[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 203 (Wednesday, December 13, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H9868-H9878]
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 within which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Davidson). Is there objection to the
request of the gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 658 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. 1638.
The Chair appoints the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Mitchell) to
preside over the Committee of the Whole.
{time} 1456
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. 1638), 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. Mitchell 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. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1638, the Iranian
Leadership Asset Transparency Act, introduced by my colleague and dear
friend from Maine (Mr. Poliquin).
This legislation requires the Treasury Secretary to report to
Congress on the assets held by the Islamic Republic of Iran's most
senior political and military leaders, and on the probable sources and
uses of those assets.
A classified version, if necessary, would be available, as
appropriate, to Congress, and a public version of the report would be
posted on the Treasury Department's website in English and in the major
languages used within Iran that could easily be downloaded.
The genius of this latter point is that it will allow the average
Iranian to understand and circulate information of how their leaders
are, in a phrase, robbing them blind, as well as aiding and abetting
terrorists.
Iran's top political, military, and business leaders, if there is
much of a distinction between those roles in Iran, fund terrorist-
related activity, we know this, and through intricate financial
arrangements that give them great flexibility in moving their money.
According to the nongovernmental organization Transparency
International, Iran's economy is characterized by high levels of
official and institutional corruption, and there is substantial
involvement by Iran's security forces, particularly involving the
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Unsurprisingly, then, members of Iran's senior political and military
leadership have acquired significant personal and institutional wealth
by using their positions to secure control of major portions of the
Iranian national economy.
Some estimates put their iron grip at a third or more of the
country's economy, and some individual holdings in the billions of
dollars; all at a time when the average Iranian citizen earns the
equivalent of about $15,000 a year.
The unwise sanctions relief provided through the Obama
administration's nuclear deal with Iran resulted in the unwarranted
removal of many Iranian entities that are tied to government corruption
from the list of entities sanctioned by the United States.
{time} 1500
Thankfully, however, the Trump administration has, in recent months,
levied a number of needed new sanctions on Iranian individuals and
entities. Still, the Transparency International index of perceived
public corruption in Iran is higher than ever.
As well, the Treasury Department has identified Iran as a country of
``primary concern for money laundering.'' Separately, the State
Department has continually identified Iran as the world's foremost
state sponsor of terrorism. Iran is, the State Department tells us, a
country that has ``repeatedly provided support for acts of
international terrorism,'' and ``continues to sponsor terrorist groups
around the world, principally through its Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps.''
The bill before us today, the Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency
Act, requires the Treasury Department again to list the known assets of
senior Iranian officials in a form that is easily understandable and
accessible to individual Iranians, as well as to those in the financial
or business sector who might be concerned--hopefully concerned--about
inadvertently doing business with a corrupt Iranian entity.
The bill also requires the Treasury to evaluate the effectiveness of
existing sanctions against Iran and make any appropriate
recommendations for improving the effectiveness of sanctions.
The bill passed the Financial Services Committee last month with a
bipartisan support vote of 43-16. The House approved a nearly identical
bill just 18 months ago by a very strong vote of 282-143.
As passed by the committee, this year's version has an important
addition, a sense of the Congress section, that urges the Treasury
Secretary, in addition to other sources, to seek information for the
report from private sector sources that search, analyze, and, if
necessary, translate publicly available, high veracity, official
records overseas, and provide methods of searching and analyzing such
data in ways useful to law enforcement.
These source of services provide information that could augment
information that is gathered, often by classified means, and provide a
final public report that helps give the world a better picture of the
true nature of Iran's economy.
Mr. Chairman, I urge immediate passage of Mr. Poliquin's thoughtful
and bipartisan bill. I appreciate his leadership to bring us here
today, and I reserve the balance of my time.
House of Representatives,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC, December 6, 2017.
Hon. Jeb Hensarling,
Chairman, Committee on Financial Services,
Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Hensarling: Thank you for consulting with the
Committee on Foreign Affairs on H.R. 1638, the Iranian
Leadership Asset Transparency Act.
I agree that the Foreign Affairs Committee may be
discharged from further action on this bill so that it may
proceed expeditiously to the Floor, subject to the
understanding that this waiver does not in any way diminish
or alter the jurisdiction of the Foreign Affairs Committee,
or prejudice its jurisdictional prerogatives on this bill or
similar legislation in the future. The Committee also
reserves the right to seek an appropriate number of conferees
to any House-Senate conference involving this bill, and would
appreciate your support for any such request.
I ask that you place our exchange of letters into the
Congressional Record during
[[Page H9869]]
floor consideration of the bill. I appreciate your
cooperation regarding this legislation and look forward to
continuing to work with you as this measure moves through the
legislative process.
Sincerely,
Edward R. Royce,
Chairman.
