[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 143 (Wednesday, September 21, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H5745-H5755]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               IRANIAN LEADERSHIP ASSET TRANSPARENCY ACT


                             General Leave

  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and insert extraneous materials on the bill (H.R. 5461) to require the 
Secretary of the Treasury to submit a report to the appropriate 
congressional committees on the estimated total assets under direct or 
indirect control by certain senior Iranian leaders and other figures, 
and for other purposes.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 876 and rule 
XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House 
on the state of the Union for the consideration of the bill, H.R. 5461.
  The Chair appoints the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock) to 
preside over the Committee of the Whole.

                              {time}  1505


                     In the Committee of the Whole

  Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the 
Whole House on the state of the Union for the consideration of the bill 
(H.R. 5461) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to submit a report 
to the appropriate congressional committees on the estimated total 
assets under direct or indirect control by certain senior Iranian 
leaders and other figures, and for other purposes, with Mr. McClintock 
in the chair.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The CHAIR. Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read the 
first time.
  The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling) and the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Maxine Waters) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Chairman, the Islamic Republic of Iran is identified as both the 
world's foremost state sponsor of terrorism and a country of primary 
money laundering concern by the United States. So the American people 
rightfully question the wisdom behind the Obama administration's 
decision to hand Iran $1.7 billion in cash as ransom for the release of 
several hostages earlier this year.
  There are a lot of questions the American people still have about 
this cash payment and a lot of questions the Obama administration has 
not answered, but there are at least three things that we do already 
know:
  Number one, we know that cash is the preferred currency of 
terrorists;
  Number two, we know the Obama administration's payment to Iran was 
structured in such a way that it makes it easy for Iran to move that 
money anywhere it wants for any purpose it wants; and
  Three, we know that much of Iran's terror activity is fueled by the 
vast sums of personal wealth acquired by its senior political and 
military leaders.
  Mr. Chairman, Iran's economy is characterized by high levels of 
official corruption and substantial involvement of its security forces, 
particularly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and that nation's 
business sector. Many members of Iran's senior political and military 
leadership have acquired significant personal and institutional wealth 
by using their positions to secure control over major portions of the 
Iranian national economy. In fact, it is estimated that Iran's top 
political and military leaders control one-third--one-third--of Iran's 
economy through personal foundations in which money from corruption is 
funneled.
  Because of this volatile mix of terrorist financing, corruption, and 
wealth, it is vitally important for the United States to clearly 
understand the assets held by Iran's powerful military and political 
elite. That is the goal of this bipartisan bill that we are discussing 
today offered by my colleague, the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Poliquin).
  This bill, the Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act, would 
require the Treasury Secretary to develop and post online a list 
estimating the funds and assets held by senior Iranian political and 
military leaders. Along with this estimate would be a description of 
how these officials acquired these assets and how these assets are 
being deployed. The report would be posted on the Treasury Department's 
Web site in English, but also translated into the three main languages 
used by the Iranian people so that the people of Iran may better 
understand the nature of their economy and how corruption is harming 
their fellow citizens.
  Mr. Chairman, under this bill, the report would also be in a form 
that is easily understandable and accessible to those in the financial 
or business sector who might be concerned about inadvertently doing 
business with an Iranian entity still covered by remaining sanctions. 
The Iranian Government's tolerance of corruption limits realistic 
opportunities for foreign and domestic investment, particularly given 
the significant involvement of its Revolutionary Guard in many sectors 
of the economy. This gives the Revolutionary Guard and its leaders vast 
amounts of funding to support terrorism at a time when the average 
Iranian citizen earns about $15,000 a year.
  The report required under the Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency 
Act would cover about 80 individuals, including Iran's Supreme Leader, 
President, the 12 members of Iran's Council of Guardians, the 42 
members of its Expediency Council, and roughly two dozen senior 
military leaders. As I mentioned, the bill requires an estimate of the 
funds and assets held by those individuals, not a precise amount.
  Further, the proposal allows Treasury to separately furnish any 
sensitive information to Congress in a classified

[[Page H5746]]

form. Finally, the bill permits the administration to prepare the 
reports using a wide variety of publicly available and credible 
information, including commercial databases.
  Developing and keeping a current estimate of the funds and assets 
held by top political and military leaders in Iran will also help 
financial institutions and private businesses comply with money 
laundering laws and also help them more carefully choose with whom they 
do business.
  Just last week, the U.S. State Department said it couldn't rule out 
the possibility that President Obama's nuclear deal has emboldened Iran 
into becoming more confrontational with the United States. Indeed, as 
the State Department spokesman admitted last week, there are 
``disturbing trends'' when it comes to Iran.
  Since the President's cash ransom was delivered to the ayatollahs, 
Iran has taken more hostages, Mr. Chairman. It has stepped up its 
harassment of the U.S. military in the region and has started building 
a $10 billion nuclear plant with the help of Russia.
  Clearly, we need to know as much as we possibly can about how Iran is 
financing terrorism. We need to make sure financial institutions and 
private businesses do not inadvertently become involved in money 
laundering and sponsorship of terrorism.
  Mr. Poliquin's bill has attracted bipartisan support in the Committee 
on Financial Services. It is common sense. Frankly, it should be on the 
suspension calendar. I am sorry we are having to take up time for it 
today. This should be common sense for all Members. It is a bill that 
will, again, help achieve commonsense goals as we fight financing of 
terrorism. I urge all Members to support the bill.

  Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Chairman, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 5461, the so-called 
Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act.
  The administration has stated this bill would endanger our ability to 
ensure that Iran's nuclear program is and remains exclusively peaceful. 
Indeed, this harmful bill is the latest in a series of Republican 
efforts aimed at undermining the landmark nuclear agreement reached 
last year by Iran and the world's six major powers.
  The comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran was intended to address one 
specific problem, and it has so far been a success. This success should 
not be underestimated, given how much a nuclear-armed Iran would 
magnify risk in a turbulent region in a terrible way.
  Despite the fact that the nuclear deal so far has delivered on its 
principal goal of blocking Iran's path to nuclear weapons for an 
extended period of time, opponents remain committed to undermining the 
ongoing viability of the deal, chipping away at it piece by piece, 
whether by passing legislation to block the sale of aircraft to Iran 
that was a central component of the agreement or accusing the 
administration of making extreme concessions to Iran by insisting, for 
example, that a legitimate legal settlement was an illegal ransom 
payment of some kind or by spreading rumors of suspected cheating by 
Iran. Republicans are intent on spreading this false narrative and 
dismantling the agreement.
  So here we are, considering this bill, which requires the Secretary 
of the Treasury to report on the total estimated funds or assets under 
direct or indirect control of as many as 80 senior Iranian leaders, 
along with a description of how the funds were acquired and employed. 
The report would not be tied to any specific prohibition or legal 
action against Iran and clearly plays into the hands of critics who are 
seeking to gin up prospects of reputational risks for companies that 
might seek to do business with Iran.
  Moreover, the lack of a tie to any specific prohibition or legal 
action against the listed individuals will likely increase confusion 
regarding compliance obligations rather than make remaining sanctions 
more easily understood.

