[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 171 (Monday, December 31, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H7503-H7506]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
URGING EUROPEAN UNION TO DESIGNATE HIZBALLAH AS A TERRORIST
ORGANIZATION
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree
to the resolution (H. Res. 834) urging the governments of Europe and
the European Union to designate Hizballah as a terrorist organization
and impose sanctions, and urging the President to provide information
about Hizballah to the European allies of the United States and to
support the Government of Bulgaria in investigating the July 18, 2012,
terrorist attack in Burgas.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
H. Res. 834
Whereas the Department of State has designated Hizballah as
a foreign terrorist organization since October 1997;
Whereas the United States Government designated Hizballah a
specially designated terrorist organization in January 1995
and a ``Specially Designated Global Terrorist'' pursuant to
Executive Order 13224 (66 Fed. Reg. 49079) in October 2001;
Whereas Hizballah was established in 1982 through the
direct sponsorship and support of Iran's Islamic
Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Qods Force and, as a
primary terrorist proxy of Iran, continues to receive
training, weapons, and explosives, as well as political,
diplomatic, monetary, and organizational aid, from Iran;
Whereas Hizballah has been implicated in multiple acts of
terrorism over the past 30 years, including the bombings in
Lebanon in 1983 of the United States Embassy, the United
States Marine barracks, and the French Army barracks, the
airline hijackings and the kidnapping of European, American,
and other Western hostages in the 1980s and 1990s, and
support for the Khobar Towers attack in Saudi Arabia that
killed 19 Americans in 1996;
Whereas, according to the 2011 Country Reports on Terrorism
issued by the Department of State, ``Since at least 2004,
Hizballah has provided training to select Iraqi Shia
militants, including on the construction and use of
improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that can penetrate
heavily-armored vehicles.'';
Whereas, in 2007, a senior Hizballah operative, Ali Mussa
Daqduq, was captured in Iraq with detailed documents that
discussed tactics to attack Iraqi and coalition forces, and
has been directly implicated in a terrorist attack that
resulted in the murder of 5 members of the United States
Armed Forces;
Whereas Hizballah has been implicated in the terrorist
attacks in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the Israeli Embassy in
1992 and the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association in 1994;
Whereas Hizballah has been implicated in acts of terrorism
and extrajudicial violence in Lebanon, including the
assassination of political opponents;
Whereas, in June 2011, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, an
international tribunal for the prosecution of those
responsible for the February 14, 2005, assassination of
former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, issued arrest
warrants against 4 senior Hizballah members, including its
top military commander, Mustafa Badr al-Din, identified as
the primary suspect in the assassination;
Whereas, according to the 2011 Country Reports on Terrorism
issued by the Department of State, Hizballah is ``the likely
perpetrator'' of 2 bomb attacks that wounded United Nations
Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peacekeepers in Lebanon
during 2011;
Whereas, according to the October 18, 2012, report of the
Secretary-General of the United Nations to the United Nations
Security Council on the implementation of Security Council
Resolution 1559 (2004) (in this preamble referred to as the
``October 18 Report''), ``The maintenance by Hizbullah of
sizeable sophisticated military capabilities outside the
control of the Government of Lebanon . . . creates an
atmosphere of intimidation in the country[,] . . . puts
Lebanon in violation of its obligations under Resolution 1559
(2004)[,] and constitutes a threat to regional peace and
stability.'';
Whereas, on July 12, 2006, Hizballah engaged in an
unprovoked attack on Israel that instigated the 2006 Israel-
Hizballah War, in which Hizballah deliberately targeted
Israeli civilians and utilized innocent Lebanese as human
shields in violation of international norms;
Whereas, since the 2006 conflict, Iran and Syria have
provided substantial assistance to Hizballah to rebuild its
stockpile of tens of thousands of rockets, including
sophisticated long-range weapons that can strike deep into
Israeli territory;
Whereas John Brennan, Assistant to the President for
Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, stated on October 26,
2012, that Hizballah's ``social and political activities must
not obscure [its] true nature or prevent us from seeing it
for what it is--an international terrorist organization
actively supported by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards
Corps-Quds Force'';
Whereas David Cohen, Under Secretary of the Treasury for
Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, stated on August 10,
2012, ``Before al Qaeda's attack on the U.S. on September 11,
2001, Hizballah was responsible for killing more Americans in
terrorist attacks than any other terrorist group'';
