[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 178 (Thursday, December 20, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2395-E2396]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        ON INTRODUCING THE ANTI-TERRORISM CHARITY PROTECTION ACT

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                           HON. STEVE ISRAEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 20, 2001

  Mr. ISRAEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Anti-Terrorism 
Charity Protection Act, a bill that will not only ensure that 
organizations supporting terrorism are denied the benefits of an 
American tax deduction, but will protect innocent citizens from 
donating well-intentioned contributions to organizations that 
misappropriate funds to support terrorism.
  Mr. Speaker, since September 11th, we have learned a great deal about 
Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda terrorist network. Bin Laden 
apparently is rich, with a personal fortune of over $300 million. In 
addition, a complex global financial network exists to supplement his 
personal fortune. Alarmingly, evidence suggests that organizations in 
the United States and abroad have cloaked themselves as charitable 
groups to help funnel funds to al Qaeda.
  The President has already frozen the assets of the Wafa Humanitarian 
Organization, the Al Rashid Trust, the Makhtab al-Khidamat and the 
Society of Islamic Cooperation. These were groups that were supposedly 
charitable organizations, but were mere conduits for raising money for 
the treacherous acts of September 11 and other acts of terrorism around 
the world.
  On December 3rd, the Administration froze the assets of the Holy Land 
Foundation for Relief and Development, a foundation based in 
Richardstown, Texas. According to a December 5th article in The New 
York Times:

       Mr. Bush and Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said today 
     that they believe many Muslims who contributed to the Holy 
     Land Foundation did not know where their money was going. 
     ``Innocent donors who thought they were helping someone in 
     need deserve protection from these scam artists,'' Mr. 
     O'Neill said at the White House. The Treasury also announced 
     action against the Al Aqsa Bank and the Belt al Mal Holdings 
     Company, a bank that it described as ``direct arms of 
     Hamas.''

  I ask that the full text of the article follow my remarks.
  It seems clear that the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and 
Development is an organization that serves as the fundraising arm of 
Hamas, which is responsible for hundreds, if not thousands, of 
terrorist deaths in Israel over the years, with a recent surge of 
murder of innocent young people in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa.
  I do not believe that the American people, especially American 
Muslims, are intentionally giving money to support terror. In fact, I 
am sure that the vast majority of contributors to this organization 
believed that their money was going to support the legitimate 
humanitarian concerns that Americans have about the situation in the 
Middle East.
  The facts, however, indicate that these contributions were being used 
to finance bombs targeted at innocent civilians.
  Mr. Speaker, Americans trust the IRS to determine what is and what is 
not a charity. If there is an organization that is designated by the 
IRS to allow contributions to be tax deductible, almost all of our 
citizens would automatically assume that the group was legitimate. The 
IRS does an excellent job applying its regulations very stringently. 
Unfortunately, according to the IRS, the Holy Land Foundation did 
receive these benefits.
  Currently, the IRS by internal regulation denies charities affiliated 
with terrorism a tax deduction. This is all well and good, but the fact 
is that this could be challenged in court. I believe that the IRS needs 
a stronger tool. I believe that this restriction must be in the law.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, during consideration of the Financial Anti-
Terrorism Act, I introduced an amendment on this issue that Chairman 
Oxley, Mr. LaFalce, and the Committee on Financial Services were 
gracious enough to accept, though it did not make it through 
conference. The amendment asked that Treasury study how terrorist 
organizations may use charities to fund their operations. I am 
gratified to see that the Department of the Treasury and Secretary 
O'Neill seem to be focusing on this issue and would encourage them to 
continue doing so.
  Mr. Speaker, if we are going to win the War on Terrorism, we must 
fight the war on every front. The financial front is one important 
battleground and we must do everything we can to ensure that our 
soldiers--not only in Afghanistan behind rifles but here in America in 
front of computer screens--have the weapons they need to defend 
America.

