[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 68 (Friday, May 26, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E988-E989]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 PALESTINIAN ANTI-TERRORISM ACT OF 2006

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. TAMMY BALDWIN

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 22, 2006

  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, this week I made a very difficult decision 
in voting for H.R. 4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006. I 
have been deeply moved by my constituents from both sides of the issue, 
including individuals with strong family ties to the Middle East. I 
want to take this opportunity to share my thoughts behind voting in 
support of the legislation.
  In January 2006, Hamas, a designated terrorist organization that does 
not recognize the state of Israel and calls for an Islamized 
Palestinian state, won the legislative election to lead the PA 
government. Since then, the United States and the European Union have 
announced a series of measures designed to further isolate and pressure 
the Hamas-led Palestinian government until it recognizes Israel, 
renounces violence, and accepts previously signed Israeli-Palestinian 
peace agreements.
  Specifically, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recently announced 
that the United States has begun to suspend over $400 million in direct 
aid to Hamas, while redirecting about $100 million from canceled 
projects to humanitarian assistance such as food and medicine 
distributed by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The canceled aid 
includes: $45 million in direct aid to the PA; $130 million in 
infrastructure projects; $20 million in private enterprise development 
and revitalization, financial markets reform, trade programs and 
information technology sector support; $17 million in electoral, 
political party, local government and legislative support programs; $13 
million in civil society development; $10 million in rule of law and 
judicial programs; $7 million in technical assistance and vocational 
training; $4 million in community policing, among others. Similarly, 
the EU Commission announced that it had halted payments to the Hamas 
government, freezing all direct aid to the PA and payment of public 
employees' salaries with EU funds through the World Bank, but not 
humanitarian aid through international and nongovernmental 
organizations. In the mean time, the Israeli government has cut off all 
ties with nearly all branches of the PA government, including its 
security. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has declared that his 
government will avoid meetings with visiting representatives or 
diplomats from PA.
  I am in support of certain financial sanctions on Hamas to ensure no 
U.S. government funding goes directly to support terrorism activities. 
On February 15, 2006, I voted in favor of, and the House passed, S. 
Con. Res. 76, which expressed the sense of Congress that no United 
States assistance should be provided directly to the PA if the majority 
party in control of the PA parliament maintains a position calling for 
the destruction of Israel. I believe it was a sensible resolution that 
called for an end of U.S. financial support of Hamas while allowing 
other forms of humanitarian aid to flow through NGOs to the Palestinian 
people.
  The impact of cuts in aid is being felt by the PA. Omar Abdel-Razeq, 
Finance Minister of the PA, recently confirmed that the PA could not 
pay March and April salaries to about 140,000 government workers. These 
salaries support about one-third of the Palestinian population. These 
cuts in aid came on top of the fact that Gaza's economy is in dire 
straights, with average family income already below the U.N. poverty 
line. Economic conditions are also precipitously declining in the West 
Bank. Overall the PA shoulders a total debt of $1.3 billion, including 
$640 million to regional and local banks and making it virtually 
impossible for the PA to obtain new loans. Furthermore, Israel has 
decided to withhold $50 million a month in customs and tax receipts 
since January, although it continues to pay Israeli companies about 
$5.5 million a month from those receipts for the water and electricity 
used by the Palestinians. The Israeli government has also recently 
announced that it will buy drugs and medial equipments needed by 
Palestinian hospitals in Gaza out of the withheld funds.

  Yet, despite the dire needs of Palestinians, Hamas has chosen to 
ignore reality in favor of its extremist commitment to terrorism.
  On April 17 of this year, a suicide bomber struck in a Tel Aviv 
restaurant, killing nine Israelis and injured dozens. The suicide 
bombing was carried out by Islamic Jihad, an Iranian-backed extremist 
group that refuses to acknowledge the cease-fire followed by

[[Page E989]]

