“A bill to impose sanctions and other measures with respect to the Government of Syria, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section designates the Act as the “Save the Kurds Act” and sets forth the table of contents.
This section defines terms for purposes of the Act, including— (1) "admission," "admitted," "alien," and "lawfully admitted for permanent residence," as defined in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101); (2) "appropriate congressional committees," meaning the Committees on Foreign Relations and Appropriations, Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and Judiciary (Senate) and the Committees on Foreign Affairs and Appropriations, Financial Services, Ways and Means, and Judiciary (House of Representatives); (3) "foreign person," meaning a person that is not a United States person; (4) "knowingly," meaning a person has actual knowledge, or should have known, of the conduct, circumstance, or result; (5) "state sponsor of terrorism," meaning a country the government of which the Secretary of State has determined has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism for purposes of section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371) or specified other provisions of law; and (6) "United States person," meaning a U.S. citizen, alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, entity organized under U.S. laws (including foreign branches), or person in the United States.
This section states the sense of Congress that (1) the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces made significant contributions to eliminating the ISIS caliphate; (2) they have detained thousands of ISIS fighters and families with assistance from the U.S.-led coalition, ensuring U.S. and regional safety; (3) they continue as a reliable partner in preventing ISIS resurgence; and (4) actions by the Government of Syria or regional actors undermining their role are inconsistent with U.S. national security objectives.
This section directs the Secretary of State, upon enactment, to designate al-Nusrah Front (also known as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham) as a foreign terrorist organization under INA §219 (8 U.S.C. 1189). (Thus, the designation takes immediate effect for purposes of prohibiting material support under 18 U.S.C. 2339B and authorizing asset blocking by the Secretary of the Treasury.)
This section authorizes the President to terminate the designation of Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism (SST) upon submitting a report to Congress explaining why the termination is in the U.S. national security interest. The termination does not take effect during a 90-calendar-day congressional review period (120 calendar days if the report is submitted on or after July 10 and on or before September 7 in any year), unless a joint resolution of disapproval is enacted into law during that period. (SST designation, imposed on Syria since 1979, triggers sanctions including restrictions on foreign assistance, defense exports, and certain financial transactions.) The section establishes expedited procedures for a joint resolution of disapproval, including: (1) introduction by party leaders in either chamber during the review period; (2) committee reporting or discharge within 10 calendar days; (3) in the House, a non-debatable motion to proceed, followed by up to 2 hours of debate and a vote on passage; and (4) in the Senate, a motion to proceed requiring a three-fifths vote, up to 10 hours of debate, and no amendments or other motions.
This section requires the President, on and after enactment, to impose blocking sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) and visa ineligibility on (1) 32 specified senior officials of the Syrian government (i.e., the President, 22 Ministers, the Chief of the General Staff, the Governor of the Central Bank of Syria, and heads of specified entities), plus any other senior officials determined by the President; (2) foreign persons responsible for or complicit in specified illicit activities (i.e., transnational crime, corruption, assassination of U.S. persons or allies, undermining U.S. or allied security, or sanctions evasion) benefiting the Syrian government; and (3) foreign persons knowingly providing specified support to the Syrian government or its forces (i.e., financial or material aid, energy production goods or services, military aircraft or parts, construction services, or involvement in human rights abuses or leadership of relevant Syrian sectors). It expresses the sense of Congress that financial support includes loans, credits, or export credits.
This section requires the President, upon enactment, to impose blocking sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and correspondent or payable-through account restrictions on the Central Bank of Syria, any Syrian government-owned financial institution, their subsidiaries or successors, and foreign financial institutions that knowingly engage in significant transactions with them (subject to a U.S. national interest waiver). It further requires blocking sanctions under IEEPA, visa ineligibility, and revocation of existing visas for leaders, officials, senior executives, board members, or controlling shareholders of those institutions. Effective 30 days after enactment, the section prohibits U.S. persons from any transactions with the Central Bank of Syria or specified Syrian financial institutions and directs the President to review and update the sanctions list initially 210 days after enactment and every 180 days thereafter.
This section reimposes, effective on enactment, the sanctions and other measures under four Executive orders related to Syria—Executive Orders 13338 (blocking property of certain persons and prohibiting certain exports to Syria), 13399 (blocking property of additional persons), 13460 (blocking property of additional persons), and 13582 (blocking property of the Government of Syria and prohibiting certain transactions with respect to Syria)—as in effect on June 30, 2025. It further reinstates any sanctions imposed on a person under such orders as of June 30, 2025.