Whereas, according to a September 13, 2012, Department of
the Treasury press release, ``The last year has witnessed
Hizballah's most aggressive terrorist plotting outside the
Middle East since the 1990s.'';
Whereas, since 2011, Hizballah has been implicated in
thwarted terrorist plots in Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Thailand, and
elsewhere;
Whereas, on July 18, 2012, a suicide bomber attacked a bus
in Burgas, Bulgaria, murdering 5 Israeli tourists and the
Bulgarian bus driver in a terrorist attack that, according to
Mr. Brennan, ``bore the hallmarks of a Hizballah attack'';
Whereas Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has
stated regarding the Burgas terrorist attack, ``We have
unquestionable, fully substantiated evidence that this was
done by Hizballah backed by Iran.'';
Whereas Bulgaria is a member of the European Union and of
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO);
Whereas, according to the October 18 Report, ``There have
been credible reports suggesting involvement by Hizbullah and
other Lebanese political forces in support of the parties in
the conflict in Syria. . . . Such militant activities by
Hizbullah in Syria contradict and undermine the
disassociation policy of the Government of Lebanon, of which
Hizbullah is a coalition member.'';
Whereas, on October 26, 2012, Mr. Brennan stated, ``We have
seen Hizballah training militants in Yemen and Syria, where
it continues to provide material support to the regime of
Bashar al Assad, in part to preserve its weapon supply
lines.'';
Whereas, on August 10, 2012, the Department of the Treasury
designated Hizballah pursuant to Executive Order 13582 (76
Fed. Reg. 52209), which targets those responsible for human
rights abuses in Syria, for providing support to the
Government of Syria;
Whereas, according to the Department of the Treasury, since
early 2011, Hizballah ``has provided training, advice and
extensive logistical support to the Government of Syria's
increasingly ruthless effort to fight against the
opposition'' and has ``directly trained Syrian government
personnel inside Syria and has facilitated the training of
Syrian forces by Iran's terrorism arm, the Islamic
Revolutionary Guards Corps-Qods Force'';
Whereas, on September 13, 2012, the Department of the
Treasury designated the Secretary-General of Hizballah,
Hassan Nasrallah, for overseeing ``Hizballah's efforts to
help the Syrian regime's violent crackdown on the Syrian
civilian population'';
Whereas, on October 26, 2012, Mr. Brennan stated, ``Even in
Europe, many countries . . . have not yet designated
Hizballah as a terrorist organization. Nor has the European
Union. Let me be clear: failure to designate Hizballah as a
terrorist organization makes it harder to defend our
countries and protect our citizens. As a result, for example,
countries that have arrested Hizballah suspects for plotting
in Europe have been unable to prosecute them on terrorism
charges''; and
Whereas, on October 26, 2012, Mr. Brennan called on the
European Union to designate Hizballah as a terrorist
organization, saying, ``European nations are our most
sophisticated and important counterterrorism partners, and
together we must make it clear that we will not tolerate
Hizballah's criminal and terrorist activities.'': Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) urges the governments of Europe and the European Union
to designate Hizballah as a terrorist organization so that
Hizballah cannot use the territories of the European Union
for fundraising, recruitment, financing, logistical support,
training, and propaganda;
(2) urges the governments of Europe and the European Union
to impose sanctions on Hizballah for providing material
support to Bashar al Assad's ongoing campaign of violent
repression against the people of Syria;
(3) expresses support for the Government of Bulgaria as it
conducts an investigation into the July 18, 2012, terrorist
attack in Burgas, and expresses hope that the investigation
can be successfully concluded and that the perpetrators can
be identified as quickly as possible;
(4) urges the President to provide all necessary
diplomatic, intelligence, and law enforcement support to the
Government of Bulgaria to investigate the July 18, 2012,
terrorist attack in Burgas;
(5) reaffirms support for the Government of Bulgaria by the
United States as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO), and urges the United States, NATO, and
the European Union to work with the Government of Bulgaria to
safeguard its territory and citizens from the threat of
terrorism; and
(6) urges the President to make available to European
allies and the European public information about Hizballah's
terrorist activities, efforts to subvert democracy within
Lebanon, and provision of material support
[[Page H7504]]
to Bashar al Assad's campaign of violence in Syria.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida.
General Leave
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks
and to insert extraneous material into the Record on this measure.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Resolution 834,
introduced by my good friend and colleague from Pennsylvania (Mr.
Kelly).
The resolution before the House condemns the ongoing violence
perpetrated by Hezbollah. It urges the European Union to classify
Hezbollah as a designated terrorist organization.
