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Title II — Humanitarian assistance

S. 960 · 113th Congress · May 15, 2013 · Lineage

II Humanitarian assistance

Sec. 201 Humanitarian assistance to the people of Syria

(a)
Authority.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law that restricts the provision of United States economic or other non-military assistance in Syria, the President is authorized to provide economic and other non-military assistance to meet humanitarian needs to the people of Syria, either directly or through appropriate groups and organizations pursuant to the provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) or the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act (22 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.).
(b)
Rule of construction— Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize new or additional funding for humanitarian needs.

Sec. 202 Humanitarian and development assistance through international organizations

The President should instruct the United States permanent representative or executive director, as the case may be, to the United Nations voluntary agencies, including the World Food Program, the United Nations Development Program, the United Nations Children’s Fund, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and other appropriate international organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross to use the voice and vote of the United States to support humanitarian and development assistance for the people of Syria in order to accomplish the purposes described in section 5.

Sec. 203 Bilateral assistance to countries that host Syrian refugees

The President should support bilateral refugee assistance programs in countries, including Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, and Lebanon, which have experienced an influx of refugees from Syria.

Sec. 202.204 Sense of Congress

Consistent with the policy objectives described in section 45, it is the sense of Congress that—
(1)
the United States should 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 and to the fullest extent practicable, while maintaining consideration for the health and safety of the implementers and recipients of that assistance and the achievement of United States policy goals and the purposes set forth in section 4.
(4)
all assistance made available under this section should, without restricting the ability of a contractor or grantee to use its own organizational brand or logo for purposes of identification (subject to such standards or regulations as the President may establish), be identified as being “From the American People” if the relevant Assistant Secretary of State, in consultation with the implementing partner, determines that such identification would not—
(A)
jeopardize the safety or impartiality of implementing partners that deliver the assistance;
(B)
jeopardize the health and safety of the intended beneficiaries;
(C)
compromise the intrinsic independence or neutrality of a program or materials where implementing partner independence or neutrality is inherently important to the success of the effort;
(D)
undermine United States efforts to empower the democratically oriented political opposition; or
(E)
otherwise render the provision of assistance impracticable.

Sec. 203.205 Report on strategy to communicate to the Syrian people about assistance provided by the United States Government

(a)
In general— Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees an unclassified report with a classified annex, as necessary, on an integrated United States Government strategy to ensure that the people of Syria peopleSyria 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)
A plan, with specific action, timelines, and evaluation metrics for promoting awareness of the United States Government’s assistance to the maximum extent possible while taking into consideration and ensuring the safety of its implementing partners and personnel providing that assistance and the achievement of the United States policy goals and the purposes set forth in section 45.
(4)
An assessment of the Syrian Opposition Coalition’s Assistance Coordination Unit (ACU)’s, or any appropriate successor entity’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.

Sec. 206 No authorization for new humanitarian funds

Nothing in this title shall be construed to authorize new or additional funding for humanitarian needs or aid to international organizations.