This section directs the President, not later than 180 days after enactment and every 180 days thereafter, to review entities in which the Government of Syria may have a controlling or majority ownership interest or that may otherwise be affiliated with it, and to impose blocking sanctions on any such entity determined to meet those criteria. The sanctions require the President to exercise authorities under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to block and prohibit all transactions in the entity's property and interests in property that are in the United States, come within the United States, or are in the possession or control of a U.S. person.
This section prohibits, on and after the date of enactment, depository institutions (as defined in section 19(b)(1)(A) of the Federal Reserve Act) and brokers or dealers registered with the SEC from processing fund transfers to or from the Government of Syria (including any owned entity) or for the direct or indirect benefit of its officials. It provides an exception for transfers arising from, and ordinarily incident and necessary to, an underlying transaction authorized by a specific or general license.
This section directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), not later than 30 days after the date of enactment, to prohibit securities of issuers affiliated with the Government of Syria—including officials or individuals affiliated with the government and entities in which the government has a controlling or majority ownership interest or that are otherwise affiliated with the government—from being traded on a national securities exchange (i.e., an exchange registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934). The terms "issuer" and "security" have the meanings given in section 3(a) of that Act (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)).
This section prohibits, on and after the date of enactment, (1) new investment in Syria by any United States person, wherever located; (2) the exportation, reexportation, sale, or supply, directly or indirectly, from the United States or by any United States person, wherever located, of any services category designated by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to any person located in Syria; and (3) any approval, financing, facilitation, or guarantee by any United States person, wherever located, of a transaction by a foreign person that would be prohibited by this section if performed by a United States person or within the United States.
This section requires the President to impose the sanctions described in section 301(c) on any foreign person determined to have knowingly provided goods, services, technology, or other support that facilitates the maintenance or expansion of production of oil, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, petroleum, petroleum products, petrochemical products, coal, or coal products for use by any person sanctioned under section 301.
This section prohibits any United States person, including a United States financial institution, from purchasing sovereign debt of the Government of Syria on or after the date of enactment.
This section requires the President, not later than 180 days after enactment and every 180 days thereafter, to (1) review any person that may knowingly provide global financial messaging services (i.e., systems like SWIFT used for international bank transfers) to circumvent sanctions under this Act, as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury in consultation with the Secretary of State; and (2) impose sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) on such entities and their leaders, officials, senior executive officers, board members, or principal shareholders with controlling or majority interests. It authorizes the President to waive such sanctions for entities subject to a comparable foreign sanctions regime that have terminated services to relevant sanctioned institutions and provide significant financial messaging services to U.S. financial institutions, as determined by Treasury in consultation with State. Nothing in this section limits the President's authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
This section provides exceptions from sanctions and other measures under the Act for (1) activities subject to reporting requirements under title V of the National Security Act of 1947 and authorized U.S. intelligence activities; (2) the admission or parole of aliens necessary to comply with the U.N. Headquarters Agreement or to assist law enforcement objectives; and (3) transactions for agricultural commodities (as defined in 7 U.S.C. 5602), food, medicine (i.e., drugs, as defined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act), medical devices (i.e., devices, as defined therein), humanitarian assistance, or other humanitarian purposes, and related transactions. This section further exempts U.S. persons operating under general licenses issued by the Department of the Treasury prior to enactment and preserves the terms of such licenses and Treasury's authority to administer, extend, or issue new general licenses.
This section (1) authorizes the President to exercise all authorities under sections 203 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA; 50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704)—which include investigating, regulating, prohibiting, or blocking transactions and property interests involving foreign countries or nationals during declared national emergencies—to carry out this Act; (2) applies civil and criminal penalties under IEEPA section 206(b) and (c) (50 U.S.C. 1705)—up to $1 million in civil penalties per violation or 20 years imprisonment and $1 million fine for willful violations—to persons who violate, attempt to violate, conspire to violate, or cause a violation of this Act or its implementing regulations; and (3) directs the President to promulgate necessary implementing regulations within 180 days of enactment.
This section exempts the importation of goods from sanctions authorities and requirements under this Act, defining a good as any article, natural or manmade substance, material, supply, or manufactured product (including inspection and test equipment but excluding technical data).
This section authorizes the President to suspend, in whole or in part, any provision of this Act upon written certification to Congress that the Government of Syria has ceased all attacks on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and their partners. If the Government of Syria or any entity or foreign person acting on its behalf resumes such attacks, the President must immediately reinstate any suspended provisions and continue applying unsuspended ones.
This section provides that, except for section 403 with respect to the importation of goods, nothing in this Act limits the President's authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act or any other provision of law.