Brian Mast: “I thank Chairman Royce for yielding me the time and for his continued leadership on this critical issue. It has been an…”

“I thank Chairman Royce for yielding me the time and for his continued leadership on this critical issue. It has been an honor to serve with him and to learn from him. Absolutely, I couldn't say that more seriously. It has been an honor. Mr. Speaker, I do rise today in support of H. Res. 1165. It is a resolution condemning the Assad regime and its backers, including Iran and Russia, for their continued support of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria. Now, after 7 years of war, as was already mentioned, the deaths of more than half a million people have occurred. Now, let's do a little bit of math on that. That would be over 70,000 people each year. When you think of the march of killing each and every day, that is a government march by the Assad regime of killing over 200 people every single day of the year. The atrocities of the Assad regime are still ongoing with the help of Russia and Iran. And what do these atrocities look like: burning individuals to death, having them buried under rubble, having an adult put a 7.62 Kalashnikov round into a child, the use of chemical devices. The United States must push for an end to this and must push to hold these perpetrators accountable. Currently, Iran is estimated to have deployed over 3,000 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps soldiers into the area. Iran is also responsible for directing Hezbollah and other militia fighters to battle on behalf of the regime.…”