                              {time}  1515

  Undoubtedly, the report would be seized upon by Iran as an 
intentional effort to discourage international investment, which Iran 
would view as a violation of the express U.S. commitment under the 
nuclear deal not to interfere with the full realization of the relief 
provided under the accord. The major world powers that joined us in 
this agreement would also likely view the legislation as bad faith.
  By denying Iran the economic benefits it was promised in exchange for 
dismantling critical elements of this nuclear program, this bill would 
remove the critical incentive for Iran to hold up its end of the 
bargain.
  As the Statement of Administration Policy notes: ``If the JCPOA were 
to fail on that basis, it would remove the unprecedented constraints on 
and monitoring of Iran's nuclear program, lead to the unraveling of the 
international sanctions regime against Iran, and deal a devastating 
blow to the credibility of America's leadership and our commitment to 
our closest allies.''
  In addition to my central concern that this bill destabilizes the 
Iran nuclear deal, I also share the administration's concerns that 
producing the report that is required under this bill would divert 
massive resources away from investigations and the targeting of 
sanctions on Iran related to terrorism, human rights violations, and 
ballistic missiles.
  Meeting the requirements of this bill would place a very real strain 
on the Treasury Department and intelligence community. We need to think 
carefully about the national security implications of diverting 
resources away from the Treasury investigators who are tasked with 
implementing current sanctions on Iran and uncovering illicit conduct 
across the globe.
  Proponents of this legislation have also underscored the importance 
of the need to show the people of Iran the corrupt practices in which 
their leaders are engaged. However, this bill would not accomplish that 
goal.
  There is a profound trust gap between the United States and Iran, and 
any findings in this report would be met with a high degree of 
skepticism among the Iranian people and their leaders. Therefore, to 
the extent any portion of this report could actually be made public, 
since much of the most important facts would likely be classified 
anyway, it would do little to enlighten the people of Iran about their 
leaders. In fact, it would inevitably be rejected as United States 
propaganda by both the regime and by its people as a predictable attack 
on the country's government by the United States.
  In light of the bill's limited practical utility, its failure to meet 
its own stated objectives, its diversion of resources away from 
investigations related to sanctions, and the destablizing effects it 
would have on the Iran nuclear deal, I urge its opposition. Moreover, 
the President has announced that he would veto this bill if it came 
across his desk.
  I include in the Record the Statement of Administration Policy on 
this bill.

                   Statement of Administration Policy


  H.R. 5461--Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act--September 21, 
                                  2016

       The Administration shares the Congress' goals of increasing 
     transparency and bringing Iran into compliance with 
     international standards in the global fight against terror 
     finance and money laundering. However, this bill would be 
     counterproductive toward those shared goals.
       The bill requires the U.S. Government to publicly report 
     all assets held by some of Iran's highest leaders and to 
     describe how these assets are acquired and used. Rather than 
     preventing terrorist financing and money laundering, this 
     bill would incentivize those involved to make their financial 
     dealings less transparent and create a disincentive for 
     Iran's banking sector to demonstrate transparency. These 
     onerous reporting requirements also would take critical 
     resources away from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's 
     important work to identify Iranian entities engaged in 
     sanctionable conduct. Producing this information could also 
     compromise intelligence sources and methods.
       One of our best tools for impeding destabilizing Iranian 
     activities has been to identify Iranian companies that are 
     controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) 
     or other Iranians on the list of Specially Designated 
     Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List) to non-U.S. 
     businesses, so that they can block assets or stop material 
     transfers. This process is labor-intensive and requires the 
     judicious use of our national intelligence assets. 
     Redirecting these assets to preparing this onerous public 
     report would be counterproductive and will not reduce 
     institutional corruption or promote transparency within 
     Iran's system.
       In addition, this bill's required public postings also may 
     be perceived by Iran and likely

[[Page H5747]]

     our Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) partners as an 
     attempt to undermine the fulfilment of our commitments, in 
     turn impacting the continued viability of this diplomatic 
     arrangement that peacefully and verifiably prevents Iran from 
     acquiring a nuclear weapon. If the JCPOA were to fail on that 
     basis, it would remove the unprecedented constraints on and 
     monitoring of Iran's nuclear program, lead to the unraveling 
     of the international sanctions regime against Iran, and deal 
     a devastating blow to the credibility of America's leadership 
     and our commitments to our closest allies.
       As we address our concerns with Iran's nuclear program 
     through implementation of the JCPOA, the Administration 
     remains clear-eyed regarding Iran's support for terrorism, 
     its ballistic missile program, human rights abuses, and 
     destabilizing activity in the region. The United States 
     should retain all of the tools needed to counter this 
     activity, ranging from powerful sanctions to our efforts to 
     disrupt and interdict illicit shipments of weapons and 
     proliferation-sensitive technologies. This bill would 
     adversely affect the U.S. Government's ability to wield these 
     tools, would undermine the very goals it purports to achieve, 
     and could even endanger our ability to ensure that Iran's 
     nuclear program is and remains exclusively peaceful.
       If the President were presented with H.R. 5461, his senior 
     advisors would recommend that he veto this bill.

  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chair, let me end this part of 
my presentation by saying that the world is watching us. And for us to 
do anything to undermine an agreement that the President has entered 
into along with other major allies in the world would be devastating. 
And for us to do that and not understand the implications of that is 
beyond my ability to understand.
  With the combination of Donald Trump, who they think is way out of 
line and crazy and does not know or understand what is going on, and 
these kind of actions in the Congress of the United States, who is 
standing up for this country? Who is supporting the President? Who is 
making sure that we are safe? I raise that question.
  Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick), who is the chairman of the Terrorism 
Financing Task Force in our Financial Services Committee and a real 
leader in this area.
  Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Chair, I thank Chairman Hensarling for his 
leadership and impaneling a bipartisan task force to investigate 
terrorism finance, which I have chaired for the past 2 years, as we 
have looked into the increasing ability of terror groups to fund and to 
finance their actions and to evaluate the United States' response to 
these challenges.
  Throughout the duration of this task force, several policy experts 
provided testimony to the Iranian regime's direct supportive groups 
like Hamas, Hezbollah, Iraqi Shiite militias, the Houthis in Yemen, and 
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime in Damascus.
  Prior to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the United States-
led sanctions regime decimated the Iranian economy, suffocating 
domestic industry and causing the Iranian rial to free fall. However, 
even during this economic duress, the regime continued to provide 
billions to these destabilizing groups instead of providing for its 
citizens.
  This bill, offered by Mr. Poliquin of Maine, H.R. 5461, will provide 
the citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran--who have suffered great 
economic hardship as a result of their rogue government's nefarious 
policies--with the transparency necessary to see how the other half 
lives.
  This bill will make a positive advancement and change in their lives 
and provide the ability for them to see corruption in their economy and 
corruption in their government, and it will be for our security as 
well.
  I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chair, I yield 5 minutes to the 
gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Himes), a member of the Financial 
Services Committee.
  Mr. HIMES. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to this bill, with all due 
respect to my friends, Mr. Poliquin and Mr. Hill.
  The Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act is one of those bills 
that sounds like a good idea. And I am sure many of my colleagues are 
thinking, Why not? Transparency is a good thing. The Iranian regime is 
a bad thing. Let's support this thing. What could possibly go wrong?
  I have a couple of points to make in that respect. The first one is 
that--again, with all due respect to my friends on the other side--this 
bill, if it is intended to get at the wealth of the Iranian leadership, 
will fail, and it will fail in an embarrassing and spectacular and 
almost laughable fashion.
  The reason I say that, of course, is that the bill specifies that the 
estimated total funds or assets held in accounts at U.S. and foreign 
financial institutions shall be enumerated. Funds are defined as cash, 
equity, and bonds.
  So if we pass this bill, we are going to know that the Supreme Leader 
has a thousand shares of IBM down at the local Merrill Lynch office. 
But European real estate, private jets, boats, piles of gold bars, 
stacks of unrefined heroin, Swiss watches, shell businesses in South 
America, we won't know about any of them.
  I ask my colleagues: How many shares of IBM do you think the Iranian 
regime has down at the local Merrill Lynch office?
  Probably not a lot. We froze their assets for a very, very long time.
  This bill, if it passes, will get at some tiny fraction of the wealth 
of the Iranian regime in a way that will, frankly, embarrass our 
country because we will show how little we know, which brings me to the 
second problem I have with this bill.
  As a member of the Intelligence Committee, I am very concerned about 
what this bill would do with respect to disclosing or at least pointing 
at our sources and methods for intelligence gathering.
  I think there are probably very few assets of the kinds captured by 
this bill in U.S. banks or banks that we would have ready access to in 
Europe, but I am not so sure there aren't perhaps cash or securities in 
Albanian, Pakistani, or Russian banks. If we enumerate those assets, we 
will be inevitably pointing at a capacity we may or may not have to 
determine what is going on inside those banks. I would suggest that 
this bill does not provide nearly enough good to put at risk the 
sources and methods of our intelligence gathering.
  We know what is happening here. This bill is an installment in the 
relentless attempt by the majority to tank the Iranian nuclear bill. 
Look, we can disagree over whether that bill was a good idea. 
Certainly, we did. But the fact is--and I say this as a member of the 
Intelligence Committee--it is working. Iran is in compliance with their 
nuclear obligations.
  The Prime Minister of Israel stood in the General Assembly a couple 
of years ago and had a little drawing of a bomb and said: We are 2 to 3 
months away from breakout.
  Today we are probably 12 to 15 months away from an Iranian nuclear 
breakout, in the worst case scenario. Yet the Republican majority, in 
this latest installment, wants to make that go away. Moreover, they do 
that without a backup plan.
  If they succeed in tanking this bill and we are right back where we 
were a year ago, 2 to 3 months away from breakout, what then?
  We are isolated. We have lost the moral high ground and we are 
probably a lot closer to another war in the Middle East. I don't 
understand that.
  So think about where we wind up if the majority succeeds. We would be 
isolated, we would be closer to war, and we would be standing alone, 
clutching the moral low ground.
  I ask my colleagues to think about these points, as well as the good 
points made by the ranking member, and to oppose this bill.
  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chair, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
Maine (Mr. Poliquin), the author of the Iranian Leadership Asset 
Transparency Act and a real leader in our committee and in this 
Congress in the fight against terrorist financing.
  Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chair, I thank the chairman very much for moving 
this very important bill through our Financial Services Committee onto 
the House floor. I also want to applaud my colleagues who have done so 
much work on this in our Terrorism Financing Task Force--of which I am 
a member--Democrat Steve Lynch from Massachusetts and Republican Mike 
Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania.