                [From the New York Times, Dec. 10, 2001]

Bush Freezes Assets of Biggest U.S. Muslim Charity, Calling It a Deadly 
                              Terror Group

                 (By David E. Sanger and Judith Miller)

       Washington, Dec. 4--President Bush significantly broadened 
     his counterattack on terrorist groups today, freezing the 
     assets of the largest Muslim charity in the United States. 
     Mr. Bush accused the charity of supporting Hamas, the 
     Palestinian militant group that took responsibility for three 
     suicide bombings in Israel over the weekend.
       Mr. Bush's announcement was a strong demonstration of 
     solidarity with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel, who 
     has urged

[[Page E2396]]

     that Hamas be treated with the same severity as Al Qaeda's 
     terrorist network.
       White House officials said they had planned to move against 
     the charity and two banks that helped finance Hamas later 
     this month, but sped up the action after the bombings, which 
     killed 25 people and wounded almost 200, many of them 
     teenagers.
       Treasury officials said the charity, the Holy Land 
     Foundation for Relief and Development, based in Richardson, 
     Tex., had been under investigation since 1993.
       In a statement the charity denied allegations that it 
     provides financial support to terrorists. It said ``the 
     decision by the U.S. government to seize the charitable 
     donations of Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan is an 
     affront to millions of Muslim Americans.''
       A senior official said the administration had delayed 
     acting for fear of harming the F.B.I. investigation of the 
     charity. Search warrants were executed today when federal 
     officials seized documents at the charity headquarters and 
     other offices.
       International political considerations were also in play, 
     other administration officials said. The White House debated 
     whether moving against Arab extremist groups could weaken the 
     coalition Mr. Bush has assembled in the war on Afghanistan. 
     ``The bombings changed the politics of this considerably,'' a 
     senior administration official said.
       Speaking in the Rose Garden this morning, Mr. Bush appeared 
     to side with Mr. Sharon in his characterization of Hamas. 
     ``Hamas is one of the deadliest terror organizations in the 
     world today,'' he said, adding that it ``has obtained much of 
     the money it pays for murder abroad right here in the United 
     States.''
       The statement was something of a turnaround for the 
     administration. Its first list of terrorist groups subject to 
     American action, released days after the Sept. 11 attacks, 
     made no reference to Hamas. A second list released in October 
     called Hamas and some 20 other militant groups terrorist 
     organizations, but said few had assets in the United States.
       It is difficult to assess how effective the 
     administration's new campaign will be in slowing Hamas. 
     Officials said the group relied on American charities that 
     solicit funds in many mosques around the country for tens of 
     millions of dollars each year. Hamas has long said that the 
     money goes to social causes, easing the suffering of 
     Palestinians. The Treasury and F.B.I. say they have evidence 
     the money is siphoned to the organization's terrorist arm.
       The State Department says that Hamas also receives some 
     funding from Iran, but even more from wealthy patrons in 
     Saudi Arabia and Palestinian expatriates in the gulf. The 
     success of the Bush administration's crackdown will depend 
     largely on its ability to persuade those countries to follow 
     suit.
       Mr. Bush and Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said today 
     that they believe many Muslims who contributed to the Holy 
     Land Foundation did not know where their money was going. 
     ``Innocent donors who thought they were helping someone in 
     need deserve protection from these scam artists,'' Mr. 
     O'Neill said at the White House. The Treasury also announced 
     action against the Al Aqsa Bank and the Beit al Mal Holdings 
     Company, a bank that it described as ``direct arms of 
     Hamas.''
       So far, a half dozen banks in the United States have frozen 
     $1.9 million of the Holy Land Foundation's assets, Treasury 
     officials said today.
       In Richardson, F.B.I. agents and local police officers 
     stood guard outside the Holy Land Foundation offices as 
     movers removed items such as file cabinets, office furniture 
     and computers in accordance with President Bush's order.
       Movers using a tractor-trailer arrived with the seizure 
     notice at about 8 a.m. and worked into the night.
       Steven Emerson, an expert in Islamic terror networks, said 
     that the United States knew as early as 1993 that Hamas 
     leaders were ``meeting in America and using Holy Land 
     Foundation as a conduit to raise money for terrorism, recruit 
     support, and undermine the U.S.-sponsored peace process.''

     

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