Lawmakers approve shifting $230 million for Syrian rebel funding

Senate appropriators have approved a Pentagon request to fund continued efforts aimed at helping Syrian rebels.

In a Nov. 18 reprogramming request, Defense Department Comptroller Mike McCord had originally asked to move $250 million out of the Counterterrorism Partnership Fund into Army and Defense-Wide accounts "for continued suport of Syria Train and Equip activities," but the Senate Appropriations Committee subsequently lowered that number down to $220 million.

In its update reprogramming request that reflects the congressional modification posted on the comptroller's website in the past week, McCord wrote:

"Funds are required for the United States to continue to provide assistance to appropriately vetted elements of the Syrian opposition and other appropriately vetted Syrian groups and individuals for FY 2017. The DOD will continue to supply and equip vetted Syrian opposition forces actively engaged in the campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), sustaining the momentum of Syrian opposition forces as they fight to retake the city of Raqqah, ISIL's stronghold in Syria, and conduct future counter-ISIL operations in Syria. The DOD will provide scalable, tailored trainig adapted to fit the threat and operational environment. The DOD will continue to provide specialized enabler and leadership training to those individuals with demonstrated aptitude, capability, and commitment to the campaign. Success in these efforts will allow vetted Syrian opposition groups to defend and secure territory, initiate offensive military actions in support of the broader campaign to defeat ISIL, and promote conditions for a negotiated settlement to end the conflict in Syria. This is an OCO budget requirement."