  Mr. Chairman, the Iranian Government is a chief state sponsor of 
terrorism and instability throughout the

[[Page H5748]]

world. For many years, the senior political leaders and the Islamic 
Revolutionary Guard have trained, armed, and funded terrorist 
organizations. More recently, they have become experts at using the 
Internet and social media to recruit and teach other radical Islamic 
terrorists around the globe. The Iranian Government, Mr. Chair, has 
American blood on its hands.
  The primary responsibility for every Member of Congress, Republicans 
and Democrats, is to support and defend our Constitution. That means 
keeping our families safe and keeping them free. National security, Mr. 
Chair, is not and should never be a political issue.
  Today, about 70 to 80 top political and military leaders in Iran 
control approximately one-third of their economy. They use their power 
and their influence to corrupt the telecommunications, construction, 
and other important industries in that economy.
  An investigation by Reuters found that the Supreme Leader alone has 
accumulated a tremendous amount of personal wealth through a foundation 
claiming to help the poor. While this corruption has grown, the average 
Iranian citizen earns the equivalent of about $15,000 per year.
  Mr. Chair, the people of Iran and the citizens of this world deserve 
to know how much the chief sponsors of terrorism in Iran have 
accumulated and what the money is being used for. Businesses around the 
world that are looking to possibly invest in Iran should know before 
their investment who and what they are dealing with.
  Mr. Chairman, my bill, H.R. 5461, the Iranian Leadership Asset 
Transparency Act, is a straightforward Maine commonsense bill. It 
simply requires the United States Treasury Department to collect, 
maintain, and post online the list of 70 to 80 senior political and 
military leaders in Iran, their personal assets, how that money was 
acquired, and what it is being used for.
  My bill further requires the Treasury Department to post on its Web 
site this information in English as well as the three main languages 
spoken in Iran: Farsi, Arabic, and Azeri. The information must be able 
to be downloaded and shared easily by everyone.

                              {time}  1530

  Mr. Chairman, sunshine is the best disinfectant. Let's use the 
transparency of one click of a computer from any corner of this globe 
to expose what the chief sponsor of terrorism in this world is doing 
with its money.
  Americans are alarmed and frightened about the increased terror 
attacks here at home and in peace-loving nations around the world. 
Secrecy and corruption in Iran breed more terrorism, so let's shed 
light on this destructive behavior and put pressure on the Iranian 
leader to change their ways.
  The CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield the gentleman an additional 30 
seconds.
  Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chairman, I ask all of my colleagues here in the 
House, Republicans and Democrats, to stand with me, and to stand with 
our fellow Americans, and to stand with freedom-loving people 
throughout the world against terrorism. I ask, please, that everyone 
vote ``yes'' for H.R. 5461, the Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency 
Act.
  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to 
the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price), a leading member of the 
House Appropriations Committee.
  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to 
the latest Republican effort to undermine the Joint Comprehensive Plan 
of Action, a historic nuclear agreement negotiated by the world's major 
powers to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.
  Since the deal was finalized, Republicans have tried time and time 
again to undermine not just the JCPOA but also the credibility of the 
President of our country, both here at home and on the international 
stage.
  We had this very same debate right before leaving in July, when the 
majority refused to act on such urgent matters as Zika funding or 
countering gun violence. Instead, they trotted out three bills that 
would scuttle the Iran agreement.
  Now, here we are again with two bills, one that would hinder the 
U.S.' ability to abide by the spirit of the deal and one that promotes 
a false narrative about American diplomatic activity. Predictably, both 
bills target President Obama and could require the U.S. to violate 
international accords.
  As I have said before, for House Republicans the Iran nuclear 
agreement has become the ObamaCare of foreign policy. Republicans 
repeatedly proclaim it a failure, despite its objective success. They 
call for its immediate repeal without offering any alternative, despite 
the potentially disastrous consequences of such action. And they 
continue to clutter the Congressional calendar with so-called message 
votes designed to score political points instead of addressing the real 
issues facing our Nation--such as funding research to develop a vaccine 
against the Zika virus; such as funding the government for the next 
fiscal year and avoiding the threat of a government shutdown; or such 
as doing anything constructive that would ensure military readiness, 
strengthen our infrastructure, or make our Nation more secure.
  The bill before us today, H.R. 5461, would draw a Presidential veto 
and would not achieve the goals the sponsor claims it would achieve.
  The text of this legislation states that a new report on a select 
number of Iranian assets would help the Treasury Department's ``efforts 
to prevent the financing of terrorism'' and make ``required compliance 
with remaining sanctions more easily understood.''
  That sounds good, but, in reality, the bill would take away critical 
resources used to help the Treasury identify Iranian entities engaged 
in sanctionable conduct--such as human rights violations, financing 
terrorism, and ballistic missile development--in order to make this new 
report.
  In reality, this bill would incentivize corrupt Iranian actors to 
conduct their financial dealings farther and farther in the shadows. It 
would actually decrease transparency in Iran's banking sector, thereby 
undermining existing efforts to force Iran's compliance with 
international financial standards.
  In reality, the publication of this report would promote distrust and 
strengthen the position of hard-liners in Iran.
  These legislative antics continue, even though the opponents of the 
JCPOA know full well that strong sanctions on Iran remain in place.
  Instead of scoring political points or seeking to deny the President 
a foreign policy achievement, we should be working together in a 
bipartisan manner to ensure the agreement's success.
  Mr. Chairman, we need to remember that the world is watching what we 
do here today. We may think a politicized bill that has no chance of 
being signed into law doesn't matter much, but, in fact, to the leaders 
of China, Russia, or Iran, it sends a message of hesitation and 
disunity. And to the American public, it shows that House leadership is 
more interested in debating messaging bills than addressing our 
Nation's most pressing policy concerns.
  I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill, forego the partisan games, 
and focus on the needs of Americans and the security of our Nation.
  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Pittenger), vice chairman of our Task Force to 
Investigate Terrorism Financing.
  Mr. PITTENGER. I thank the chairman for yielding the time. I also 
thank Congressman Poliquin for his leadership on this very critical 
issue.
  Mr. Chairman, we are frequently reminded that Iran remains the 
world's number one state sponsor of terrorism, spreading their 
terrorism throughout the Middle East and throughout northern Africa.
  Terrorism takes money. Training, recruiting, smuggling weapons, 
supporting sleeper cells, all of these are business activities of 
terrorist organizations which require major funding.
  For Iran, much of the funding comes when Iran's small network of 
tyrannical leaders pilfer Iran's economy. Iran's top political and 
military leaders control roughly one-third of Iran's economy, including 
large portions of the telecommunications, construction, airport, and 
seaport sectors. This cozy arrangement provides Iran's radical Islamic 
leaders with significant cash to export terror and evil, while leaving

[[Page H5749]]

