SYRIA; Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 81

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SYRIA

Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, today I wish to bring attention to the

Assad regime and its Russian and Iranian backers' latest assault on

innocent civilians under a rain of airstrikes and barrel bombs, which

has sparked the worst violence in a year and a half in the Idlib and

Hama provinces. The regime and its enablers would yet again have us

believe that they are striking \\\`\\\`terrorists.'' However, facts simply

bely that worn-out ruse; their airstrikes have hit 18 hospitals in the

past 2 weeks alone, denying lifesaving facilities to more than 100,000

people and destroying at least 10 schools, according to NGOs monitoring

the situation. Relief workers on the ground assess that Assad's forces

are responsible for scores of civilian deaths over the past 2 weeks, as

well as displacing 150,000 desperate and terrified people.

Assad's barrel bombs and starvation campaign, along with violence

from terrorist organizations, has already sent 5 million Syrians

fleeing to neighboring Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iraq. Despite

already fragile economic and political systems, these countries have

shown an extraordinary openness in hosting those fleeing. It is

absolutely critical that those refugees be allowed to return in a

manner that is safe, voluntary, and dignified and that they not be

forced to return to situations in Syria where they face conscription,

retaliation, detention, torture, or murder at the hands of the Assad

regime.

In the face of such wanton cruelty and profound suffering, the United

States can and must show renewed leadership in Syria, but instead,

President Trump froze and then terminated stabilization assistance in

Syria. The Trump administration must restart stabilization funding in

Syria. Furthermore, Congress can show leadership by passing the Caesar

Syria Civilian Protection Act, which would impose new sanctions on the

Assad regime and its Russian and Iranian supporters

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