Now, in March of 2005, the House voted on a similar resolution urging
the European Union to add Hezbollah as a designated foreign terrorist
organization; yet here we are again, Mr. Speaker, nearly 8 years later,
calling for the EU to take this long overdue action.
As the purveyor of one of the most expansive extremist networks in
the world, Hezbollah has engaged in nearly three decades of attacks
against Americans, Europeans, Israeli civilians, in addition to plots
and attacks on nearly every continent. Among the most egregious
examples of Hezbollah attacks against innocent civilians abroad were
its bombings of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires in March 1992 and
the Jewish Cultural Center in Buenos Aires in 1994.
Hezbollah has never missed an opportunity to target innocent
civilians, especially innocent Israelis, as the 2006 conflict in
southern Lebanon illustrated, while using innocent Lebanese as human
shields. Hezbollah has even turned its weapons on Syrians and against
other Lebanese, as the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has uncovered. And
most recently, Mr. Speaker, Hezbollah attacked innocent Israeli and
Bulgarian civilians in Burgas, Bulgaria.
Mr. Speaker, given Hezbollah's long and grisly record, it is no
surprise that many of our allies--from Canada, Great Britain, the
Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand--have designated Hezbollah as a
terrorist organization, because that is what it is.
In this respect, it defies comprehension that our allies in the
European Union continue to purposely omit Hezbollah from their list of
designated terrorist organizations. The logic of the European Union's
decisionmaking on this matter is, at best, baffling, particularly
against the backdrop of our mutual efforts to address the threats of
Hezbollah patrons Iran and Syria.
By simply designating Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and
stating the obvious, the European Union could deprive Hezbollah of
access to millions of dollars in European banks and other financial
institutions, while making an enormous contribution to regional
stability, saving hundreds of lives that would otherwise be Hezbollah's
future victims.
Again, I strongly support this Kelly resolution, and I urge all of my
colleagues to do the same.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 834 and
yield myself as much time as I may consume.
This important resolution urges the nations of Europe and the
European Union to designate Hezbollah has a terrorist organization and
to impose sanctions on it. We know from our experience with Iran that
sanctions and, in fact, all diplomacy are most effective when they are
multilateral--the more multilateral, the better.
We are particularly strong in such matters when we and our friends
and allies in the European Union stand shoulder to shoulder. That's why
Europe's seemingly inexplicable refusal to classify Hezbollah as a
terrorist group has been so disappointing over the years.
Hezbollah is a charter member of the Foreign Terrorist Organizations
list in the United States. It's crimes are legion, spread over many
continents, and far too numerous to list here. They begin in the early
1980s with deadly bombings of the U.S. Embassy and the U.S. Marine and
French Army barracks in Beirut, and they have continued up to the
present day. I still remember Ronald Reagan, President Reagan talking
about it after so many of our marines were murdered in Lebanon.
{time} 1240
Let me mention just a few of the other lowlights: countless
kidnappings of Americans and Europeans in the 1980s and 1990s; the
Khobar Towers attack that killed 19 Americans in 1996; the 1992 bombing
of the Israeli Embassy and the 1994 bombing of the Jewish community
center in Buenos Aires, again, with multiple killings; the murders of
Americans in Iraq and the training of other Iraqi militants; and
countless assassinations in Lebanon, including, most likely, that of
former prime minister Rafik Hariri in 2005. In 2006, Hezbollah's
unprovoked murder of three Israeli soldiers caused a war, during which
Hezbollah rocketed civilian targets in Lebanon and used Lebanese
civilian as human shields.
Over the past 2 years, it has staged attacks from Turkey to Thailand.
Today, it has forces in Syria fighting on behalf of Assad and the
murderous Assad regime and helping to train Assad's thugs. In addition,
this year Hezbollah twice has been directly implicated in terrorism on
European Union territory--in Bulgaria, where a suicide bomber killed
five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian, and in Cyprus, where an apparent
Hezbollah terrorist attack was thwarted.
The failure of most European nations to designate Hezbollah has been
based on the flimsiest of reasons; namely, that Hezbollah provides
social services to the Shiite community and participates in electoral
politics in Lebanon. In fact, Hezbollah takes a very novel approach to
electoral politics--using a militia to intimidate voters into voting
for them. By the way, it's a lesson that Hamas has learned very, very
well.