Iran's citizens to suffer the effects of a depleted economy.
  The Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act will shine a bright 
light on the rampant corruption and the self-serving behavior of the 
Iranian mullahs. Through this report, we hope to make international 
corporations aware of how their dealings with Iran are supporting 
terrorism and barbaric evil and to help the Iranian people fully 
understand how their supposed leaders are not operating in their best 
interests.
  Through this report, the American people will also better understand 
why President Obama's $1.7 billion ransom payment to Iran is likely to 
be used, again, to support terrorism and why President Obama's 
unyielding commitment to negotiate with Iran's corrupt leaders will 
ultimately make America and the world less safe.
  Iran is the new evil empire, a corrupt regime intent on spreading 
nefarious actions, destroying freedom, human rights, and free speech 
throughout the world. They exist by sucking dry the very people they 
claim to serve.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 5461, the Iranian 
Leadership Asset Transparency Act.
  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, I continue to reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania, (Mr. Rothfus).
  Mr. ROTHFUS. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of the 
Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act. While everyday Iranians earn 
around $15,000 a year, corruption pervades the highest levels of the 
Iranian Government, where bad actors use their wealth and positions of 
power to fund terrorism and to advance their own interests. The 
wealthiest and most powerful of the Iranian elites, including members 
of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the foundations they run 
control an estimated one-third of the nation's total economy.
  While President Obama and his administration have engaged in 
negotiations with Iran's leadership under the delusional pretext that 
they are in any way trustworthy or honorable, we know better. The 
Iranian Ayatollah's favored slogan, ``Death to America,'' should have 
tipped the administration off that Iran is our adversary, not a peace-
loving ally.
  President Obama's foreign policy with respect to Iran has set America 
back, endangering us and our allies. And with the implementation of the 
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, he has funneled billions of dollars 
to the world's leading state sponsor of terror. Indeed, Iran funds 
Hezbollah, which was responsible for more American deaths than any 
other terrorist organization prior to September 11, 2001.
  This legislation is among several key efforts the House is making to 
mitigate the damage the Obama administration has already done by 
providing Iran with billions of dollars in sanctions relief and cash 
payments.
  Requiring increased transparency regarding the funds that Iran's 
leaders hold, many of whom are engaged in sinister activities, will 
help financial institutions and private businesses comply with money 
laundering, related laws, and more carefully decide with whom they do 
business.
  Mr. Chairman, to a large degree, holding corrupt Iranian leaders more 
accountable is a matter of life and death for Americans and our allies. 
Iran has made its evil intentions toward America clear, and its leaders 
are intent upon harming us. I strongly urge this House to pass this 
crucial legislation.
  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  Mr. Chairman, we have received any number of letters and 
correspondence in opposition to this bill, but I thought it would be 
important to just share with you one such communication from J Street, 
which is an Israel lobbying group. They basically say that:
  `` . . . in light of its limited practical utility--this bill appears 
to be yet another piece of a sustained effort by US opponents of the 
JCPOA and other diplomatic engagement with Iran to undermine the 
agreement by weakening the domestic standing of Iranian President 
Hassan Rouhani and his allies vis-a-vis Iranian hardliners who also 
oppose the agreement and bilateral dialogue. It is likely not a 
coincidence that proponents have arranged for floor consideration of 
this bill just as Rouhani is in the United States for the United 
Nations General Assembly, and that it would require the finalization of 
the first report around the time of the next Iranian Presidential 
election.
  ``Hindering the US Government's ability to enforce the terms of the 
JCPOA and sanctions on Iran's dangerous non-nuclear behavior while 
simultaneously undermining Rouhani's standing would make America and 
our allies less safe and redound to the benefit of the very Iranian 
hardliners who seek to do us harm. Risking these consequences for the 
sake of procuring information that could not be shared with its 
intended audience would be both pointless and reckless. We therefore 
urge Members of Congress to oppose this bill.''
  That is from J Street, the Israel lobbying group.
  Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Williams).
  Mr. WILLIAMS. Mr. Chairman, here are the facts: This summer, Congress 
was made aware that $400 million worth of cash was secretly airlifted 
to Iran. Two days later, an additional $1.3 billion was sent to Iran. 
This comes on top of the approximately $55 billion Iran had access to 
after the Iran nuclear deal was reached.
  But here is something that Americans do not know: Where is all the 
money going and why? Is it going to help Iran rebuild its badly aging 
infrastructure? Is it going to support expanding freedoms for the 
average Iranian, or improving basic living conditions? Who believes any 
of that?
  In June of this year, Secretary Kerry admitted: Some of the money 
would go to groups labeled as terrorist organizations.
  He then said: The rest of it, well, we just don't know.
  I am proud to rise today in support of my friend from Maine's bill, a 
bill that will provide some transparency by requiring the Department of 
the Treasury to develop and post online a list that estimates the 
amount of funds and assets held by senior Iranian and military leaders 
and how they acquired those assets.
  As a member of the Task Force to Investigate Terrorism Financing, our 
committee learned firsthand the dangers associated with approving the 
Iran nuclear deal and giving them access to large amounts of cash. 
Frankly, Iran's leaders cannot be trusted. They are our enemy.
  Again, Mr. Chairman, the investment made by all U.S. taxpayers in 
Iran was very costly. Let's make sure we hold their leaders 
accountable. Please support the bill.
  In God we trust.

                              {time}  1545

  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to 
the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Heck), a member of the Financial 
Services Committee.
  Mr. HECK of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I thank the ranking member.
  Mr. Chairman, I rise today in opposition to this bill because, well, 
it is a distraction. It is a distraction not just from the work we 
should be doing--I mean, I would ask more than rhetorically exactly how 
many babies have to be born with microcephaly before we actually get 
serious about dealing with that proposed issue and the menace that it 
threatens America with. Frankly, this bill is meant to be a distraction 
from the fact that when it actually mattered, the Financial Services 
Committee was absent from the debate over the Iran deal--MIA.
  In May 2015, we passed the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act to 
provide a framework to consider the Iran deal, which we all know now is 
known as JCPOA. Frankly, as one Member--I know a lot of others spent a 
lot of time thinking about that issue and that vote, and I, frankly, 
would suggest that Members on both sides of the aisle gave this a 
considerable amount of consideration, but we didn't learn anything 
about it from the Financial Services Committee--zero, zip, nada.
  One would think that if the committee were so concerned about JCPOA, 
they would have explored these issues in detail while the deal

[[Page H5750]]

