May 22, 2013
Washington, DC — The Coalition for a Democratic Syria welcomes the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s overwhelming approval of the Syria Transition Support Act of 2013 (S. 960). The bipartisan bill, introduced by the Committee Chair Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), and Ranking Member Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), supports the Syrian Coalition and its efforts to achieve a political transition in Syria, authorizes more non-lethal and lethal assistance to carefully vetted elements of the Syrian opposition, establishes a transition fund out of existing appropriations, and imposes new penalties on groups selling weapons or oil to elements of the Assad regime now or in the future.
With a bipartisan vote of 15 in favor and 3 against, the Committee sent the bill to the full Senate. The CDS Board urges Senate leadership to bring this important bill to the Senate floor for debate quickly. "This bill represents an important and long overdue step in the right direction for American foreign policy. It sends a strong message to Iran and Russia that the US will actively oppose the brutal Assad regime and will improve the image of the US in Syria and the region. The bill helps show Syrians as well as Assad that the US means business beyond the usual rhetoric, and that democratic transition must happen immediately," said CDS Board Member Mohammed Alaa Ghanem.
 The Coalition for a Democratic Syria is a group of Syrian-American non-profit organizations working together to bring about a swift end to the conflict and support the establishment of peace, freedom, and democracy in Syria. The CDS is a multi-ethnic, multi-confessional, non-partisan organization. The CDS includes: Syrian Emergency Task Force, United for Free Syria, Syrian American Council, Syrian American Alliance, Syrian Expatriates Organization, Syrian Christians for Democracy, and Association of Free Syrians.
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