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Title I — Humanitarian assistance

S. 856 · 113th Congress · May 6, 2013 · Lineage

I Humanitarian assistance

Sec. 101 Humanitarian assistance to the people of Syria

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the President is authorized to provide assistance, including to meet humanitarian and basic human needs, to the people of Syria in carrying out the provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) and the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act.

Sec. 102 Sense of Congress

Consistent with the policy objectives described in section 4, it is the sense of Congress that—
(1)
the United States should increase its own contributions and continue to coordinate with other donor nations, the United Nations, other multilateral agencies, and nongovernmental organizations to enhance the effectiveness of humanitarian assistance to the people suffering as a result of the crisis in Syria;
(2)
countries hosting Syrian refugees should be commended for their efforts and should be encouraged to maintain an open border policy for fleeing Syrians;
(3)
the United States Government should continue to work with these partners to help their national systems accommodate the population influx and also maintain delivery of basic services to their own citizens; and
(4)
the United States Government should seek to identify humanitarian assistance as originating from the American people wherever possible, while maintaining primary consideration for the health and safety of the implementers and recipients of that assistance and for the furtherance of United States foreign policy goals.

Sec. 103 Report on strategy to communicate to the Syrian people about assistance provided by the United States Government

(a)
In general— Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a classified report with an unclassified summary on an integrated United States Government strategy to ensure that the people of Syria are made aware to the maximum extent possible of the assistance that the United States Government provides to Syrians, both inside Syria and those seeking refuge in neighboring countries.
(b)
Content— The report should include the following elements:
(1)
A discussion of how the United States balances three imperatives of—
(A)
maximizing the efficacy of aid provided to the people of Syria;
(B)
ensuring that there is awareness among the people of Syria on the amount and nature of this aid; and
(C)
leveraging this aid to improve the credibility of the Syrian Opposition Coalition amongst the people of Syria.
(2)
Methods by which the United States Government and its partners plan to communicate to the people of Syria what assistance the United States has provided.
(3)
How the United States Government can most effectively promote awareness of its assistance while taking into consideration and ensuring the safety of its implementing partners and personnel providing that assistance.
(4)
An assessment of the Syrian Opposition Coalition’s Assistance Coordination Unit (ACU)’s capacity to participate in the distribution of assistance, and a description of steps the United States Government is taking to increase their profile so as to help build their credibility among Syrians.
(5)
A review of the risks associated with leveraging aid for political objectives and a description of efforts to maintain neutrality in the distribution of goods while parallel efforts are made to empower the opposition.