CONGRESS MULLS NEW ANTI-SYRIAN BILLWASHINGTON [MENL] -- Congress has launched an examination of legislation that would increase pressure on Syria to withdraw from Lebanon and halt all foreign military and security aid to the regime of President Bashar Assad.
The legislation, termed the Lebanon and Syria Liberation Act, has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Rep. Elliot Engel. Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican from Florida, chairs the House subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia. Engel, a New York Democrat, is a leading member of the subcommittee.
The sponsors said the bill would intensify current sanctions on Syria. The legislation would also establish a program to encourage democracy in Syria and restore sovereignty in Lebanon.
"Through the introduction of the Lebanon and Syria Liberation Act [LASLA], or as I like to refer to it, LA-SYRIA-LA, which means 'No Syria No' in Arabic, we seek to intensify the pressure on the Syrian regime," Ms. Ros-Lehtinen said.