Dan Kildee: “I thank my friend, the ranking member, and Chairman Royce for their work on this really important piece of legislation.…”

“I thank my friend, the ranking member, and Chairman Royce for their work on this really important piece of legislation. For 5 years--for 5 long years--the world has witnessed this terrible tragedy unfold before our eyes. Nearly half a million Syrians have been killed--not soldiers--men, women, and children killed, 5 million Syrian citizens driven from their own country, 10 million displaced from their homes, often leaving homes that have generation after generation of history, leaving behind their legacy; and atrocities, as we have recounted, the targeting of children, the targeting of hospitals, and the targeting of schools. Clearly, this Congress can and should act, and that is why I am so pleased to be a cosponsor of this and to join my colleagues in supporting this important legislation. This legislation would bring much-needed and long overdue accountability to the Assad regime. After all, they are responsible for these horrific crimes. It would do so by imposing sanctions on those responsible and for those who are abetting these coldhearted and merciless acts. It would authorize the Department of State to do what they need to do to assist those entities investigating these terrible war crimes and to hold the Assad regime accountable. It would mandate that the U.S.…”