Washington, D.C. – House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) issued the following statement urging the administration to resume stabilization funding for Syria:

“It’s in our vital interest to push for an end to the violence and suffering in Syria. Wednesday’s missile attack on Israel by Iranian forces in Syria threatens to bring a new chapter of chaos to this bloody conflict. That’s why I’ve long raised alarm about Tehran’s work to build a land bridge to amass fighters and missiles near Israel’s border.

“Countering Iran’s malign influence must be a key part of a broader U.S. strategy toward Syria. Support from Tehran – as well as Moscow – has fueled Bashar al-Assad’s horrific abuses against the Syrian people. After seven years of fighting, and more than 500,000 lives lost, there are no easy answers to this complex conflict. But we cannot abandon the region. We must work with our partners and use all the tools of diplomacy – including financial pressure and U.S. assistance – to help change conditions on the ground. The administration should start by immediately resuming stabilization funding, including to the White Helmets, who are providing life-saving aid to thousands of civilians.”

NOTE: Chairman Royce is a co-author of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, H.R. 1677, which was passed by the House last year to impose tough new sanctions on Assad’s Russian and Iranian enablers, and prohibit transfer of weapons and other resources to the Syrian regime.

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