But Europe's failure to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist group is
not merely a problem because it accords legitimacy to a terrorist
organization. Rather, it has important operational consequences as
well. The failure to designate makes it more difficult to prosecute
cases against Hezbollah crimes committed in Europe. It allows Hezbollah
to use EU territories to fund-raise, recruit new members, propagandize,
and train. And thus, the freedom Hezbollah enjoys in Europe ultimately
affects non-Europeans as well. The European Union obviously will make
its own decisions on this matter, but it's hard to escape the
conclusion that the EU's failure to designate Hezbollah undermines both
Europe's security and ours as well.
The State Department's top counterterrorism official recently said
that he's ``cautiously optimistic--at last--about the prospects for an
EU designation of the group.'' I hope his optimism is justified. Until
it is borne out with an actual terrorist designation, however, it is
important that we join the Senate in going on record as urging the
European Union to make that designation, which would be so beneficial
to the fight against terrorism worldwide and to our own national
security.
I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly), an esteemed member of our
House Foreign Affairs Committee and the author of this bill.
Mr. KELLY. I thank the gentlelady for your guidance and your
leadership the last couple of years. It was a joy serving with you in
Foreign Affairs.
I rise today in support of House Resolution 834 and urge the EU and
member states to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
Hezbollah is called ``the A Team'' of international terrorist
organizations by terrorism experts. Hezbollah was created by Iran's
Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force in 1982, and is a primary
terrorist proxy of Iran. Hezbollah receives weapons, training, monies,
and support from Iran and Syria.
[[Page H7505]]
Hezbollah has left its bloody fingerprints around the world in the
last 30 years. Hezbollah has been implicated in numerous deadly
terrorist attacks against Europeans, Americans, and Israelis:
In 1983, the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Beirut, which killed 63
people; the 1983 bombing of the U.S. and French barracks of the
Multinational Force in Lebanon, killing 241 American servicemen and 58
French soldiers; the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos
Aires, killing 29 people; the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community
center building in Buenos Aires, killing 85 people; the suicide bombing
on July 18, 2012, that killed five Israeli tourists and a Bulgarian
driver in the town of Burgas, Bulgaria, that had all the hallmarks of a
Hezbollah attack.
Hezbollah has created violence and instability in Lebanon. In
addition to terrorist attacks and political assassinations, it has
launched thousands of rockets and missiles at Israel from within
Lebanon. Hezbollah supports Bashar al-Assad's brutal, ongoing violence
against the Syrian people.
It's long past time for the EU and its members to join the U.S. and
other allies and list Hezbollah as a terrorism organization. I would
ask the EU as a recipient of the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize to please wake
up. The U.S. designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization in the
late 1990s. Canada and Australia, as well as the United Kingdom and the
Netherlands, both EU members, also list Hezbollah as a terrorist
organization.
Failure to recognize and designate Hezbollah allows it to continue
evading law enforcement, intelligence, and security services, and it
endangers the people of Europe. Hezbollah cannot claim to be a
legitimate political party or provider of social services when it
refuses to abandon its terrorist agenda. Both the United States and the
EU must be united in our fight against Hezbollah.
This resolution, H. Res. 834, urges the EU and member states to
designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and to prevent
Hezbollah from using EU territories for fundraising, for recruitment,
for training, for propaganda, and any other activities. It urges the EU
and its members to impose sanctions on Hezbollah for supporting the
Assad regime's brutal violence against the Syrian people. It affirms
our support for the Bulgarian government in its investigation of the
July 18, 2012, terrorist attack, and urges our President to support
that investigation. It urges the President to provide information to
our European allies regarding Hezbollah's terrorist activities,
subversion of democracy in Lebanon, and support of Assad's violence in
Syria. This Congress has and will do all it can to urge the EU to do
the right thing and list Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
In September, my good friend Gus Bilirakis from Florida, Mr. Deutch,
Mr. Israel, Mr. Sires and I led a bipartisan group of 268 House Members
to send a letter to the President and the 27 ministers of the European
Commission urging the Commission to include Hezbollah on the EU
terrorist list. I might mention Mr. Deutch and I had talked one day
walking into our offices about how well our staffs have worked together
to forge this letter, to put it together. And we do things in a lot of
bipartisan ways. I think sometimes it gets lost in the wash of other
things that are going on. I especially want to thank all those members
of the staffs and also one of my staff members, Mr. Isaac Fong, for the
tireless work he put in.
Earlier this month, the Senate unanimously passed Senate Resolution
613, which also urges the EU to declare Hezbollah a terrorist
organization. H. Res. 834 has over 80 bipartisan cosponsors. I urge my
colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H. Res. 834. It's time to recognize
Hezbollah for what it is. If it waddles like a duck and quacks like a
duck, it's a duck. This is a terrorist organization. It needs to be
recognized and designated as one worldwide.
