Charleston Reporter

Washington, D.C. – Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia, welcomed the full committee voice vote passage of the Assad Anti-Normalization Act of 2023. The legislationholds the regime of Bashar al-Assad accountable for its crimes against the Syrian people and illustrates the severe cost of governments considering normalization with the Assad regime.

      This bill passed with an amendment offered by Rep. Wilson which improves and strengthens the bipartisan commitment to punish offenders, while providing additional protection for humanitarian organizations serving the Syrian people. 

     “I am grateful to Chairman Mike McCaul (R-TX), Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (D-NY), and members of the committee for their bipartisan support of this important legislation. Backed by war criminal Putin and the terrorist Mullahs in Tehran, over half a million people in Syria have been slaughtered by this criminal regime, and over half the Syrian population has been displaced. The Assad regime is illegitimate and poses a threat to peace and prosperity in the region, yet importantly, support for a free and democratic Syria remains strong,” said Rep. Wilson.

     “The United States must use all of our leverage to prevent normalization with the war criminal Bashar al Assad. I am proud to join my colleagues in mandating further sanctions against any form of investment in territory under the control of the Assad regime, as we remain committed to ensuring the Syrian people receive justice and have a say in mapping their own future,” said Rep. McCaul.

     The Committee is grateful for the input and support of this legislation by the American Center for Levant Studies (ACLS), Americans for a Free Syria, Citizens for a Safe and Secure America, Syrian Institute for Progress, Foundation for Defense of Democracy (FDD) Action, Multifaith Alliance, Pro Justice, Syria Faith Initiative, Syrian American Council, Syrian Christian USA, Syrian Forum USA, Syrian Humanitarian Institute for National Empowerment (SHINE), and the Syrian Emergency Task Force.  

Original source can be found here.