House Bill Would Prevent Renewal of OFAC’s Earthquake Relief License for Syria
House Republicans introduced a bill last week that would prevent the administration from renewing a general license authorizing certain transactions related to earthquake relief efforts in Syria. The bill would also require the Treasury, State and Commerce departments to notify Congress of any change to the Syria Sanctions Regulations “no more than 15 days prior to the change taking effect.”
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Extending the Office of Foreign Asset Control’s license, which is scheduled to expire Aug. 8 (see 2302100006), would “undermine our Syria sanctions and send a message that the United States accepts normalization with” the Bashar Al-Assad regime, said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas. McCaul called the license “over-broad” and said U.S. sanctions against Syria “already contain humanitarian exemptions.” Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., who helped introduce the bill, said the Syrian government has “directly benefited” from the license “while refusing aid to areas hit hardest by the earthquake.”