Mr. ENGEL. I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr.
Kucinich).
Mr. KUCINICH. First of all, I want to begin by thanking the chair and
the ranking member for their commitment to security, to Israel and to
the region. I want to thank Mr. Kelly for his commitment, similarly.
In my office, which I recently shut down because I'm not going to be
in the next Congress, I had a pedestal on which rested a bomb fragment
that I brought back from the village of Qana in south Lebanon. Qana is
the place where Christ is said to have performed his first miracle. And
Qana was also the place where a bomb dropped on an apartment building
and killed about 50 women and children.
I brought a fragment of that bomb back and put it on a pedestal in
the office. And within that pedestal I put the dog tags of three
Israeli soldiers who were captured and kidnapped. I got the dog tags
from their parents. I've had that in my office since 2006, when I first
went to Lebanon to look at the effects of the war. And I have them
together because they represent the parenthesis on a human tragedy.
{time} 1250
But we're all concerned about Israel's security. I rose on the floor
of this House when the war started to talk about putting immediately
into effect a plan that would stop the war. I've been to south Lebanon
and Israel on several occasions.
I want to add a word of caution here because what I'm concerned
about, notwithstanding the best intentions of my friends who are taking
a strong stand here, is the impact of this resolution on a United
Nations force in Lebanon, UNIFIL. There are European troops there.
Their mission is to enforce U.N. Security Resolution 1701 to end the
hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.
UNIFIL has been working with Hezbollah to stabilize south Lebanon.
And there are reports from the ground that they have helped to achieve
a good measure of stability in that regard, even reports that Hezbollah
has worked to help curb the work of terrorist cells of extremist bent.
UNIFIL has, in effect, worked with Hezbollah. Peacekeepers have worked
with Hezbollah. They've developed a relationship for future dialogue.
Now, I'm concerned that this resolution could make it even more
difficult to enforce UN Resolution 1701 and that, if it's passed, one
of the things that this Congress has to consider is that the Lebanese
army, itself, has to be strengthened.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. ENGEL. I yield the gentleman 1 minute.
Mr. KUCINICH. We have to look at the implications of this. If you
have European countries who are essentially part of the UNIFIL presence
in south Lebanon in furtherance of a U.N. resolution to end hostilities
between Hezbollah and Israel, to create safety for both the people of
Israel and the people of Lebanon, we've got to be very careful here
that we don't create a situation that is the opposite of what we are
trying to achieve. If this resolution passes--and unfortunately, I'm
not going to be able to support it. But if it passes, we have to do
something to strengthen the Lebanese army, because if the Lebanese army
isn't strong enough, then you have a situation where the very thing
that we are opposing here could come to pass and with great force.
So I would just urge your consideration of that, and I thank you very
much for giving me an opportunity to put this forward. Again, I thank
my colleagues for their constant support of Israel.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ENGEL. I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr.
Deutch).
Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution
834, which urges the European Union to take steps to swiftly designate
Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
Despite its history of violent civilian attacks, our European
partners in fighting terrorism as a whole have yet to formally
recognize Hezbollah as a foreign terrorist organization. Mr. Speaker,
the failure of the EU to gain consensus on this matter serves as a
grave injustice to those who have been the victims of terror attacks
masterminded and carried out by Hezbollah throughout the world.
From the suicide truck bombings of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut in
April 1983 that killed 63, the U.S. Marine barracks bombing in October
1983 that killed 241 American military personnel, a separate attack on
the French military compound that killed 58, as well
[[Page H7506]]
as the hijacking of TWA 847 in 1995 and Hezbollah's role in the 1994
bombing of the Israel-Argentine Mutual Aid Association in Buenos Aires
that killed 85, right up to the terrorist attack this summer at a
Bulgarian airport that killed six, Hezbollah has shown its propensity
to attack civilians and to attack them anywhere in the world. It's also
shown its propensity to attack even within Lebanon, where the group is
responsible for the 2005 assassination of Prime Minister Hariri.
Hezbollah and its state sponsor Iran continually spread anti-U.S. and
anti-Israel rhetoric and excitement, with Hezbollah chief Hassan
Nasrallah recently threatening to rain down rockets on Israel ``from
the Lebanese border to Jordan to the Red Sea, from Kiryat Shmona to
Eilat,'' prompting harsh rebukes from several prominent members of
Lebanon's Parliament.
By failing to label Hezbollah a terrorist organization, Hezbollah is
free to continue its operations, including recruiting and fundraising
in Europe.
