistance, would be exempt from the required certification.
Since the start of the Syrian crisis, the United States has provided about $7.7 billion in humanitarian assistance to Syria and neighboring countries. According to the Department of State, it is U.S. policy not to provide any reconstruction assistance to government-held areas of Syria and to encourage other countries to follow suit. On the basis of information from the department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 4681 would not alter the amount or type of U.S. foreign assistance provided to the region. Based on the costs of similar reporting requirements, CBO estimates implementing the bill would cost less than $500,000 over the 2018-2023 period, subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
Enacting H.R. 4681 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4681 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 4681 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