was still under consideration, just as many other committees did.
  In fact, I counted more than 30 Iran-related hearings in the House of 
Representatives between June 2014 and June 2016, including 9 in the 2-
month review period mandated in the REVIEW Act. In that full 2 years, 
Financial Services had no Iran hearings in full committee or 
subcommittee--zip, zero, nada. All we got was one solitary hearing and 
a working group before the deal went into effect.
  It is not just hearings where Financial Services was MIA. Since I 
have arrived in Congress, we have passed at least four bills dealing 
with financial sanctions or terrorism finance where the chair agreed in 
writing to waive jurisdiction with an exchange of letters. On two 
additional bills, the leadership brought to the floor without the 
chairman's seeking to protect the committee's jurisdiction over this 
critical issue.
  So I would just ask, Mr. Chairman, if this issue were so important--
and it is--where was the Financial Services Committee while the JCPOA 
was being debated? It was MIA. It was absent. Then, after sitting 
silent while the pivotal deal was being developed, considered, and 
debated, the committee has finally sprung to life to attempt to 
sabotage a deal that didn't fall apart, frankly, as a lot of the 
proponents of this deal would have liked.
  The IAEA has stated clearly, for months, that Iran is compliant with 
its nuclear-related obligations under JCPOA, but we are only now 
bringing to the floor legislation that undermines our own commitments 
to the JCPOA.
  Sadly, it is clear that the bill we have on the floor today is about 
politics. It is a distraction, and we should reject it.
  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Arkansas (Mr. Hill).
  Mr. HILL. I thank the chairman of the Financial Services Committee.
  Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5461 today, and I am a 
proud original cosponsor of this legislation.
  Mr. Poliquin's approach is simply a commonsense thing to do. When you 
consider that this administration, 6 years ago, turned its back on the 
Iranian people when they were trying to protest their notorious regime 
and take to the streets, but then instead of aiding those citizens, 
they turned their back on the people of Iran to negotiate with the 
ayatollahs what I believe to be an ill-conceived and poorly designed 
nuclear deal.
  My friend from Connecticut (Mr. Himes) makes the point of asset 
transparency and argues that this bill would not, in fact, help advance 
the transparency of the Quds Force or the aggregation of these assets 
in the hands of these 80 individuals. But, in fact, if the 
administration was serious about transparency, they would not give the 
largest state sponsor of terrorism $1.7 billion in Swiss francs and 
euros to become an untraceable honey pot for the purchase of ballistic 
missile components or fund terrorism in the West Bank or back Assad.
  Representative Price of North Carolina talks about this act actually 
strengthening the hard-liners. I would argue, if this is strengthening 
the hardliners, what, in fact, did the JCPOA accomplish when we report 
a 50 percent increase in incursions from the Iranian military in our 
air and sea activities in the Persian Gulf?
  The hard-liners in Iran called the payment of $1.7 billion a ransom--
not the people of the United States. In fact, they have taken two more 
additional hostages as a result of this administration's process.
  If we are not strengthening the hard-liners, then why is Iran 
doubling down on acquiring ballistic missile technology and backing the 
absolute destruction of Syria?
  So, Mr. Chairman, I think this is a commonsense measure that will let 
the people of Iran see what the 80 powerful individuals are doing with 
the billions that have been freed up to come back to the people, to the 
country of Iran.
  Street paving is not going on, Mr. Chairman. What is going on is the 
expansion of terrorism and billions in untraceable money backing a 
regime that our own State Department and Treasury says is undiminished 
in their sponsor of terrorism worldwide.
  Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support Mr. Poliquin's 
commonsense bill.
  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to 
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks), a member of the Financial 
Services and Foreign Affairs Committees.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Chairman, let me see. Let's look at this bill.
  H.R. 5461 would require the Secretary of the Treasury to submit a 
report to Congress on the estimated total assets under the direct or 
indirect control by Iranian leaders and certain senior political and 
other figures regardless of whether such individuals are subject to 
U.S. sanctions.
  So what will that do? By creating this report, it would place a 
substantial time and human resource burden on the Treasury and, in 
fact, divert critical energy and resources away from targeting 
sanctionable conduct and compliance over existing sanctions tied to 
human rights, terrorism, and ballistic missiles.
  Moreover, since the report would not be tied to any prohibition or 
legal action, it would have little use as a compliance tool and, in 
fact, would likely confuse the Office of Foreign Assets Control's 
regulated publicly.
  Finally, such a report would undoubtedly be seized upon by Iran--and 
quite possibly by all of our P5 allies--as an intended effort to 
discourage international investment in Iran, which, in turn, could be 
viewed as a violation of the expressed U.S. commitment under the JCPOA 
to prevent interference with the realization of the full benefit by 
Iran of the JCPOA and, therefore, undermine the continued support for 
the JCPOA with Iran.

  So I know some people on the other side of the aisle don't believe 
that this is the right thing, but it is clear JCPOA prevents an armed 
nuclear Iran. We should vote against H.R. 5461.
  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Colorado (Mr. Tipton).
  Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Chairman, it has recently come to light that this 
administration may have sent the world's leading state sponsor of 
terrorism as much as $33 billion in cash and gold payments over the 
last 2 years.
  American lives have been lost because of Iran's state-sponsored 
terrorism; families have been ripped apart. Yet, just last month, we 
learned that the administration paid Iran $1.7 billion--400 million of 
which was in unmarked, non-U.S. currency--before they could secure the 
release of American military personnel held hostage in Iran. There is 
no way to track how Iran is using this money--or any of the rest of the 
billions in payments it has received.
  If this administration will not act to keep its citizens safe, then 
the House must force its hand. This starts by holding both our 
administration and Iran's government accountable. We are expressly 
prohibiting any future ransom payments to Iran, and we are requiring 
the Treasury to publicize any assets associated with members of Iran's 
government leadership. We are also requiring the Treasury to submit a 
report to Congress that shows how the assets were acquired and how they 
have been put to use.
  Fighting terrorism should not be a partisan issue. Depriving evil 
regimes of the ability to fund terrorism should not be a partisan 
issue. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support the two pieces of 
legislation that we have on the House side, on the Republican column. 
Mr. Poliquin's bill, H.R. 5461, is a step in the right direction, and I 
urge my colleagues to support it.
  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, I continue to reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, may I inquire how much time remains?
  The CHAIR. The gentleman from Texas has 7\1/2\ minutes remaining. The 
gentlewoman from California has 7 minutes remaining.
  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Schweikert).
  Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Mr. Chairman, can I bring a slightly different 
discussion and weave it back into the things that have been said here?
  Mechanically, we often have this conversation that if we had a more 
holistic understanding of the money that was going to bad actors around 
the world--

[[Page H5751]]

I am holding parts of the report here talking about 18 tons of cocaine 
being moved through north Africa and then, ultimately, through Lebanon, 
through the handlers of Hezbollah and a billion-plus dollars of cash. 
As you and I know, we have all sat through the terrorism financing 
testimony and others that Hezbollah doesn't move, ultimately, without 
their puppet masters in Iran instructing them on what to do.
  So take a step backwards. If I came to you and said I care about 
terrorism, I care about bad actors, I care about drug resources moving 
through the world, and I have the country of Iran whose proxies are 
functionally, today, the leading money launderers not only in the 
region, but probably the world, and then we look at what the 
administration has done--I understand many people support it for the 
nuclear arms side. I am fine. I am enraged that the openness and the 
misrepresentation and lying--just plain lying--to Congress on the 
timing, what happened, and how it was delivered--was it in cash, or was 
it in wires? So a piece of legislation like this, why would we fear 
another layer of just openness and disclosure saying that this is woven 
into many evil, bad actors in the world that are moving billions of 
dollars of illicit money and illicit narcotics, people--human 
smuggling--why wouldn't we want to sort of have the view of what is 
Iran's hand in it, what is their proxy's hand in it we call Hezbollah?
  The CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield the gentleman an additional 30 
seconds.
  Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Mr. Chairman, many of us have sat on the terrorism 
finance committee, and I appreciate Chairman Hensarling for allowing me 
to sit there. But the more you learn, the more you understand the 
levels of complication. We have this habit around here, when we get 
behind the microphones, we make things direct and simple in a sound 
bite. It is complex, and there are tremendous amounts of money and bad 
things happening here.
  Why would a simple piece of legislation--one of the beautiful things 
in here is it gives me more openness so we understand what the bad 
actors are doing.
  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. Chairman, as I have said at the onset of this debate, it is clear 
that this bill is nothing more than an effort to derail the 
administration's diplomatic accomplishments with regard to the Iran 
nuclear deal.

