[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 116 (Wednesday, July 23, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1214]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        HEZBOLLAH INTERNATIONAL FINANCING PREVENTION ACT OF 2014

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                               speech of

                            HON. GRACE MENG

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 22, 2014

  Ms. MENG. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support of 
the Hezbollah Financing Prevention Act of 2014. Hezbollah has killed 
more Americans than any terrorist group other than Al-Qaeda, and it 
threatens Israel and America daily. Hezbollah has a far larger and more 
sophisticated rocket arsenal than Hamas, and it is now offering to 
support Hamas in its current, ongoing terrorist actions against Israel. 
This great threat of rockets is the reason the House increased iron 
dome funding for FY15 at the request of me and Mr. Roskam of Illinois.
  But it's sanctions that have emerged as America's most powerful 
deterrent against bad actors in the world. And as we draw down 
militarily from the Middle East, we must aggressively pursue sanctions 
against sponsors of terrorism. That's what the bill before us today 
does. This legislation will help us cut off Hezbollah from the 
international financial system and cripple Hezbollah's media 
operations.
  The bill also contains an amendment drafted by Mr. DeSantis, Mr. 
Deutch and me that will enable the disruption of Hezbollah's global 
logistics networks and its fundraising and money-laundering activities. 
Our amendment also requires the Obama administration to shed light on 
those countries that either overtly or covertly enable any sort of 
Hezbollah activities within their borders. This provision is 
particularly important in the Hezbollah context, because there are far 
too many countries that outwardly condemn Hezbollah's military and 
terrorist activities while privately fostering environments where 
Hezbollah can operate politically and financially. Well no more, not if 
you want to do business with the United States.
  I thank Mr. DeSantis and Mr. Deutch for their leadership and 
partnership, the sponsors of the bill--Mr. Meadows, Mr. Schneider, Mr. 
Royce, and Mr. Engel--for crafting such important legislation, and 
committee staff for all their hard work in putting it all together.

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