[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 198 (Tuesday, December 5, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H9648-H9653]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TAYLOR FORCE ACT
Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 1164) to condition assistance to the West Bank and
Gaza on steps by the Palestinian Authority to end violence and
terrorism against Israeli citizens, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1164
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 ``Taylor Force Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Palestinian Authority's practice of paying salaries
to terrorists serving in Israeli prisons, as well as to the
families of deceased terrorists, is an incentive to commit
acts of terror.
(2) The United States does not provide direct budgetary
support to the Palestinian Authority. The United States does
pay certain debts held by the Palestinian Authority and funds
programs for which the Palestinian Authority would otherwise
be responsible.
(3) The United States Government supports community-based
programs in the West Bank and Gaza that provide for basic
human needs, such as food, water, health, shelter,
protection, education, and livelihoods, and that promote
peace and development.
(4) Since fiscal year 2015, annual appropriations
legislation has mandated the reduction of Economic Support
Fund aid for the Palestinian Authority as a result of their
payments for acts of terrorism including, in fiscal year
2017, a reduction ``by an amount the Secretary determines is
equivalent to the amount expended by the Palestinian
Authority, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and any
successor or affiliated organizations with such entities as
payments for acts of terrorism by individuals who are
imprisoned after being fairly tried and convicted for acts of
terrorism and by individuals who died committing acts of
terrorism during the previous calendar year''.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
Congress--
(1) calls on the Palestinian Authority, the Palestine
Liberation Organization, and any successor or affiliated
organizations to stop payments for acts of terrorism by
individuals who are imprisoned after being fairly tried and
convicted for acts of terrorism and by individuals who died
committing acts of terrorism and to repeal the laws
authorizing such payments;
(2) calls on all donor countries providing budgetary
assistance to the Palestinian Authority to cease direct
budgetary support until the Palestinian Authority stops all
payments incentivizing terror;
(3) urges the Palestinian Authority to develop programs to
provide essential public services and support to any
individual in need within its jurisdictional control, rather
than to provide payments contingent on perpetrating acts of
violence;
(4) urges the United States Permanent Representative to the
United Nations to use the voice, vote, and influence of the
United States at the United Nations to highlight the issue of
Palestinian Authority payments for acts of terrorism and to
urge other Member States to apply pressure upon the
Palestinian Authority to immediately cease such payments; and
(5) urges the Department of State to use its bilateral and
multilateral engagements with all governments and
organizations committed to the cause of peace between Israel
and the Palestinians to highlight the issue of Palestinian
Authority payments for acts of terrorism and to urge such
governments and organizations to join the United States in
calling on the Palestinian Authority to immediately cease
such payments.
SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON ASSISTANCE TO THE WEST BANK AND GAZA.
(a) Limitation.--
(1) In general.--For fiscal year 2018 and each of the five
subsequent fiscal years, funds authorized to be appropriated
or otherwise made available for assistance under chapter 4 of
part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2346
et seq.; relating to Economic Support Fund) and available for
assistance for the West Bank and Gaza that directly benefits
the Palestinian Authority may only be made available for such
purpose if, except as provided in subsection (d), not later
than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and
every 180 days thereafter, the Secretary of State certifies
in writing to the appropriate congressional committees that
the Palestinian Authority, the Palestine Liberation
Organization, and any successor or affiliated organizations--
(A) are taking credible steps to end acts of violence
against Israeli citizens and United States citizens that are
perpetrated or materially assisted by individuals under their
jurisdictional control, such as the March 2016 attack that
killed former United States Army officer Taylor Force, a
veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan;
(B) have terminated payments for acts of terrorism against
Israeli citizens and United States citizens to any
individual, after being fairly tried, who has been imprisoned
for such acts of terrorism and to any individual who died
committing such acts of terrorism, including to a family
member of such individuals;
(C) have revoked any law, decree, regulation, or document
authorizing or implementing a system of compensation for
imprisoned individuals that uses the sentence or period of
incarceration of an individual imprisoned for an act of
terrorism to determine the level of compensation paid, or
have taken comparable action that has the effect of
invalidating any such law, decree, regulation, or document;
and
(D) are publicly condemning such acts of violence and are
taking steps to investigate or are cooperating in
investigations of such acts to bring the perpetrators to
justice.
