Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey has joined forces with Florida Senator Marco Rubio in a call for political change in Syria.

Both members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Casey and Rubio introduced a bipartisan resolution on Wednesday calling for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down from power and for an end to the violent conflict that has been plaguing the country and in order to allow Syria to begin a transition towards democracy.

The measure calls for the Obama administration to continue to provide support to opposition forces in Syria and extend humanitarian assistance to those affected by violence.  The resolution also calls for the United States to develop a plan to identify and secure Syria’s stockpiles of conventional, biological and chemical weapons.

“More than 10,000 people have now been killed in Syria,” said Senator Casey, a Democrat. “Despite the presence of UN monitors, the violence has not stopped and Assad has not removed his forces from cities and towns across the country.  We must do more to provide humanitarian assistance to those suffering under the regime’s brutality, and to assist opposition organizations that seek a peaceful, democratic future for Syria.”

“Assad has committed atrocities against the Syrian people, and it’s essential that the United States keep applying pressure on the regime and plan for a post-Assad Syria. Assad’s departure from power needs to be accelerated, while we lay the foundation for Syria to begin its difficult path towards a true inclusive democracy,” said Rubio, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The resolution is scheduled to be marked up by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Thursday.