“Today, the House overwhelmingly passed the PACT Act, bipartisan legislation to hold Turkey accountable for its military incursion into Syria and its efforts to displace Kurdish residents from their homes.  It imposes sanctions on senior Turkish officials involved in the decision to launch this incursion or complicit in the abuse of human rights.  It sanctions a Turkish bank with ties to President Erdogan.  It requires the Trump Administration to sanction Turkey’s procurement of a Russian-made missile-defense system.  Furthermore, it mandates a report to Congress on the impact of this Turkish military operation on our ongoing efforts to counter ISIS and keep that organization from regrouping. 

“President Trump’s disastrous decision to abandon our Kurdish allies and withdraw our forces from northern Syria emboldened Turkey to act.  It is critical that Congress makes clear that the American people do not approve of its incursion or the President’s decision – and that we will not sit idly by as it worsens an already bad situation on the ground in Syria.  Neither will we allow the damage President Trump has done to our international credibility to go unanswered.  I thank Chairman Engel, Ranking Member McCaul, and other Members from both sides of the aisle for their hard work on this legislation, which reflects the strongly bipartisan concerns about Turkey’s actions and President Trump’s abandonment of our steadfast allies.”