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Bill Tracker

The Assyrian Policy Institute monitors U.S. legislation that can impact Assyrians in their ancestral lands. View our bill tracker below for information related to current legislation. We are committed to advancing our mission through legislation and policy action. Take action on the bills listed in the tracker by clicking here.

117th Congress (2021-2022)

117th Congress

API SUPPORTS

Assyrian Genocide Recognition

Summary

H.Res.550 calls on the U.S. Government to formally recognize the Assyrian Genocide (1914-1923) during which as many as 300,000 Assyrians were systematically killed by the Ottoman Empire (later the Republic of Turkey) and allied Kurdish tribes.

Additional Information

  • On July 22, 2021, H.Res.550 was introduced and referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

H.Res.550

Bill Sponsor:

Rep. Josh Harder

API SUPPORTS

Semele Massacre  Recognition

H.Res. 143

Bill Sponsor:

Summary

H.Res. 143 calls on the U.S. House of Representatives to recognize the Semele Massacre of 1933, during which as many as 6,000 Assyrians were systematically killed by Iraqi Government forces and allied Kurdish and Arab tribes in northern Iraq.

Additional Information

  • On February 22, 2021, H.Res. 143 was introduced and referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Rep. Debbie Lesko

116th Congress (2019-2020)

116th Congress

API SUPPORTS

Semele Massacre  Recognition

H.Res. 1246

Bill Sponsors:

Rep. Debbie Lesko

Summary

H.Res. 1246 calls on the U.S. House of Representatives to recognize the Semele Massacre of 1933, during which as many as 6,000 Assyrians were systematically killed by Iraqi Government forces and allied Kurdish and Arab tribes in northern Iraq.

Additional Information

  • On December 2, 2020, H.Res. 1246 was introduced and referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. The resolution died in committee.

API SUPPORTS

Assyrian Genocide Recognition

Summary

H.Res.537 calls on the U.S. Government to formally recognize the Assyrian Genocide (1914-1923) during which more than 250,000 Assyrians were systematically killed by the Ottoman Empire, and later, the Republic of Turkey.

Additional Information

  • On August 2, 2019, H.Res.537 was introduced and referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

H.Res.537

Bill Sponsors:

Rep. Josh Harder

API OPPOSES

Security Resolution for Northern Iraq

H.Res.259

Bill Sponsors:

Reps. Jeff Fortenberry & Anna Eshoo

Summary

Additional Information

The resolution expresses the House of Representatives' support for the repatriation of religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq to their ancestral homelands, and calls for the United States and its international partners to prioritize policy and coordinate efforts for the "safe return of displaced indigenous people of the Nineveh Plain and Sinjar to their ancestral homeland." It also calls for the integration of religious minorities into Iraqi Security Forces and the Kurdistan Regional Government Peshmerga.

  • On June 20, 2019, a consideration and mark-up session was held in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; the resolution was ordered to be reported back to the House of Representatives for a vote.
     

  • On March 27, 2019, H.Res.259 was referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and subsequently died in committee.

115th Congress (2017-2018)

115th Congress

API SUPPORTS

Nineveh Plain Restoration Act

H.Res.741

Bill Sponsors:

Reps. Jeff Denham,

Juan Vargas, Adam Schiff, Randy Weber, &

Randy Hultgren

Summary

Additional Information

H.Res.741 calls on the U.S. Government to support the safe return of displaced peoples to the Nineveh Plain, the establishment of a self-governing province, and the swift rehabilitation of devastated areas inhabited by ethnic minorities in Iraq. The legislation also highlights the importance of channeling U.S. aid directly to nonsectarian groups working in the region.

  • On February 16, 2018, H.Res.741 was referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; it subsequently died in committee.

API OPPOSES

Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief & Accountability Act of 2018

H.R.390

Bill Sponsors:

Reps. Chris Smith & Anna Eshoo

Summary

Additional Information

This bill directs U.S. government agencies to provide humanitarian, stabilization, and recovery assistance for nationals and residents of Iraq and Syria, in particular ethnic and minority individuals at risk of persecution or war crimes. It also directs the agencies to assist in prosecuting those suspected of such crimes.

  • On December 11, 2018, H.R.390 was signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump.
     

  • On October 11, 2018, H.R.390 was passed in the U.S. Senate.
     

  • On June 6, 2017, H.R.390 was passed in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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