Mr. Speaker, we deeply value our relationship with our European
allies, including our joint commitment to combatting terror around the
globe. We appreciate their partnership in enacting crushing sanctions
designed to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions, but we do not understand
the failure of our friends to join together in stopping this
organization's reign of terror. That's why we are here this morning
speaking about House Resolution 834.
Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I'd like to thank my friend, Congressman
Kelly, as well as Chairman Ros-Lehtinen and Ranking Member Berman for
their leadership on this issue.
My friend, Mr. Engel, the incoming ranking member, I look forward to
working with you, continuing to work on these vitally important issues.
I urge my colleagues, Mr. Speaker, to support this resolution.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, so I yield back
the balance of my time.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I also have no further requests for
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of
this legislation, and thank my good friend Mr. Kelly for authoring it.
Mr. Speaker, this resolution urges the governments of Europe and the
European Union to designate Hezballah a terrorist organization, so that
it will not be able to raise funds and recruit operatives in Europe.
Since Hezballah is one of the most active, dangerous, ruthless, and
evil terrorist groups in the world, this should be the most obvious
thing in the world for the European governments to do--the minimum
action which they should be in a hurry to do on their own, without any
urging from anybody.
One reason many European countries have not done so is the ongoing
presence of anti-Semitism in Europe. It's a very sad story, but it's
undeniably true that in many European countries large minorities or
even majorities of the population hold attitudes that can only be
described as anti-Semitic. Regarding this I'd like to recommend to my
colleagues a March 2012 study of the Anti-Defamation League on
``Attitudes Toward Jews in Ten European Countries.'' It is shocking but
necessary reading--I will be happy to share it with any of my
colleagues.
Further, in Europe anti-Semitic opinion doesn't hide its head
furtively. Rather people who are not anti-Semitic accept various forms
of anti-Semitic statement and attitudes into seemingly ``mainstream''
discussion, where it's allowed to influence government policy--that is,
anti-Semitic public opinion limits what some governments are willing to
say and do in fighting anti-Semitism.
So with this resolution we are also urging the European governments,
and the European Union, to deal more pro-actively, much more pro-
actively, with anti-Semitism in Europe. Denounce anti-Semitic actions
and statements whenever they occur--this is a fundamental
responsibility of every elected official. As elected officials, we
always have a special responsibility to anyone in danger--and this
resolution documents very well that Hezbollah is an extraordinarily
dangerous terrorist group.
In closing, Mr. Speaker, I do want to recognize the many European
parliamentarians who have worked hard in fighting anti-Semitism in
Europe. I've worked with many of them over the years, particularly in
the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE and in the Interparliamentary
Coalition for Combating Anti-Semitism.
This resolution, with its careful documentation of the extraordinary
danger posed by Hezballah, will provide Europeans engaged in fighting
anti-Semitism with a tool they can take to their governments and demand
that they be much more pro-active against anti-Semitism. For it is
anti-Semitism that creates the poisonous atmosphere in which Hezballah
operates.
I strongly urge my colleagues to support this excellent resolution.
Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, As a cosponsor of H. Res. 834, I rise to
thank Representatives Kelly and Deutch for bringing this important
resolution to the floor today and to encourage my colleagues to join me
in supporting the measure.
H. Res. 834 urges the governments of Europe and the European Union to
designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. According to John
Brennan, the deputy national security advisor, Europe's failure to
designate Hezbollah as a terrorist group makes it more difficult to
defend the citizens of the European Union and the United States because
Hezbollah is able to openly raise funds in some European countries and
because EU countries are unable to prosecute Hezbollah members
suspected of plotting terrorist attacks.
Hezbollah has been implicated in multiple acts of terrorism over the
past 30 years, including the bombings in Lebanon in 1983 of the United
States Embassy, the United States Marine barracks, and the French Army
barracks, the airline hijackings and the kidnapping of European,
American, and other Western hostages in the 1980s and 1990s. Before al
Qaeda's attack on the U.S. on September 11, 2001, Hezbollah was
responsible for killing more Americans in terrorist attacks than any
other terrorist group. Today, Hezbollah is training militants in Yemen
and Syria and continues to provide financial and material support to
the regime of Bashar al Assad.
This resolution urges the governments of Europe and the European
Union to forbid Hezbollah from using EU territory for the purpose of
fundraising, recruitment, financing, training and propaganda and it
will help protect European and American lives. I encourage my
colleagues to support the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the House suspend the
rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 834.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not
present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.
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