Momentum is growing on Capitol Hill behind a bipartisan push to repeal the Caesar Act, which imposed heavy U.S. sanctions on former Syrian dictator Bashar Assad’s regime and is now creating hurdles for the post-Assad government because it blocks international aid and investment from flowing into the war-torn Mideast nation.
Sources tell Threat Status at The Washington Times that a group of Syrian-American lawyers, doctors, business leaders and activists — the Syrian American Alliance for Peace & Prosperity (SAAPP) — made headway on an effort to repeal the 2019 law in meetings with several lawmakers from both parties in congressional offices this week.
It’s an issue that has caught the eye of the Trump administration, which has already moved to lift some of the law’s restrictions in hopes of helping the government of interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa draw investment for reconstruction, governance and post-war economic growth.
In May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a waiver of Caesar Act sanctions for 180 days. The waiver will expire in November unless Congress permanently repeals the law, or the administration issues new waivers.
A June statement by Rep. Joe Wilson, South Carolina Republican, said the situation is “creating economic uncertainty which will harm efforts to reduce the massive humanitarian and economic hardship in Syria which has been ravaged by years of war.”
Mr. Wilson and a group of other lawmakers — Republican and Democrat — have introduced legislation repealing the Caesar Act.
Last month, Mr. Wilson joined Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Democrat and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and U.S. envoy Tom Barrack on the first bipartisan congressional visit to Syria since the Assad regime was toppled in December and the former dictator fled to Russia, ending 14 years of civil war in Syria.
The delegation met with Mr. al-Sharaa to discuss reconstruction, governance and the country’s dire economic situation.
Mr. Wilson argues that ending sanctions will help unify Syria and protect its Druze, Alawite, Assyrian and Kurdish minorities in addition to aligning with the Trump administration’s effort to shift counterterrorism responsibilities from U.S. forces to regional partners.
“The Assad regime sanctioned by the Caesar Act no longer exists, and it is time to repeal the law to provide long-term certainty to those who would like to invest in the reconstruction and rebuilding of Syria,” the congressman said in the June statement.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and leading pro-Israel lobbyists have also voiced support for sanctions repeal.
• Guy Taylor can be reached at gtaylor@washingtontimes.com.