                              {time}  1600

  After failing to block the deal from being implemented, opponents 
have shifted their focus towards unraveling and delegitimizing it bit 
by bit. This is despite the fact that over a year after the accord was 
signed, the JCPOA is widely seen as having diffused the global security 
threat of a nuclear armed Iran for at least a generation.
  Despite the ongoing success of the agreement, my colleagues on the 
other side of the aisle have gone to great lengths to promote a false 
narrative that the administration too readily concedes to Iran's 
demands, including by pushing claims that the U.S. made secret ransom 
payments to Iran. Other efforts to destabilize the agreement have been 
aimed squarely at violating the terms of the agreement itself.
  For example, Republicans moved a spate of measures earlier this 
summer that would block the sale of aircraft to Iran, despite the fact 
that these sales were a central component of the nuclear agreement. 
Moreover, Republicans also rushed legislation to the floor before 
leaving for the last congressional recess to undermine Iran's conduct 
of banking transactions outside of the United States--activity that 
became permissible as part of the nuclear deal.
  So while the bill before us today, H.R. 5461, may appear to contain a 
simple reporting requirement, it is most certainly not a bill that 
promotes our national security interests. By requiring an extraneous 
report on the assets of Iranian leaders without regard to current 
sanctions or other obligations, the bill would prevent the Iranian 
people from receiving the full benefits of this agreement. This would 
put the agreement in jeopardy and strengthen the hand of the hardliners 
in Iran who want nothing more than to see the nuclear deal fall apart. 
This scenario would threaten global security and deal a severe blow in 
our efforts to prevent a nuclear Iran.
  In closing, I would like to ask critics of the deal what they believe 
their moral responsibility will be if their relentless efforts to undo 
the deal are successful? How do you think rejection by the U.S. of the 
nuclear deal will affect American leadership on any future foreign 
policy negotiations?
  Some critics of the Iran nuclear deal express outrage that the deal 
has not curtailed Iran's other destabilizing influence in the region or 
support for what they say is terrorism at this time.
  I think it is important to note that the Iran nuclear deal was quite 
deliberately focused on the nuclear issue as the paramount concern 
regarding Iran's foreign policy. The Iran nuclear deal is an arms 
control agreement, and in that respect, it has been successful to date.
  It is my hope that the ongoing success of the nuclear deal might give 
us the leverage to work toward constructing a better policy towards 
Iran that will help us address the range of Iran's destabilizing 
behavior in the region, but I urge my colleagues not to confuse the 
legislation like H.R. 5461 with any serious effort to move us in that 
direction. So rather than force the President to veto this harmful and 
misguided legislation, I urge my colleagues to block this bill from 
moving forward here in the House.
  Mr. Chairman, I am going to reiterate that the world is watching what 
we do here. I want to reiterate that we didn't just enter into this 
deal by ourselves. We have all of our allies who have agreed to this 
deal. If this is undermined, if it is seen to cause us to act in bad 
faith, then what are we to say to our allies? What are we to say to the 
rest of the world about a deal that was negotiated by the leader of 
this country, the President of the United States?
  If the President of the United States of America can't count on the 
Congress of the United States to back him up in the world, if the 
President of the United States can't count on the Members of Congress 
to stand with him, and if the President of the United States can't be 
comfortable that the Members of Congress are not going to make him look 
as if he did not mean what he said, that he was not truthful in the 
negotiation, then what can a leader do? How can a leader lead a 
country?
  All of us who claim to love this country and to care about its safety 
and security have ourselves on the line with this legislation. This is 
legislation that will be deemed to undermine that agreement and be seen 
as just another attempt to undermine the President of the United States 
of America. It is not concerned about whether or not we have stopped 
the nuclear proliferation in Iran, not concerned that we have caused 
all of that region to feel safe and us to feel safe for another 
generation, but rather, pursuing to undermine the agreement simply 
because they don't like some part of it or they are not able to make 
the President do what they want him to do.
  This is outrageous. This cannot go forward in the way that it is 
intended by my friends on the opposite side of the aisle. I know that 
they are smart and they are bright and they are intelligent, but they 
cannot let their emotions about either not liking the President of the 
United States or simply not liking Iran to get in the way of this deal 
that will create safety in the world.
  Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  I cannot imagine what the American people who are tuning in to C-SPAN 
must think. They must think that when they hear our friends on the 
other side of the aisle, that they have tuned in not to the United 
States Congress, but to the Iranian Parliament.
  Rarely have I heard so many come to the House floor to defend this 
regime. Oh, oh, we might hurt their feelings if we make them disclose 
their personal finances.
  Mr. Chairman, every Member of Congress has to disclose their personal 
finances. So what is wrong with the foremost state sponsor of terrorism 
exposing their assets, their funding, where

[[Page H5752]]

they control one-third of the Iranian economy?
  No. We hear: Oh, we might hurt their feelings, we may hurt their 
sensibilities.
  Now, many have come to quote the administration. Well, Mr. Chairman, 
let me quote the administration--the State Department's Country Reports 
on Terrorism. The last one noted that:

  ``Iran continued to sponsor terrorist groups around the world, 
principally through its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. . . . These 
groups included Lebanese Hizballah, several Iraqi Shia militant groups, 
Hamas, and Palestine Islamic Jihad. Iran, Hizballah, and other Shia 
militia continued to provide support to the Asad regime, dramatically 
bolstering its capabilities, prolonging the civil war in Syria, and 
worsening the human rights and refugee crisis there.''
  Mr. Chairman, those aren't my words. Those are the words of the 
President's State Department. Now, this is their country report.
  Maybe, maybe my colleagues on the other side of the aisle would like 
to offer an amendment so that no longer can the State Department 
publish such reports on terrorism because it might offend the 
sensibilities of the Iranians.
  The truth is, Mr. Chairman, this is a total red herring. There is 
nothing, nothing in this bill that violates the JCPOA. I think it is a 
terrible agreement. This is well known. In fact, a strong majority of 
this body opposed it, but we understand the President entered into it.
  How can they object? How can my friends on the other side of the 
aisle object to transparency and accountability for the leadership of 
the world's foremost state sponsor of terrorism--again, that is the 
Obama administration saying that, Mr. Chairman--how can they object to 
a little transparency there and yet allow this report to come out from 
the State Department?
  It makes no sense at all. We heard some say: Oh, my Lord, this might 
take up resources at the State Department.
  Well, according to the Congressional Budget Office, this comes in in 
thousands. Not millions, not billions, not trillions, but thousands. 
And given that the most important thing we do as Members of Congress is 
to provide for the common defense, including the common defense against 
the world's foremost state sponsor of terrorism, I think that it would 
be wise that we put the resources towards this report. It may be a 
first because I have never heard, in the years I have been here, any of 
my Democratic colleagues ever be concerned about the resources of the 
United States of America, as they have worked to give us the worst debt 
and deficit in the history of our Republic, an unsustainable debt that 
undermines our common defense.
  Again, Mr. Chairman, this is a regime involved in cyberterrorism. 
This is a regime trying to develop ballistic missile technology. This 
is a regime that funds Hezbollah as it rains missiles down on Israel.
  The gentleman from Maine (Mr. Poliquin) has come up with a very 
commonsense piece of legislation. I applaud his leadership in bringing 
forth H.R. 5461. Let's have some transparency, let's have some 
accountability. We know--we know that to combat terrorist financing. We 
must follow the money. We must expose the money. And that is what the 
gentleman from Maine does with his bill.
  I do not understand why such a commonsense piece of legislation is 
being so vigorously opposed by my friends on the other side of the 
aisle. Again, Americans must be in a tizzy trying to figure out if they 
have tuned in to the United States Congress or the Iranian Parliament. 
Let's make sure they understand this is the United States Congress. We 
will stand for the common defense, we will expose this terrorist 
financing, and we will stand with the gentleman from Maine (Mr. 
Poliquin) and stand for all Americans, and we will vote for H.R. 5461.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Chair, I rise today to support H.R. 
5461, the ``Iranian Leadership Transparency Act,'' introduced by my 
colleague Bruce Poliquin.
  This bill will give the Iranian people some measure of the 
transparency they deserve--but have long been denied--about the corrupt 
financial dealings of their government. H.R. 5461 would require the 
Administration to produce an annual report on the financial and other 
assets owned by Iran's senior leaders and the highest ranks of Iran's 
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
  The report will be published in an easily downloadable format in 
English, Farsi, Arabic, and Azeri to make sure the information winds up 
in the hands of Iranians and empowers transparency advocates.
  With a corruption index ranking of 130 out of 168 countries from 
Transparency International and a media freedom ranking of 169 out of 
180 from Reporters Without Borders, Iran is one of the most difficult 
climates in which to discover and report the truth about official 
corruption.
  This United States Government report would provide unique insights 
for Iranian and international audiences, particularly since so much of 
Iran's economy is controlled by shadowy organizations, such as the 
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The United States Institute of Peace 
assesses that the IRGC is Iran's single largest economic force with 
major stakes in most sectors of the economy, including construction, 
energy, and telecommunication, among others.
  To further draw back the curtain on Iran's shadowy dealings, the 
report would detail how the IRGC and Iranian leaders acquired these 
assets, how they use them, and any methods or techniques they have 
employed to launder them.
  Mr. Chair, the report will also enable us to whether the 
Administration is doing everything in its power to curtail Iran's well-
known money laundering practices--which serve as the conduit for much 
of the support Iran provides to the terrorist groups and armed proxies 
that threaten American and Israeli lives on a daily basis.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
  The CHAIR. All time for general debate has expired.
  Pursuant to the rule, the bill shall be considered for amendment 
under the 5-minute rule. The bill shall be considered as read.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 5461