(2) Additional certification requirement.--The Secretary of
State shall include in the certification required under
paragraph (1) the definition of ``acts of terrorism'' that
the Secretary used for purposes of making the determination
in subparagraph (B) of such paragraph.
(b) Exception.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the limitation
on assistance under subsection (a) shall not apply to--
(A) payments made to the East Jerusalem Hospital Network;
(B) assistance for wastewater projects; and
(C) assistance for any other program, project, or activity
that provides vaccinations to children.
(2) Notification.--The Secretary of State shall notify in
writing the appropriate congressional committees not later
than 15 days prior to making funds available for assistance
under subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (1).
[[Page H9649]]
(c) Rule of Construction.--Funds withheld pursuant to this
section--
(1) shall be deemed to satisfy any similar withholding or
reduction required under any other provision of law relating
to the Palestinian Authority's payments for acts of
terrorism; and
(2) shall be in an amount that is not less than the total
amount required by such other provision of law.
(d) Initial Use and Disposition of Withheld Funds.--
(1) Period of availability.--Funds withheld pursuant to
this section are authorized to remain available for an
additional 2 years from the date on which the availability of
such funds would otherwise have expired.
(2) Use of funds.--Funds withheld pursuant to this section
may be made available for assistance for the West Bank and
Gaza that directly benefits the Palestinian Authority upon a
certification by the Secretary of State that the Palestinian
Authority, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and any
successor or affiliated organizations have met the conditions
set forth in subsection (a). Except as provided in paragraph
(3), such funds may not be made available for any purpose
other than for assistance for the West Bank and Gaza that
directly benefits the Palestinian Authority.
(3) Disposition of unused funds.--Beginning on the date
that is 180 days after the last day on which the initial
availability of funds withheld pursuant to this section would
otherwise have expired, such funds are authorized to be made
available to the Department of State for assistance under
chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961
(22 U.S.C.2346 et seq.; relating to Economic Support Fund)
for purposes other than assistance for the West Bank and
Gaza.
(e) Report.--
(1) In general.--If the Secretary of State is unable to
certify in writing to the appropriate congressional
committees that the Palestinian Authority, the Palestine
Liberation Organization, and any successor or affiliated
organizations have met the conditions described in subsection
(a), the Secretary shall, not later than 15 days after the
date on which the Secretary is unable to make such
certification, submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report that contains the following:
(A) The reasons why the Secretary was unable to certify in
writing that such organizations have met such requirements.
(B) The definition of ``acts of terrorism'' that the
Secretary used for purposes of making the determination in
subparagraph (B) of subsection (a)(1).
(C) The total amount of funds to be withheld.
(2) Form.--The report required by this subsection shall be
submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified
annex.
(f) List of Criteria.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 15 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a list of
the criteria that the Secretary uses to determine whether
assistance for the West Bank and Gaza is assistance that
directly benefits the Palestinian Authority for purposes of
carrying out this section.
(2) Update.--The Secretary of State shall submit to the
appropriate congressional committees an updated list under
paragraph (1) not later than 15 days after the date on which
the Secretary makes any modification to the list.
SEC. 5. INITIAL REPORT.
(a) In General.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall
submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report
describing those programs, projects, and activities funded by
the United States Government that have been or will be
suspended by reason of withholding of funds under section 4.
(b) Form.--The report required by subsection (a) shall be
submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified
annex.
SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORT.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 6
years, the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report including at a minimum the
following elements:
(1) An estimate of the amount expended by the Palestinian
Authority, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and any
successor or affiliated organizations during the previous
calendar year as payments for acts of terrorism by
individuals who are imprisoned for such acts.
(2) An estimate of the amount expended by the Palestinian
Authority, the Palestine Liberation Organization, and any
successor or affiliated organizations during the previous
calendar year as payments to the families of deceased
individuals who committed an act of terrorism.
(3) An overview of Palestinian laws, decrees, regulations,
or documents in effect the previous calendar year that
authorize or implement any payments reported under paragraphs
(1) and (2).
(4) A description of United States Government policy,
efforts, and engagement with the Palestinian Authority in
order to confirm the revocation of any law, decree,
regulation, or document in effect the previous calendar year
that authorizes or implements any payments reported under
paragraphs (1) and (2).
(5) A description of United States Government policy,
efforts, and engagement with other governments, and at the
United Nations, to highlight the issue of Palestinian
payments for acts of terrorism and to urge other nations to
join the United States in calling on the Palestinian
Authority to immediately cease such payments.
