Eliot Engel: “several months ago now the President signed the Syria Accountability Act, which was passed overwhelmingly by this House…”

“several months ago now the President signed the Syria Accountability Act, which was passed overwhelmingly by this House and the other body. Since that time, however, the act has not been implemented; and I believe, as do the vast majority of Members in this House and the other body believe, that the time is now to slap sanctions on Syria. Just the other day, the word came out from Iraq that Syria was allowing weaponry to come from Syrian territory into Iraq and guerrillas to come from Syrian territory into Iraq to do harm to American troops. Syria has not patrolled its border and has allowed these anti-U.S. guerrillas to come in and kill our troops. Also, the other day in Jordan a plot was discovered where poison gas was to have been released and there was to be an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan. It was documented that this gas and these attacks came from Syria across the border into Jordan. Syria is a major sponsor of terrorism. Syria illegally continues to occupy Lebanon, has a weapons of mass destruction program, and, as I mentioned before, is allowing its border to be used by terrorists to come into Iraq to do harm to U.S. troops. Those are the four things that this bill, the Syria Accountability Act, called on Syria to end. Syria has not ended, and the President should implement the sanctions immediately.”