WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two influential U.S. lawmakers on Thursday urged the United States to ratchet up sanctions on Syria, including slapping U.S. travel limits on Syrian diplomats, in response to its deadly crackdown on protests.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the powerful Republican chairwoman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, and Eliot Engel, a senior Democrat on the committee, wrote President Barack Obama asking him to take tougher action.

"We believe that it is time that the United States pursues a policy on Syria designed to deny the Assad regime the political, economic and technological resources to engage in activities that pose an extraordinary threat to U.S. security, our interests, and our allies," the letter said.
Obama last week signed an executive order imposing new sanctions against Syria's intelligence agency and two relatives of President Bashar al-Assad in response to the crackdown.
Assad was not among those targeted for the sanctions, which include asset freezes and bans on U.S. business dealings. But he could be named if violence by government forces against pro-democracy protesters continues, U.S. officials said.

"We'll continue to assess the situation moving forward," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told a news briefing. "If sanctions can be useful, we'll look at that."
Ros-Lehtinen and Engel said the United States should take further steps, including barring all U.S. businesses from operating in Syria and restricting Syrian diplomats in Washington and at the United Nations in New York from traveling more than 25 miles from the two cities.
The United States should also block transactions involving any U.S. property in which the Syrian government has an interest, they said.

The lawmakers said Assad's drive to crush protests against his 11-year autocratic rule had emphasized the dangers posed by Syria, including its relations with Iran, support for militant groups and suspected covert nuclear activity.
"We ask that you build on your recent actions by further strengthening U.S. sanctions against the Syrian regime and its enablers," they said.
(Reporting by Andrew Quinn; Editing by Xavier Briand)