(b) Form of Report.--The report required by subsection (a)
shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include a
classified annex.
SEC. 7. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.
In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional
committees'' means--
(1) the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives; and
(2) the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. Royce) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
General Leave
Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their
remarks and to include any extraneous material in the Record.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, today we consider the Taylor Force Act. This is
bipartisan legislation that honors a courageous and patriotic young
American, Taylor Force.
Taylor was an Eagle Scout. He was a West Point graduate who served
his country with distinction in Afghanistan and Iraq before he enrolled
in Vanderbilt's MBA program. He was a young man with big dreams and
loads of potential. Then Taylor's life was tragically cut short at the
age of 28 when he was murdered by a Palestinian terrorist while on a
business school trip to Israel.
I had the honor of meeting again with Taylor's parents, Stuart and
Robbi, who were on Capitol Hill today. They have worked so hard to make
this bill a legacy for their son, to ensure that no other family has to
experience what they have experienced. They have been so generous with
their time, their spirit, their story. We are grateful for all of their
efforts, and we wish them comfort as they continue to mourn the
heartbreaking loss of their son.
We need to be clear about responsibility for this vicious attack. The
Palestinian Authority gives salaries to Palestinians who attack
innocent people like Taylor. If the attacker dies, then the attacker's
family is compensated under their law. I know it is hard for us to
adjust to this, but it is Palestinian law to reward Palestinian
prisoners in Israeli jails with a monthly paycheck. The Palestinian
leadership also pays the families of Palestinian suicide bombers.
It goes without saying that these policies clearly incentivize
terrorism. In fact, this perverse pay-to-slay system uses a sliding
scale: the longer the jail sentence, in other words, the greater the
mayhem created there, the greater the reward. The highest payment goes
to those serving life sentences, to those who prove, obviously, most
brutal.
This system is a disgrace. It is also the result of an abiding
climate of hatred that Palestinian leaders continue to foster toward
Jews, toward Israelis.
As one witness told our committee: `` `Incitement' is the term we
usually use, but hatred is what we mean . . . teaching generations of
Palestinians to hate Jews by demonizing and dehumanizing them.'' That
is what democratic Israel faces, and it is not getting any better.
Yet, for a generation, we have given economic aid to the
Palestinians, in large part, to try to stabilize their society to
promote peaceful coexistence between the Palestinians and Israelis.
This goal is undermined every day that the PA makes payments for acts
of terrorism. This must stop.
This bipartisan bill cuts off assistance that directly benefits the
Palestinian Authority unless the PA takes credible steps to end acts of
violence,
[[Page H9650]]
stops payments for acts of terrorism, revokes the laws requiring these
payments, or takes actions comparable to revoking the laws, and
publicly condemns these acts of violence.
Our bill also requires consistent reporting to Congress that clearly
explains how the administration makes its determinations. If our
assistance is being withheld, the administration must report which of
the PA's dangerous actions are continuing so that Congress can
determine how to apply pressure going forward.
Too many grieving families go to sleep every night knowing that money
is changing hands as a reward for violence that killed one of their
loved ones.
With this bill, we are using the weight of U.S. law to help see that
no more families--American, Israeli, or anyone--join their tragic
ranks. We do this in the name of one brave American, Taylor Force, to
honor the memories of all victims and, importantly, help prevent future
victims. We also do it in the hopes of peace.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, in strong support of
this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank Ed Royce, the chairman of
the Foreign Affairs Committee. I agree with everything he said in his
remarks. I want to thank him for his hard work on this legislation. We
worked closely together to make this bipartisan bill as strong as
possible, while also taking care to limit any unintended consequences.
That is what we have been doing on the Foreign Affairs Committee, and
that is why we have been so successful in passing legislation. We do it
in a bipartisan way.
Let me begin by saying that the Palestinian system of so-called
martyr payments is downright disgusting. We are talking about a system
that involves paying people on a sliding scale based on the death and
destruction that they cause. It is simply sickening.
These payments clearly incentivize terrorist attacks, and they
further threaten prospects for peace, pushing the chance for a
Palestinian state further and further out of reach.
This legislation was named for Taylor Force, an American victim of
Palestinian terrorism. He was a West Point graduate and a veteran of
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was stabbed to death in Jaffa in
2016.
The question we face is: How do we compel the PA, the Palestinian
Authority, to end the martyr payment system?
