Kaine calls for a new Syrian humanitarian strategy
Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern, South and Central Asian Affairs, has introduced a bipartisan resolution calling for the Obama administration to introduce a humanitarian strategy in 90 days.
Nineteen senators introduced a bipartisan resolution on Thursday requesting that the White House beef up its humanitarian aid to Syria.
The effort underscores growing frustration in Congress as Syria prepares to mark the third anniversary of an uprising that has left more than 140,000 people dead. While nonbinding, the resolution could be a prelude to increased congressional pressure on the administration to step up its involvement in the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
“I think this is a significant challenge; the US has done a lot, but we need to do more,” the resolution’s sponsor, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told Al-Monitor after attending a vigil outside the Capitol on the third anniversary of the uprising.
Asked if more legislation would be expected in the coming weeks, Kaine said “it is certainly possible.”
