Sec. 7. Economic support funds for Syria
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It is the sense of Congress that— the humanitarian situation in areas of northwest Syria that are not controlled by the Assad regime remains dire, which is due in large part to ongoing attacks, diversion of cross-line assistance, and corruption by the Assad regime; Syrian refugees and their host communities— are under significant strain due to the prolonged conflict in Syria; and require significant assistance from the international community; it remains unsafe for Syrian refugees to return to Syria absent a formal cessation of hostilities and significant implementation of the principles laid out in United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254 (2015); the forced return of Syrian refugees to Syria absent their consent or the aforementioned conditions violates the principle of non-refoulement; and host countries must not forcibly return refugees to Syria without their consent absent a formal cessation of hostilities and significant implementation of the principles laid out in United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254 (2015).
It is the policy of the United States— to provide humanitarian funding to northwest Syria outside of mechanisms controlled by the Assad regime; to maintain basic services for communities in northwest Syria outside of Assad regime control; to oppose the refoulement or otherwise forcible return of Syrian refugees and provide significant assistance to Syrian refugees and their host communities; and to work with partners and allies to support the efforts described in paragraph
(1)through (3). There is authorized to be appropriated, in addition to amounts already appropriated for such purpose, $10,000,000 in Economic Support Funds for the Syria Civil Defense (commonly known as the White Helmets ). Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, shall submit a report to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives that assesses— the feasibility of providing stabilization funding to areas of northwest Syria that are not under the control the Assad regime; and the risks that such funds will be diverted and steps to counter such risks. The report required under paragraph
(1)shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex. There is authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 in Economic Support Funds for stabilization funding in areas of northwest Syria that are not under the control of the Assad Regime. None of the funds appropriated pursuant to subparagraph
(A)may be expended until a senior official of the Department of State provides a briefing regarding such expenditure to— the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate ; the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate ; the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives ; and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives . There is authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 in Economic Support Funds to support Syrian refugees and host communities in the Middle East and North Africa.