In 2015, appropriations bills began to include language cutting off
funds for the Palestinian Authority by the amount that they spent on
so-called martyr payments, but that didn't curb the practice.
{time} 1500
We stopped giving the Palestinian Authority direct assistance, but
the Palestinian Authority hasn't budged.
We are now considering this legislation, which cuts all funds that
directly benefit the Palestinian Authority if the Palestinian Authority
continues to make these payments. This will make it crystal clear to
the Palestinian Authority that so-called martyr payments are
unacceptable, period.
At the same time, the bill allows the United States to continue
humanitarian and democracy assistance, which is in our interest and the
interest of our ally Israel. It also includes a thoughtful exemption
proposed by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly) which exempts
childhood vaccinations from the cuts required under this bill.
Overall, I believe that this version of the Taylor Force Act strikes
the right balance. Chairman Royce and I worked very hard to come up
with a piece of legislation that both sides would support. The Foreign
Affairs Committee unanimously passed this legislation. The message
should be clear: this is not a partisan issue.
We must send a message to the Palestinian Authority that these so-
called martyr payments, which are ``killing'' payments, must stop.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation that
ensures no unintended consequences, and I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn). He is the author of this
important legislation.
Mr. LAMBORN. Mr. Speaker, this legislation is named after Taylor
Force, and I wanted to say what a special honor it is that his parents
are with us here today.
I would like to especially thank the Speaker and majority leader for
bringing this legislation to the floor for a vote. I also want to thank
Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel for their leadership and strong
bipartisan support.
I introduced this bill last Congress and reintroduced it this
Congress with Representative Lee Zeldin because we absolutely must
ensure that American taxpayer dollars don't incentivize terrorist
attacks on our own citizens as well as Israelis. This commonsense
measure now has 170 cosponsors.
I think most of the American people are aware of Taylor's story by
now, but it bears repeating again as we prepare to vote on this
legislation in the people's House.
Last year, a 28-year-old American student named Taylor Force was
visiting Israel on a school trip. While walking near the beach in Tel
Aviv, a 22-year-old Palestinian stabbed him to death in a terrorist
attack.
Taylor Force was an Eagle Scout, West Point graduate, and a veteran
of both Iraq and Afghanistan. He represents everything any parent could
want their son or daughter to be.
As we know, Mr. and Mrs. Force lost their treasured son in this
terror attack. They were left with only photographs and memories.
The terrorist who murdered Taylor was killed shortly after by the
police, but the killer's family was left with something else: a
lucrative financial reward.
The Palestinian Authority, led by President Mahmoud Abbas, gives
financial rewards for terrorist attacks. The more people killed in an
attack, the higher the financial reward. Families of terrorists receive
a pension for life, which is triple the average salary in the West
Bank, as well as a receiving free tuition and health insurance, a
clothing allowance, and a monthly stipend.
More money goes to these kinds of payments than go to the entire
civil service of the Palestinian Authority. This must be stopped.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and
send as strong and clear a message as possible that the United States
will not allow our taxpayer dollars to be used to incentivize terrorist
attacks.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Deutch), the ranking member of the Middle East and North
Africa Subcommittee, and a valued member of the Foreign Affairs
Committee.
Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York, my
friend, the ranking member, for yielding.
I rise in support of H.R. 1164, the Taylor Force Act.
Mr. Speaker, the pursuit of a negotiated two-state solution to end
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict requires a commitment to peace, but it
is impossible for the Palestinian Authority to demonstrate that
commitment to peace while paying terrorists for attacks on innocent
civilians. But that is the reality today, and that is what this bill
seeks to end.
Under current Palestinian law, the PA pays salaries to terrorists and
their families more money for worse crimes, typically well exceeding
the mean salary for Palestinian workers. If a terrorist is sentenced to
life in prison for a horrific attack that kills Israeli citizens, he
will get a four-times higher monthly salary than if he had been
sentenced to only a couple of years in prison for a lesser attack. This
is blatant incentive to terrorism; the same type of terrorism that we
have seen tear through buses, shopping malls, nightclubs, and places of
worship around the world.
In March of last year, during a surge of deadly stabbings, shootings,
and car rammings in Israel, we saw the consequences of this incitement
and incentive to terror.