Hamas. The Passover attack was a grotesque display of terrorism and 
violence, yet it was quickly defended by Hamas. Sami Abu Zuhri, the 
official spokesman for Hamas, stated at the time that the attack was 
``a natural result of the continued Israeli crimes'' against 
Palestinians and that ``our people are in a state of self-defense and 
they have every right to use all means to defend themselves.'' It 
became clear to me that, without regards to the pressing needs of the 
Palestinian people, Hamas was ready to ignore its own cease-fire policy 
in favor of extremist political rhetoric that further isolate and 
weaken the PA and endangers the humanitarian situation of the 
Palestinian people. It was a chilling reminder of Hamas' tendency to 
favor violence over peace and political posturing over progress, all at 
the expense of Palestinian people's welfare.
  The Passover bombing and the Hamas response to the bombing was a 
turning point in my consideration and analysis of H.R. 4681, the 
Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006. I believe that a stronger 
message must be sent by the United States to Hamas that we will not 
support a government that continues to embrace terrorism. H.R. 4681 is 
an appropriate vehicle to send that message. The bill intensifies the 
pressure placed on the Hamas-led PA by not only restricting direct U.S. 
aid to the PA (which has already been suspended by Secretary Rice), but 
also restricting U.S. assistance to NGOs working in the West Bank and 
Gaza, subject to exceptions based on humanitarian needs. It expresses 
the sense of Congress that PA-controlled territories should be deemed 
as terrorist sanctuaries; denies visas to any PA officials or 
affiliated persons; and restricts the travel of any PA representative 
to the UN outside of a 25-mile radius of the U.N. headquarters building 
in New York City. Finally, the bill directs the President to prohibit 
international financial institutions from directly assisting a Hamas-
led PA, and prohibits any U.S. officer or employee from having any 
official contacts with members or official representatives of Hamas.
  In examining H.R. 4681 leading up to the vote, the bill had raised 
several significant questions for me: Is additional financial and 
political isolation the most effective means to induce changes to Hamas 
policy towards Israel? Will such noose-tightening prompt the 
Palestinian people to insist that Hamas change its policy or will it 
inadvertently lead to humanitarian crisis and civil unrest in the West 
Bank and Gaza? Will political and financial sanctions firmly aimed at 
Hamas serve to strengthen the role of Mahmoud Abbas, the moderate 
President of the PA or further radicalize Hamas while undermining the 
position of President Mahmoud Abbas? While these are difficult 
questions with which to wrestle, I eventually decided that H.R. 4681 
sends an important and necessary message to PA that the United States 
will not tolerate a terrorist-controlled government's role in 
obstructing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

  First, I believe H.R. 4681 provides the United States the additional 
leverage it needs to push Hamas toward the acceptance of Israel and the 
rejection of violence. The Act amends the Foreign Assistance Act (FAA) 
by adding a new section prohibiting direct financial transfers by the 
United States to the PA until the President certifies that no part of 
the PA is controlled by a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) 
designated by the United States and Europe and no member of an FTO 
serves in a senior policy making position in the PA, the PA has 
publicly acknowledged Israel's right to exist and recommitted itself to 
previous agreements and understandings with Israel and the United 
States, and the PA has taken effective steps and made progress toward a 
number of objectives including purging its security services of 
individuals with ties to terrorists, dismantling terrorist 
infrastructure, and halting anti-Israeli incitement. I believe these 
are reasonable and necessary benchmarks that Hamas must make in order 
to demonstrate its capability to be a responsible government.
  Furthermore, I believe the bill's humanitarian provisions address my 
concern that the increased sanctions advocated by the legislation would 
unnecessarily hurt the Palestinian people. Make no mistake, I do not 
believe that the Palestinian people should be punished for exercising 
their right to elect the representatives of their choice. In March 
2005, Hamas accepted a temporary cease-fire with Israel in exchange for 
Abbas' agreement to allow the group into PA's electoral system. 
Throughout the process, the Bush Administration stood on the sidelines, 
assuming that Hamas' political participation would either transform the 
group or marginalize it. Indeed, Secretary Rice stated last fall that 
the United States had ``to give the Palestinians some room for the 
evolution of their political process.'' As a result, Hamas entered the 
field for the 2006 legislative elections. Understanding the widespread 
public dissatisfaction with the PA's corruption under the control of 
the Fatah party and the sour economy, Hamas ran on a platform of clean 
governance and reform, rather than ideology. Subsequently, observers 
widely agree that Hamas was democratically elected by the Palestinian 
people not for its ideological platform, but for its practical appeal 
in improving the day-to-day living conditions of Palestinians.
  I strongly believe Palestinians should not be punished for exercising 
their Democratic choice in electing their representatives. Yet, with 
nearly 50 percent of the PA's residents living below the poverty line, 
unemployment on the rise, and government salaries already not being 
paid, Hamas' ongoing pursuit of extremist rhetoric demonstrates to me 
the party's inability to put the interests of the Palestinian people 
above its terrorist ideology and its unwillingness to govern in a 
responsible manner. I believe H.R. 4681, which provides an exception to 
the restrictions for basic human needs such as food, water, medicine, 
and sanitation services and allows the President to provide other 
targeted democracy or rule of law assistance, strikes a balance in both 
pressuring Hamas but also ensuring that necessary assistance reaches 
the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank.
  Finally, I believe the approach of economic and diplomatic isolation 
of Hamas will help strengthen the position of PA President Mahmoud 
Abbas and lead to the creation of pragmatic, reform-minded activists 
and parties. H.R. 4681 has been amended to allow for exceptions to the 
ban on direct assistance permitting the United States to maintain an 
open dialogue with President Abbas. It allows the president to use a 
national security waiver to provide assistance to the office of the PA 
president for non-security expenses directly related to facilitating a 
peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or for the 
personal security detail of the PA president. Emboldened by U.S. and 
Israeli opposition to Hamas, Abbas recently announced that it will call 
a national referendum on accepting a Palestinian state alongside Israel 
that would implicitly recognize Israel's right to exist. Abbas is ready 
and willing to demonstrate to the international community that there is 
a Palestinian partner for negotiations with Israel, and the United 
States should seize this opportunity to continue press for a 
breakthrough in long-stalled peace efforts.
  I sincerely hope that H.R. 4681 will play a constructive role to 
secure permanent peace in the Middle East.

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