Washington, D.C. – House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) released the following statement applauding the Trump administration’s announcement of new sanctions against the Assad regime in Syria:

“For years now, I’ve been calling for sanctions to deny Assad the resources he needs to slaughter innocent men, women and children.  These strong and swift actions will make a real difference.  And they represent another stark departure from the Obama administration’s dithering on Syria, which only worsened the bloodshed and created a vacuum for ISIS.  I applaud the administration for taking these important steps, and will continue to work to advance bipartisan legislation that will give the White House additional leverage to hold Assad – as well as his Russian and Iranian backers – accountable.”   

NOTE: Last month, Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY) reintroduced the “Caesar Syrian Civilian Protection Act,” which imposes sanctions on supporters of the Assad regime.  The legislation passed the House unanimously in November of 2016, but the Senate did not act before the 114th Congress adjourned.

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