Taylor Force, a 28-year-old American tourist, a West Point graduate
and then-Vanderbilt graduate student, who
[[Page H9651]]
had fought in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, was stabbed to death on
a promenade in Jaffa by a young Palestinian terrorist.
Taylor, by all accounts, was loved and humble. He enjoyed playing the
guitar. He was an Eagle Scout and an Army veteran. His father described
him as an all-American kid who made sure that everyone around him felt
good. A friend of his in Nashville said simply: He made people better.
But rather than unambiguously condemn this attack against innocent
civilians, as any responsible government would do, the PA instead has
rewarded these types of attacks by paying more than $1 billion to
convicted terrorists over the past decade.
It is the job of the Palestinian Authority, like any responsible
government, to deliver services to its people, including welfare to
those who need it most, like a grieving widow who suddenly has to take
care of her family without the breadwinner. But this is not welfare.
The current law essentially tells Palestinians: If you tragically die
in a car accident, your family gets nothing; but if you die driving
your car into a group of Israeli civilians, your family will be taken
care of for life.
That is not welfare. That is incentive to terror. It is pay for slay,
and it must end.
I am proud of the bipartisan manner in which today's bill was
crafted, and it is carefully written in a way that targets only those
funds that directly benefit the Palestinian Authority, thereby creating
real incentives for the PA to end this practice without damaging the
vital U.S. investments in humanitarian assistance and grassroots
people-to-people programs that are essential to achieving our overall
objective of peace.
Taylor Force served our country to advance and protect peace. His
life was taken by terrorists seeking to undermine peace.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the
gentleman from Florida.
Mr. DEUTCH. It is our duty to call on the PA to end this indefensible
practice of rewarding terror and to demonstrate a real commitment to
peace, a peace where Israel can live safely and securely as a Jewish
and democratic state next to a Palestinian state that does not seek its
destruction.
Mr. Speaker, this legislation honors Taylor Force's name and memory
by stopping an abhorrent practice. In his name, and in the name of
peace, the PA must end these payments to terrorists, and I urge my
colleagues to support this effort to make them stop.
Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), who chairs the Foreign
Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa. She is also
our chairman emeritus.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman and my good
friend, Ranking Member Eliot Engel, for his hard work. I especially
want to thank the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn) for offering
this important bill.
Sadly, as we have heard, Mr. Speaker, Taylor Force is the name and
the face of the disgusting and reprehensible practice in place by the
Palestinians that we know as pay to slay.
Taylor Force, as we have heard, was an Eagle Scout, a West Point
graduate, a veteran of two wars, who served our Nation bravely and with
distinction. It was a life cut tragically short at 28 years old, when
he was murdered by a Palestinian terrorist while in Israel.
While the world condemned this attack and while Taylor Force's
friends and family mourn his loss, the Palestinian leaders fail to take
responsibility. No, instead, Abu Mazen and the Palestinian leadership
continue to incite violence, continue to support terror. Because, make
no mistake, Mr. Speaker, as long as the Palestinian Authority or the
PLO--whatever name they want to use--make payments to terrorists, they
are supporting terror.
How can you conclude otherwise?
It is irresponsible and it is shameful to think that the American
taxpayer and the U.S. Government are in any way, shape, or form helping
to support this pay-to-slay program. This is why this act will ensure
that, until pay to slay is ended, we will not be a willing contributor
to the Palestinian scheme. This is just another tool that Congress has
given the administration to use in order to hold the Palestinian
leaders accountable.
However, I do believe that we should not allow for exceptions, not
allow for carve-outs in this important bill, because that flexibility,
sadly, is sometimes used to circumvent the spirit of the law and the
congressional intent.
I would like to remind our body that the administration already has
the tools it needs to withhold assistance to the Palestinian Authority
and the West Bank and Gaza, so we must exercise existing authorities
and send a message to the Palestinians once and for all.
Mr. Speaker, I urge the administration to use all of the tools at its
disposal, to not waive provisions of U.S. law, to not selectively
enforce some laws and apply others. That means ending all assistance to
the Palestinian Authority--all. It means closing the PLO office in D.C.
until pay to slay has ended and until the Palestinians stop their
incitement and stop their support for terror.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important and
tragic measure, and I urge the administration to use these tools that
we continue to provide to it. I thank the chairman and the ranking
member for rapidly bringing this important bill to the floor.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I think that points have been made on both sides of the
aisle with which we all agree. If the Palestinian Authority is serious
about peace and is serious about a two-state solution and is serious
about living in peace with Israel, then I think they have to be serious
about not paying people who murder, not paying people who are
terrorists, not paying people who randomly go over and stab somebody.
