[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 114 (Thursday, July 14, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S5165]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LANKFORD (for himself and Mrs. Fischer):
  S. 3213. A bill to amend title 31, United States Code, to provide for 
transparency of payments made from the Judgment Fund; to the Committee 
on the Judiciary.
  Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, I rise to draw attention to important 
legislation that would ensure American taxpayers know how their hard-
earned dollars are being spent. This morning, I was pleased to join 
Senator Lankford to introduce a bill that expands on similar 
legislation that I introduced with Senator Gardner last year, known as 
the Judgment Fund Transparency Act. The Judgment Fund is administrated 
by the Treasury Department and is used to pay certain court judgments 
and settlements against the Federal Government. It is essentially an 
unlimited amount of money made available to the Federal Government to 
cover its own liability.
  The fund is not subject to the annual appropriations process. And 
even more remarkable, the Treasury Department has no reporting 
requirements. Because of this, the Judgment Fund payments are made with 
very little oversight or scrutiny. Because the Treasury Department has 
no binding reporting requirements, few public details exist about where 
the funds are going and why. This is no small matter, as the Judgment 
Fund disburses billions of dollars in payments every year. For example, 
between 2013 and 2015, the Federal Government paid more than $10 
billion in Judgment Fund awards with scant transparency or oversight. 
Hard-working taxpayers and Members of Congress have every right to see 
exactly how tax dollars are being spent out of this Judgment Fund.
  I was proud to see my original version of the bill pass the Senate as 
part of the Energy Policy Modernization Act in April. Still, recent 
developments show more oversight is needed, and that is why I have 
joined with Senator Lankford to update and expand the Judgment Fund 
Transparency Act. This update is the result of payments made through 
the Judgment Fund to Iran earlier this year.
  In January, the Obama administration transferred $1.7 billion to 
Iran's Central Bank. It was paid in connection with the settlement of a 
claim relating to arms sales to the Shah. Last month, new reports 
indicated that the U.S. payment was transferred to Iran's defense 
budget. In defending the payment, White House spokesman Josh Ernst 
argued that it was ``Exhibit A in the administration pursuing tough, 
principled diplomacy in a way that actually ends up making the American 
people safer and advancing their interests.''
  I disagree. A $1.7 billion payment that goes to Iran's military does 
not make our country safer. Iran was designated a state sponsor of 
terror in 1984. Its military has long provided weapons, training, and 
funding to groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and other proxies 
throughout the Middle East and beyond.
  Last month, the State Department released its latest country reports 
on terrorism. It states: ``In 2015, Iran's state sponsorship of 
terrorism worldwide remained undiminished.'' In fact, the State 
Department report noted that in some areas, such as Iraq, its support 
to terrorist groups has actually increased. I am haunted by the fear 
that some of these very terrorists, groups that may have taken American 
lives, may have received money from the U.S. Treasury.
  The bill that I am introducing with Senator Lankford today takes 
action. It would prohibit the Judgment Fund from being used for this 
purpose while maintaining key provisions from the original bill 
requiring openness and transparency.
  If the administration wants to deliver another payment to a regime 
that is going to sponsor terror, it should make its case to Congress 
and to the American people. More transparency leads to greater 
accountability. Sunlight is the best disinfectant. Through this bill, 
we can track taxpayer-funded payments to foreign nations and prevent 
harmful transactions from happening in the future.
  I thank Senator Lankford for his diligent work on this issue, and I 
urge my colleagues to stand behind hard-working American taxpayers and 
support this legislation.
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