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Iranian Leadership Asset 
     Transparency Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       The Congress finds the following:
       (1) Iran is characterized by high levels of official and 
     institutional corruption, and substantial involvement by 
     Iran's security forces, particularly the Islamic 
     Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in the economy.
       (2) Many members of Iran's senior political and military 
     leadership have acquired significant personal and 
     institutional wealth by using their positions to secure 
     control of significant portions of Iran's national economy.
       (3) Sanctions relief provided through the Joint 
     Comprehensive Plan of Action has resulted in the removal of 
     many Iranian entities that are tied to governmental 
     corruption from the list of entities sanctioned by the United 
     States.
       (4) The Department of Treasury in 2011 designated the 
     Islamic Republic of Iran's financial sector as a jurisdiction 
     of primary money laundering concern under section 311 of the 
     USA PATRIOT Act, stating ``Treasury has for the first time 
     identified the entire Iranian financial sector; including 
     Iran's Central Bank, private Iranian banks, and branches, and 
     subsidiaries of Iranian banks operating outside of Iran as 
     posing illicit finance risks for the global financial 
     system.''.
       (5) Iran continues to be listed by the Financial Action 
     Task Force (FATF) among the ``Non-Cooperative Countries or 
     Territories''--countries which it perceived to be non-
     cooperative in the global fight against terror finance and 
     money laundering.
       (6) Iran and North Korea are the only countries listed by 
     the FATF as ``Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories'' 
     against which FATF countries should take measures.
       (7) The Transparency International index of perceived 
     public corruption ranks Iran 130th out of 168 countries 
     surveyed.
       (8) The State Department identified Iran as a country/
     jurisdiction of ``primary concern'' for money laundering in 
     its 2014 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report 
     (INCSR).
       (9) The State Department currently identifies Iran, along 
     with Sudan and Syria, as a state sponsor of terrorism, 
     ``having repeatedly provided support for acts of 
     international terrorism''.
       (10) The State Department's ``Country Reports on 
     Terrorism'', published last in June 2015 noted that ``Iran 
     continued to sponsor terrorist groups around the world, 
     principally through its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-
     Qods Force (IRGC-QF). These groups included Lebanese 
     Hizballah, several Iraqi Shia militant groups, Hamas, and 
     Palestine Islamic Jihad. Iran, Hizballah, and other Shia 
     militia continued to provide support to the Asad regime, 
     dramatically bolstering its capabilities, prolonging the 
     civil war in Syria, and worsening the human rights and 
     refugee crisis there.''.
       (11) The Iranian Government's tolerance of corruption and 
     nepotism in business limits

[[Page H5753]]

     opportunities for foreign and domestic investment, 
     particularly given the significant involvement of the IRGC in 
     many sectors of Iran's economy.
       (12) The IRGC and the leadership-controlled bonyads 
     (foundations) control an estimated one-third of Iran's total 
     economy, including large portions of Iran's 
     telecommunications, construction, and airport and port 
     operations. These operations give the IRGC and bonyads vast 
     funds to support terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah 
     and Hamas.
       (13) By gaining control of major economic sectors, the IRGC 
     and bonyads have also served to further disadvantage the 
     average Iranian.

     SEC. 3. REPORT REQUIREMENT RELATING TO ASSETS OF IRANIAN 
                   LEADERS AND CERTAIN SENIOR POLITICAL FIGURES.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 270 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter (or more 
     frequently if the Secretary of the Treasury determines it 
     appropriate based on new information received by the 
     Secretary) for the following 2 years, the Secretary of the 
     Treasury shall, in furtherance of the Secretary's efforts to 
     prevent the financing of terrorism, money laundering, or 
     related illicit finance and to make financial institutions' 
     required compliance with remaining sanctions more easily 
     understood, submit a report to the appropriate congressional 
     committees containing--
       (1) the estimated total funds or assets held in accounts at 
     U.S. and foreign financial institutions that are under direct 
     or indirect control by each natural person described in 
     subsection (b) and a description of such assets;
       (2) an identification of any equity stake such natural 
     person has in an entity on the Department of the Treasury's 
     list of Specially Designated Nationals or in any other 
     sanctioned entity;
       (3) a description of how such funds or assets or equity 
     interests were acquired, and how they have been used or 
     employed; and
       (4) a description of any new methods or techniques used to 
     evade anti-money laundering and related laws, including 
     recommendations to improve techniques to combat illicit uses 
     of the U.S. financial system by each natural person described 
     in subsection (b).
       (b) Persons Described.--The natural persons described in 
     this subsection are the following:
       (1) The Supreme Leader of Iran.
       (2) The President of Iran.
       (3) Members of the Council of Guardians.
       (4) Members of the Expediency Council.
       (5) The Minister of Intelligence and Security.
       (6) The Commander and the Deputy Commander of the IRGC.
       (7) The Commander and the Deputy Commander of the IRGC 
     Ground Forces.
       (8) The Commander and the Deputy Commander of the IRGC 
     Aerospace Force.
       (9) The Commander and the Deputy Commander of the IRGC 
     Navy.
       (10) The Commander of the Basij-e-Mostaz'afin.
       (11) The Commander of the Qods Force.
       (12) The Commander in Chief of the Police Force.
       (13) The head of the IRGC Joint Staff.
       (14) The Commander of the IRGC Intelligence.
       (15) The head of the IRGC Imam Hussein University.
       (16) The Supreme Leader's Representative at the IRGC.
       (17) The Chief Executive Officer and the Chairman of the 
     IRGC Cooperative Foundation.
       (18) The Commander of the Khatam-al-Anbia Construction Head 
     Quarter.
       (19) The Chief Executive Officer of the Basij Cooperative 
     Foundation.
       (20) The head of the Political Bureau of the IRGC.
       (c) Form of Report; Public Availability.--
       (1) Form.--The report required under subsection (a) shall 
     be submitted in unclassified form but may contain a 
     classified annex.
       (2) Public availability.--The unclassified portion of such 
     report shall be made available to the public and posted on 
     the website of the Department of the Treasury--
       (A) in English, Farsi, Arabic, and Azeri; and
       (B) in precompressed, easily downloadable versions that are 
     made available in all appropriate formats.
       (d) Sources of Information.--In preparing a report 
     described under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury 
     may utilize any credible publication, database, web-based 
     resource, and any credible information compiled by any 
     government agency, nongovernmental organization, or other 
     entity provided to or made available to the Secretary.
       (e) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
       (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
     ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee 
     on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the 
     Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the 
     Senate.
       (2) Funds.--The term ``funds'' means--
       (A) cash;
       (B) equity;
       (C) any other intangible asset whose value is derived from 
     a contractual claim, including bank deposits, bonds, stocks, 
     a security as defined in section 2(a) of the Securities Act 
     of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77b(a)), or a security or an equity 
     security as defined in section 3(a) of the Securities 
     Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)); and
       (D) anything else that the Secretary determines 
     appropriate.

  The CHAIR. No amendment to the bill shall be in order except those 
printed in House Report 114-778. Each such amendment may be offered 
only in the order printed in the report, by a Member designated in the 
report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time 
specified in the report, equally divided and controlled by the 
proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall 
not be subject to a demand for division of the question.


                Amendment No. 1 Offered by Mr. Poliquin

  The CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 1 printed in 
House Report 114-778.
  Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.
  The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
  The text of the amendment is as follows:

       Page 9, line 23, strike ``Committee on Financial Services'' 
     and insert ``Committees on Financial Services and Foreign 
     Affairs''.
       Page 9, line 24, strike ``Committee'' and insert 
     ``Committees''.
       Page 10, line 1, after ``Affairs'' insert the following: 
     ``and Foreign Relations''.

  The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 876, the gentleman from Maine 
(Mr. Poliquin) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Maine.
  Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chairman, I rise to offer the Poliquin amendment to 
the Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act.
  My amendment is very simple, Mr. Chairman. It adds the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs to the reporting requirements in the bill.
  Right now, the legislation requires the Department of Treasury to 
provide a report to the House Financial Services Committee and the 
Senate Banking Committee, the unclassified portion of which will be 
posted for everyone to see on the U.S. Department of Treasury's Web 
site. My amendment, Mr. Chairman, adds the House Committee on Foreign 
Affairs and the Committee on Foreign Relations in the Senate as 
appropriate congressional committees to receive the report.
  It is a small adjustment to the bill, but a good one, as I think we 
all benefit from the good work that Chairman Royce and his committee 
has conducted with regard to the Iranian regime.
  I urge support of this amendment and, once again, for the underlying 
bill.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman 
from Maine (Mr. Poliquin).
  The amendment was agreed to.


