Murphy-Schneider Amendment to Prevent Iranian Foothold in Syria Included in National Intelligence Authorization

Today, an amendment introduced by U.S. Representatives Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) to counter Iranian influence in Syria passed the U.S. House of Representatives.

The amendment would require the Director of National Intelligence report on Iran's efforts to establish a foothold in Syria and analyze the threat this poses to the United States and our allies. It was included in H.R. 3494, Intelligence Authorization Act for FY 2018, FY 2019, and FY 2020.

"Iran is a bad actor that has spread its malign influence and continued to engage in destabilizing activities throughout the Middle East, as well as beyond," said Schneider in remarks on the House floor. "The Iranian regime has and continues to establish deep ties within Syria through military, political, economic, social, and cultural means. This is dangerous behavior that must be checked. Iran must not be allowed to maintain a permanent foothold in Syria and threaten our allies. To stand up to Iran, we must first understand the full extent of Iran's activities in Syria, which is what my amendment seeks to do."

This most recent effort builds on previous work by Schneider, who last Congress introduced legislation (H.R. 4012) requiring a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran's support for proxy forces and requiring a strategy to prevent Iran from expanding its power in Syria and Lebanon. A version of this legislation ultimately passed the House as an amendment to H.R. 6237, the Matthew Young Pollard Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2018 and 2019. This language remains in H.R. 3494, the legislation voted on this week.

An NIE represents the U.S. intelligence community's most authoritative assessment of a specific national-security issue, and is a classified document produced by the Director of National Intelligence with coordination from 16 agencies in the U.S. intelligence community.