Intel: Why Congress buried its Syria policy review in an unrelated aviation bill

Congress is finally on the brink of enacting its own Syria policy review — by stuffing the provision in a completely unrelated aviation bill.

The Senate is set to vote this week on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act. Following negotiations between the House and Senate, the 1,207-page bill now includes language tasking Congress with assembling an independent, 12-member Syria panel to “examine and make recommendations on the military and diplomatic strategy” in the war-torn country.

Before it was in the FAA bill, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., had unsuccessfully tried for more than a year to use her seat on the Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees to create the study group.

Why it matters: Shaheen’s long endeavor to set up the study group illustrates the difficulty Congress has had passing legislation to address US strategy in Syria.