Taylor Force happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. No
other reason. That should not be left to stand. I think our colleagues
have all talked about what a wonderful young man he was, an exemplary
American, someone who played by the rules, kept his country safe, did
the right things, respected his own faith. We should respect him and
all the other people as well.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr.
Gottheimer), my friend on the Financial Services Committee, a rising
star in Congress.
Mr. GOTTHEIMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R.
1164, the bipartisan Taylor Force Act. I want to thank Chairman Royce
and Ranking Member Eliot Engel, who is my friend and colleague and a
real leader for our party and for this issue, for all of their hard
work and leadership to bring this legislation to the floor. All of us
in Congress could learn from and emulate their friendship and
bipartisan working relationship, especially when it comes to our
foreign policy and support for our vital ally Israel, and in our fight
against terror around the world.
I commend the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn) for introducing
this important legislation, and I am proud that Ranking Member Engel
and I were the very first Democrats in the House to cosponsor this
measure.
Mr. Speaker, I serve on the House Financial Services Committee's
Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance, where, day in and day
out, my colleagues and I track the flow of money to terrorist groups
like Hamas, Hezbollah, and ISIS through illicit financial networks.
For years, the Palestinian Authority has shamelessly engaged in an
equally heinous practice out in the open: the awarding of official
payments to terrorists it inspires to go out and kill innocent
civilians, including American citizens like U.S. Army veteran Taylor
Force.
Israeli citizens live under the constant threats of stabbings,
suicide bombings, and vicious terrorist attacks. Palestinian leaders,
including President Abbas, have not just refused to call for an end to
these attacks or to speak out against those who promote hate and
violence, rather, they celebrate, defend, and promote terrorism through
an elaborate system whereby the Palestinian Authority literally ``pays
to slay.''
[[Page H9652]]
{time} 1515
That is because for decades the PLO and the PA have provided payments
in some form or another to terrorists and their families, as well as
various other awards and titles and honorifics, but the practice is
especially heinous because today it is enshrined into Palestinian law.
The deadlier attacks of terrorism will be rewarded with even more
money.
I know because I have read the laws and seen the accompanying payment
charts. There is literally a payment schedule based on the severity of
the terrorist attack, which encourages more severe and gratuitous
violence and terrorist activity.
For instance, a terrorist who slayed three people in 2015, including
an 18-year-old American citizen, Ezra Schwartz, who was spending his
gap year in Israel and planned to attend business school at Rutgers
University in New Jersey, would be rewarded by the PA with a monthly
salary--the terrorist--of more than $3,000.
In sum, these payments total hundreds of millions of dollars that the
PA redirects from its own budget to pay off the murderers of Jews,
Israelis, and foreigners. The Taylor Force Act will eliminate U.S.
foreign aid to the West Bank and Gaza that directly benefits the
Palestinian Authority until the Secretary of State can guarantee that
they have ended these payments. This legislation is carefully targeted
to achieve maximum leverage over the PA to end the funding of terror.
Mr. Speaker, this legislation stands in stark contrast to a partisan,
one-sided, offensive, and harmful bill recently introduced in Congress
under the guise of promoting human rights that would cut aid to Israel
for cracking down on terrorism. Israel has the right and obligation to
defend itself and its civilians who have been the targeted victims of
brutal attacks and murders while going about their daily lives. The
United States ought to stand with them by condemning Palestinian
incitement.
Members of both parties have been working together to do just that.
Since fiscal year 2015, Congress has reduced, dollar for dollar, the
amount of money that the PA and PLO pay to terrorists and their
families from the Economic Support Fund aid that the U.S. provides.
While this has resulted in the reduction of our foreign aid, it has not
yet brought an end to this practice.
In May, I joined Representatives Claudia Tenney and Tom Suozzi and 33
of our colleagues who demanded that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
address these terror payments directly with Palestinian President Abbas
during his visit to Washington, D.C.
It has been suggested that the PA may be more receptive to
international pressure. I am glad that this bill urges the Secretary of
State and the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations to
highlight this issue with the international community to condemn these
horrific acts of violence. But that is simply not enough.
