The U.S. House of Representatives voted today, Thursday, by a majority on the defense budget bill, which includes the repeal of “Caesar's Law” against Syria.
The bill garnered 312 votes in favor, against 112 in the House of Representatives. Following the announcement of the voting results, celebrations broke out in Syrian cities, according to the official "Al-Ekhbariya" channel.
The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on the bill next week, with it anticipated to be enacted by the end of this year.
Unconditional Repeal
In this context, the head of political affairs at the Syrian American Council, Mohamed Alaa Ghanem, said via his account on "X": "The House of Representatives authorized the defense ministry's budget for 2026, which includes an unconditional repeal of Caesar’s Law, with a voting result of 312 in favor and 112 against".
"Following its passage in the House, the bill now heads to the Senate for voting next week, and will subsequently be sent to the office of the American president for signature".
He noted that "the voting in the House was the most challenging, and we have now completed it, a thousand congratulations to Syria and the Syrians.. 2026 without sanctions".
The lifting of sanctions is expected to support the recovery of the Syrian economy and strengthen the stability of the new government led by President Ahmed Al-Shar'.
Lifting Sanctions
According to the Syrian Al-Ekhbariya channel, the Congress vote on the final version of the law appendix, allows it to become a law whereby American sanctions on Syria are permanently and finally lifted before Christmas.
According to a draft document prepared within the framework of the National Defense Authorization Act, lifting the law required a periodic review of the performance of the Syrian government.
The draft stipulates that Syria confirms it is taking tangible steps in combating terrorist organizations, respecting minority rights, refraining from unilateral military action against neighboring countries, combating money laundering and terrorist financing, pursuing crimes against humanity committed under the deposed regime, and combating drug production.
It was mentioned that if these conditions are not met during two consecutive reporting periods, sanctions may be reimposed.
The Harshest Sanctions
Caesar's Law, which was enacted by the U.S. Congress in December 2019 to protect Syrian civilians, is one of the toughest economic and legal sanctions on the former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's regime.
Caesar's Law imposed sanctions on a diverse group of individuals, companies, and entities in third countries, who engage in specific types of business that contribute to funding the war in Syria, or in reconstruction projects with the regime government, as well as with individuals and companies under sanctions in Syria.
These sanctions were named after the symbolic name of military photographer Fareed al-Mazdeh, nicknamed "Caesar," who leaked thousands of horrifying images documenting torture and war crimes committed by the regime branches.