            Amendment No. 2 Offered by Mr. Young of Indiana

  The Acting CHAIR (Mr. Simpson). It is now in order to consider 
amendment No. 2 printed in House Report 114-778.
  Mr. YOUNG of Indiana. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.
  The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
  The text of the amendment is as follows:

       Page 7, line 7, strike ``and''.
       Page 7, line 13, strike the period and insert a semicolon.
       Page 7, after line 13, insert the following:
       (5) recommendations for how U.S. economic sanctions against 
     Iran may be revised to prevent the funds or assets described 
     under this subsection from being used by the natural persons 
     described in subsection (b) to contribute to the continued 
     development, testing, and procurement of ballistic missile 
     technology by Iran;
       (6) a description of how the Department of the Treasury 
     assesses the impact and effectiveness of U.S. economic 
     sanctions programs against Iran; and
       (7) recommendations for improving the ability of the 
     Department of the Treasury to rapidly and effectively 
     develop, implement, and enforce additional economic sanctions 
     against Iran if so ordered by the President under the 
     International Emergency Economic Powers Act or other 
     corresponding legislation.

  The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 876, the gentleman 
from Indiana (Mr. Young) and a Member opposed each will control 5 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Indiana.

[[Page H5754]]

  


                              {time}  1615

  Mr. YOUNG of Indiana. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of my amendment 
to the Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act.
  I thank the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Poliquin) for his timely and 
valuable bill.
  Iran is a determined and treacherous enemy of the United States. 
Despite the hopes of the Obama administration's following the adoption 
of the JCPOA nuclear agreement, Iran has only escalated its aggressive 
foreign policy over the past year. It has not locked arms agreeably 
with the community of civilized nations.
  While the Obama administration removed the sanctions related to 
Iran's nuclear program following the adoption of the JCPOA, U.S. 
sanctions remain in place against Iran in response to its state 
sponsorship of terrorism, ballistic missile program, and human rights 
violations.
  Tracking and cataloging the assets and funds that are controlled by 
the Iranian regime is a necessary step towards uncovering how Iran 
continues to challenge and attempts to circumvent the U.S. sanctions 
regime.
  My amendment simply builds upon the excellent foundation laid out in 
the underlying bill by expanding the scope of the reporting 
requirements. These new components require Treasury to provide 
recommendations for improving the U.S. sanctions regime against Iran 
and a description of how Treasury assesses the impact and effectiveness 
of U.S. sanctions.
  The amendment will enhance the ability of Congress to assess and 
exercise oversight over Iran policy. The expanding reporting 
requirements will also contribute to the ability of Congress to ensure 
that Iran policy is serving the national security interests of the 
United States.
  Iran's continued aggression threatens all Americans regardless of 
one's political party. It is not partisan maneuvering for Congress to 
require the Department of the Treasury to provide valuable information 
to Congress on matters of great importance to our national security.
  Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition 
to this amendment.
  The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, the Young amendment 
would add three additional requirements to the report that are called 
for under the underlying bill, including a description of how the 
administration views the effectiveness of its sanctions programs and 
recommendations for improving their enforcement.
  I believe it would be a strategic mistake to disclose to our 
adversaries how we view the effectiveness of our sanctions programs and 
would be imprudent to signal to them how we might respond or alter our 
approach through the use of economic sanctions.
  Furthermore, the amendment appears to be premised on the assumption 
that the administration isn't already actively enforcing sanctions 
related to Iran, particularly its pursuit of ballistic missile 
technology. Ironically, the extensive reporting requirements on roughly 
80 senior Iranian officers in the underlying bill would detract from 
the administration's ability to implement the very sanctions that the 
Young amendment seeks to embrace.
  Given its false premise, the increased burden the amendment would 
place on the Treasury Department, and the strategic folly of revealing 
our strategy for using sanctions to rein in Iran's nefarious behavior, 
I oppose the amendment.
  Mr. Chairman, I simply don't believe that these Members who are 
engaging in this kind of activity really understand what they are 
doing. I refer to it as folly, but it is worse than that. It is 
weighing in on something they really don't know about. In doing so, 
they don't recognize the damage they are doing to their own country and 
to the President of the United States. I oppose this amendment.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Young).
  The amendment was agreed to.


                  Amendment No. 3 Offered by Mr. Lance

  The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 3 
printed in House Report 114-778.
  Mr. LANCE. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
  The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
  The text of the amendment is as follows:

       Page 8, after line 23, insert the following:
       (21) The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.

  The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 876, the gentleman 
from New Jersey (Mr. Lance) and a Member opposed each will control 5 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.
  Mr. LANCE. My thanks to Chairman Hensarling, and my thanks, as well, 
to Congressman Poliquin for their tremendous leadership on this issue.
  Mr. Chairman, this is not about the underlying Iranian nuclear 
agreement, and nothing in this amendment and nothing in the Poliquin 
bill will change that agreement. Obviously, there is significant debate 
about the underlying agreement. I am a strong opponent of that, as was 
the majority here in the House of Representatives. Unfortunately, the 
other Chamber never voted on the issue because we could not reach a 
conclusion of debate on that issue.
  On this amendment, it is in our national security interest to be 
scrutinizing the assets that are held by senior Iranian political and 
military leaders so that we might know how those assets were acquired 
and how they are being spent. This amendment would add the name of the 
head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, a position currently 
held by Ali Akbar Salehi, to a list of Iranian leaders who are named in 
this legislation.
  Given Iran's known desire for a nuclear weapons program and its clear 
ties to international terror, we should be monitoring the finances of 
the head of its nuclear program regardless of who he is. For years, the 
Iranian regime has been mired in institutionalized corruption; and the 
nexus of nuclear weapons, state-sponsored terrorism, money laundering, 
secret financial agreements, and mass pilfering from the Iranian people 
is cause for great alarm.
  Mr. Chairman, we need all of the tools at our disposal. Let's add the 
head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran to this legislation, and 
let's have the U.S. Treasury do all it can to investigate the finances 
of this regime.
  Mr. Chairman, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the amendment I am offering, 
and I certainly urge a ``yes'' vote on the underlying legislation that 
has been sponsored by Congressman Poliquin.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition 
to the amendment.
  The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, I really should not 
spend my time on this. This is kind of ridiculous that this long list 
we have of which they want to find out about the assets--where they 
came from, how they are managed, who they give them to, et cetera--is 
kind of senseless anyway because, even if the Treasury Department took 
all of this time and effort that it should be using on enforcing 
sanctions, et cetera, it would be classified. I don't know how they 
expect to get this to the Iranian people to view as they are trying to 
have them think that they can somehow undermine what their government 
is doing and, I guess, create a war between Iran and the United States.
  I don't know what they are doing, but I know this--it doesn't make 
good sense. It ties up the Treasury Department to do all of this 
useless stuff. And to have a list where you spend time on the floor of 
the United States Congress saying, I want to add one more name--give me 
a break. I oppose the amendment.
  Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Lance).
  The amendment was agreed to.
  The Acting CHAIR. There being no further amendment, under the rule, 
the Committee rises.
  Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. 
Chabot) having assumed the chair, Mr.

[[Page H5755]]

Simpson, Acting Chair of the Committee of the Whole House on the state 
of the Union, reported that that Committee, having had under 
consideration the bill (H.R. 5461) to require the Secretary of the 
Treasury to submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees 
on the estimated total assets under direct or indirect control by 
certain senior Iranian leaders and other figures, and for other 
purposes, and, pursuant to House Resolution 876, he reported the bill 
back to the House with sundry amendments adopted in the Committee of 
the Whole.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the rule, the previous question is 
ordered.
  Is a separate vote demanded on any amendment reported from the 
Committee of the Whole? If not, the Chair will put them en gros.
  The amendments were agreed to.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the engrossment and third 
reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was 
read the third time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.

                          ____________________