The United States must use every tool at our disposal to counter
violence and terrorism. The PLO and the PA may well continue down the
path of more hatred, violence, and terror without regard for the damage
inflicted or for their role in diminishing the prospects for peace. But
so long as they pay citizens to murder civilians, then they will do so
without benefiting from the support of the United States taxpayer.
There is no question that should be asked about that.
Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in standing in solidarity
with the families of the victims of terror to bring an end to this
appalling system of paid violence, and I urge support for this bill.
Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), chairman of the Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and
International Organizations.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Royce
and Ranking Member Eliot Engel for, again, working so well together to
bring this legislation to the floor; and Lee Zeldin, one of the
principal cosponsors of the bill; and Doug Lamborn, of course, the
prime author of this legislation.
I, too, am proud to be a cosponsor. This is a very important bill
that will serve as a measure of justice for the memory of U.S. Army
Officer Taylor Force and many others who have been victimized over the
years by Palestinian terrorism subsidized by the Palestinian Authority.
It is well past time for us to apply real pressure to the Palestinian
Authority for continuing incitement for anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, and
anti-American violence. This bill takes aim at the PA's ongoing
financial incentivizing of murder.
Mr. Speaker, when you pay someone to kill somebody else and pay their
family to kill somebody else, that is a crime. So this just ought to be
seen as a step in trying to say we mean business. Those who authorize
those payments ought to be held liable for these crimes.
Although 2 years ago Congress deducted the PA's compensatory payments
to terrorists and their families from U.S. assistance, there has been
no change in the PA's twisted and perverted policy. By conditioning
most U.S. assistance to the PA on its commitment to cease payments to
terrorists, the Taylor Force Act takes the necessary next and important
step to guarantee that American taxpayer dollars are not being used to
reward terrorism.
Mr. Speaker, the PA cannot be a partner for peace until it stops
subsidizing terrorism. Amidst increasing talk of a new peace initiative
in the region, we must be absolutely clear that there could be no true
peace until Palestinian public policy stops inculcating a culture of
death in the minds of the people.
Years of diplomacy, Mr. Speaker, and public pressure aimed at
stemming Palestinian incitement have not succeeded. Congress must act
now with the power of the purse.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to
the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Frankel), my good friend and valued
member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Ms. FRANKEL of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the
bipartisan Taylor Force Act, which eliminates United States aid to the
Palestinians unless they end payments to terrorists. I thank my
colleagues, the chair, and the ranking member for their leadership.
Today we are condemning an evil system that rewards terrorists based
on how many innocent civilians they maim or kill. In recent decades,
1,600 people have been killed by Palestinian terror attacks, like 17-
year-old Liana Sakiyan, a high-spirited girl, a friend to many. On a
break from exams, she and her friends were in line for a night of
celebration at a discotheque in Tel Aviv when a bomb went off,
instantly snuffing out her life and 20 other innocent young Israelis.
As a reward for this heinous attack, the suicide bomber's family
received thousands of dollars from the Palestinian Authority--this
authority which continues to give hundreds of millions of dollars to
terrorists and their families, a part of the so-called martyrs' fund.
This legislation, which correctly exempts humanitarian and democracy-
promoting programs, tells the Palestinian Authority: No more pay to
slay.
Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this bill.
Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Zeldin), a member of the Committee on
Foreign Affairs. He is the coauthor of this measure.
Mr. ZELDIN. Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to serve on the House
Foreign Affairs Committee under the leadership of Chairman Royce and
Ranking Member Eliot Engel. I am very grateful that they brought this
legislation to the House floor for consideration today.
As a co-chair of the House Republican Israel Caucus, the original
cosponsor on this piece of legislation, I would strongly encourage all
of my colleagues to support this important bill.
I am thinking of values, what drove Taylor Force to sign up for the
United States Military Academy at West Point, to deploy into combat, to
protect and defend our freedoms and liberties; willing to lay it all on
the line; willing to risk everything for our flag, for our
Constitution, not just for family back home.
He is joined here--he is certainly with us in spirit--with his
parents, Stuart and Robbi, who are in the gallery, and they know that
the legacy of
[[Page H9653]]
Taylor Force's service and sacrifice is one that already is showing a
change in policy in the interactions between our Nation and those in
that region. Because as we think of values, the values of the
Palestinian Authority is one that incites violence, that financially
rewards terrorism, that treats terrorists like they are heads of state
at their funerals and calls them martyrs.
I stand with Taylor Force. The House Foreign Affairs Committee stands
with Taylor Force. This entire body, hopefully, when this comes to a
vote, stands with the parents of Taylor Force, and our effective and
better leveraging of our money because we should not provide $1 of
United States taxpayer funds if that money is going to go towards not
only inciting violence, but also financially rewarding terrorism.
The United States taxpayers not only want to make sure that their
money isn't going to financially reward Palestinian terrorists when
they murder innocent Israelis, but this is also about Americans--U.S.
tax dollars going to an entity that financially rewards terror.
I was moved greatly as I was listening to Chairman Emeritus Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen's remarks and the need to use all resources that are
available to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Nation's greatest ally
and change behavior of those bad actors. Those are the values, and we
stand with Taylor Force.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, if there are no other speakers on this side,
I am prepared to close. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, let me close by saying that this bipartisan legislation
seeks to compel the Palestinian Authority to stop incentivizing acts of
terrorism against innocent victims, including American Taylor Force.
Now, the encouragement of hooligans and thugs to just randomly try to
kill people for no other reason than just to try to perpetrate violence
needs to be stopped. While the Palestinian Authority seems to be
encouraging knife attacks and terror attacks against Jewish Israelis,
it is important to say that being in the wrong place at the wrong time
leaves everybody vulnerable. That is what happened to Taylor Force. He
wasn't Jewish. He happened to be American, and he happened to be a
soldier in a war area and a very good, nice, decent human being. He
didn't deserve it.
Nobody deserves to be a victim of terror. But certainly, the victims
of terror, if we are going to cry out to help them, we have got to put
a stop to this disgusting practice of calling these murderers martyrs.
They are not martyrs. They are murderers. They have no regard for human
beings. They have no regard for anything. It is time for us to say:
Enough is enough.
In this current bill, it allows the United States to avoid any
unintended consequences such as the cessation of humanitarian
assistance, the right thing to do. I hope that the Palestinian
Authority will use this opportunity to stop these martyr payments, move
away from incitement, and move toward a two-state solution. Again, this
bipartisan legislation seeks to compel the Palestinian Authority to
stop acts of terrorism, to stop aiding and abetting acts of terrorism
against innocent victims, including American Taylor Force.
The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutch) said that if someone drives
their car and hits somebody, nothing happens. But if someone drives
their car and kills somebody, they get a martyr payment. There is
something perverse about that. There is something just wrong about
that. And it is something that the United States needs to put its foot
down and say, once and for all: We will not tolerate violence.
Finally, let me say that this bill, aptly named as a tribute to
Taylor Force, to his parents whom I had the pleasure of meeting, and to
all of the people who knew him--he really was the driving force behind
this legislation. Because when we heard what had happened, it was so
abhorrent, it was so disgusting, that we felt we needed to get together
and do something.
So I want to thank the Force family. I want to thank my colleagues on
the other side of the aisle, especially Chairman Royce. This is
something that every Member of Congress and both sides of the aisle
should vote for.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
{time} 1530
Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
In closing, Mr. Speaker, let me thank my friend and colleague, Eliot
Engel, for his eloquence in explaining the enormity of the tragedy here
and the meaning of this terrorism. I think Mr. Engel has been such a
diligent partner in not only helping us move this bill through, but
helping us run the committee in a bipartisan way. I want to thank him
at this moment as we pass this act for all of his work on this issue
through the legislation and through the hearings. I think it has had an
impact in the understanding of the Members here.
I also want to recognize and thank our former colleague, Senator
Lindsey Graham. I have talked with him about this issue. He originated
this bill in the Senate. I know also how passionately he feels about
this, as do Eliot and myself. I look forward to working with our Senate
colleagues to ensure that the bill that we pass here in the House or
the Senate bill, either one, the bottom line is that the Taylor Force
Act must become law quickly. That is our objective.
The purpose of our aid, as we understand it, is to advance U.S.
interests around the world. That is why we give aid. I think all of us
can agree that that does not include paying people to commit crimes of
terrorism. The Palestinian Authority is flatout undermining U.S.
interests by compensating and incentivizing violence, as articulated by
my friend, Mr. Engel.
I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill, which ensures
that there are consequences for this disgraceful policy and ensures
that the U.S. plays no part, even indirectly, in participating in this
behavior. The PA giving compensation for violence is beyond the pale.
It is long past time that we treat it that way.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Rothfus). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1164, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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