____
House of Representatives,
Committee on Financial Services,
Washington, DC, December 7, 2017.
Hon. Ed Royce,
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Royce: Thank you for your December 6th letter
regarding H.R. 1638, the ``Iranian Leadership Asset
Transparency Act'', as amended.
I am most appreciative of your decision to forego action on
H.R. 1638 so that it may move expeditiously to the House
floor. I acknowledge that although you are waiving action on
the bill, the Committee on Foreign Affairs is in no way
waiving its jurisdictional interest in this or similar
legislation. In addition, if a conference is necessary on
this legislation, I will support any request that your
committee be represented therein.
Finally, I shall be pleased to include your letter and this
letter in our committee's report on H.R. 1638 and in the
Congressional Record during floor consideration of the same.
Sincerely,
Jeb Hensarling,
Chairman.
Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such
time as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, the legislation before us now, H.R. 1638, the Iranian
Leadership Asset Transparency Act, represents what the Republican
majority has become very good at doing, advancing bad public policy
while claiming to advance the public interest.
H.R. 1638, the Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act, would
require the Secretary of the Treasury to report to Congress on the
estimated total assets under direct or indirect control of certain
senior Iranian leaders and other figures, along with a description of
how these assets were acquired and are employed, regardless of whether
such individuals are subject to U.S. sanctions.
Although increasing transparency into corrupt regimes is a laudable
goal, H.R. 1638 works counter not only to its own stated objectives,
but also U.S. national security interests.
First, the level of scrutiny that would be needed to produce a
credible report would place a very real strain on the Treasury
Department, diverting significant resources away from Treasury
investigators who are tasked with targeting conduct that is actually
sanctionable; implementing existing U.S. sanction programs; and
uncovering illicit conduct across the globe, including, importantly,
efforts to identify the web of business interests that continue to
enable North Korea to evade U.S. and international sanctions.
In addition to diverting scarce and critical resources, the bill's
required report will have little use as a compliance tool, given that
the most important parts would be classified, undercutting the
legislation's own stated objective to help make financial institutions'
required compliance with remaining sanctions more easily understood.
In fact, the creation of such a list, which would not be tied to any
prohibition or legal action, would more than likely create confusion
among the Office of Foreign Assets Control's regulated public and also
mislead companies to believe that the Treasury list replaces the due
diligence efforts that they should otherwise be doing prior to engaging
in business in Iran.
Moreover, because the report would be largely classified, the bill
would do little to draw the Iranian public's attention to the
corruption and unjust enrichment of their leaders, which is another
stated purpose of the bill. In fact, any classified portion would
inevitably be rejected by both the Iran regime and its people as U.S.
propaganda, and a predictable attack on the country's government by the
United States.
The true purpose of this legislation is to create reputational risk
for companies that might seek to do legitimate business with Iran. For
this reason, the bill would be a strategic mistake, as its report would
undoubtedly be seized upon by Iran as an intentional effort to
discourage international investment in Iran, which would be viewed by
Iran and likely by the major world powers who joined us in the JCPOA as
well as a violation of the expressed U.S. commitment under the nuclear
deal not to interfere with the full realization of the relief provided
to Iran under the accord.
When a nearly identical version of this bill was considered last
Congress, the Obama White House threatened to veto the bill, stating
that it would, ``endanger our ability to ensure Iran's nuclear program
is and remains exclusively peaceful.''
Moreover, the Obama administration cautioned that the report called
for in the bill would also compromise critical intelligence sources and
methods. On that score, I would also note that the reporting
requirement in the legislation calls for information about how
sanctions evasion and illicit conduct is practiced, and potential
countermeasures.
It seems far from prudent to give tips to our adversaries about how
we learn about their misconduct and how we plan to respond. This
legislation would have very limited practical utility, despite the huge
diversion of resources it would take to produce. It also fails to meet
its own stated objectives, including serving any usefulness as a
compliance tool.
Finally, the measure would also likely have a negative impact on the
continued viability of the nuclear deal, which is clearly a central
objective. I am hard-pressed to think of a single piece of legislation
that works so strongly against every single policy goal it claims to
advance. Few issues are more important to global peace and security
than preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. This bill would do
nothing to advance that goal. In fact, if enacted, it could do grave
damage to the important progress that has been made.
Mr. Chairman, I would urge my colleagues to join me in opposing this
measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 10 seconds simply to
remind the ranking member that in the State Department's latest Country
Reports on Terrorism, Iran is labeled the ``world's foremost state
sponsor of terrorism.''
Why we would want less information as opposed to more information on
that rogue state is beyond me.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Maine (Mr.
Poliquin), the sponsor of the legislation and a distinguished member of
the Financial Services Committee.
Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the opportunity to speak on
behalf of my bill, and I am grateful to you for moving this very
important bipartisan bill through the House Financial Services
Committee.
I also want to thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who
supported this bill last year. Unfortunately, it got stuck in the
Senate, so we have got to do it again this year, but I am thrilled to
be here.
Mr. Chairman, the primary responsibility of every Member of Congress,
whether you are on the left side or the right side of the aisle, no
matter what State you are from, what part of the country you are from,
the major responsibility, the primary responsibility is to support and
defend our Constitution. To me, that means protecting our families and
those American citizens abroad.
Now, our moms and dads in Maine, Mr. Chairman, and across this
country, are increasingly alarmed by the frequency of terrorist attacks
here at home; another attempted 2 days ago in New York City. Today, Mr.
Chairman, there are 1,000 investigations dealing with terrorist
activities across this land in all 50 States. That is why H.R. 1638 is
so important. This bill will help keep our families safe and keep them
free.
In doing so, we must make sure this issue is not a political issue.
National security never should be a political issue. Mr. Chairman, the
Iranian Government, as Mr. Hensarling just mentioned, is the chief
state sponsor of terrorism and instability in this world.
These senior political leaders and their military leaders, including
the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, they train, they arm, and they
fund terrorist organizations around the world. They have become experts
at using the internet and social media to radicalize, recruit, and
direct terrorists around the globe, including here in the United States
of America.
[[Page H9870]]
Mr. Chairman, the Iranian Government has American blood on its hands.
Now, Mr. Chairman, there are approximately 70 to 80 top political and
military leaders in Iran that control about one-third of their domestic
economy. They use their power to corrupt the telecommunications
industry, the construction industry, and other important ones in that
land.
Reuters has conducted an investigation through publicly available
information that found the Supreme Leader of Iran alone has accumulated
tremendous personal wealth through a foundation claiming to help the
poor. Now, while the corruption has grown in Iran, the average citizen
there earns the equivalent of $15,000 per year.
Mr. Chairman, the citizens of Iran and the people of this world
should know how much wealth has been accumulated by those that sponsor
terrorism and what that money is being used for.
Companies across the globe that are looking to do business with Iran
should understand what they might be getting into. So I disagree with
my colleague from California, the ranking member, who says that this is
going to possibly create confusion; that it will possibly cause
businesses around the world to hesitate from investing in Iran.
Well, guess what, Mr. Chairman. That is a good idea.
My Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act is a straightforward,
main, commonsense bill. It simply requires the Department of Treasury
to collect, to maintain, and to post online the list of these 70 to 80
senior political and military leaders and the assets, their personal
assets, how this money was acquired, and what it is being used for.
As Mr. Hensarling mentioned, it will require the Treasury Department
to post this on their website in English as well as in Farsi, Arabic,
and Azeri, the three languages that are mostly used in that country.
I might also add that my colleague on the other side of the aisle
might be a little bit confused about this issue, but the information
posted on this website will be that that is publicly available. There
will be no information that should not be posted there that only
Congress should have access to.
I have heard, Mr. Chairman, critics of this bill saying: Well, you
know, it is not a good idea to expose the Iranian Government's
corruption in funding of terrorism because, if you do so, well, the
Iranian political and military leaders might not want to work with us.
Are you kidding?
These are the radicals who regularly chant ``Death to America.''
The CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield an additional 1 minute to the
gentleman from Maine.
{time} 1515
Mr. POLIQUIN. Hoping that these folks also abandon their support of
terrorism by not shedding light on their corruption doesn't make any
sense. Hope, Mr. Chairman, is not a national security strategy.
My bill makes sure that Congress gets its priorities straight.
Protecting American families here at home and safeguarding our troops
around the world who are fighting for our freedom is what we should be
doing every way we can, and that is what this bill does.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to say that using one click of a computer
from any corner of the globe to help expose illicit activities by the
chief state sponsor of terrorism is a very, very good idea.
Let's stand up for all the peace-loving nations in the world. Let's
stand up to help our families protect their kids. Let's stand up to
protect our homeland. I ask everyone, Republicans and Democrats, please
vote ``yes'' for H.R. 1638, the Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency
Act.
Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield 5 minutes to
the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Heck), who is a member of the
Financial Services Committee and who is my friend.
Mr. HECK. I thank the ranking member, Mr. Chairman, for yielding.
Mr. Chairman, this bill targets the leadership of Iran, and, frankly,
that is probably a worthy goal in some regards. I think it eventually
envisions publicizing negative information about them, and that might
be an effective tool as well. We all know that. We have been through
campaigns. We know negative advertising works.
That said, I oppose this legislation, and I do so for two reasons.
The first is resources are finite. They are not unlimited; they are
finite. Tracking down all the assets of these named Iranian leaders
takes significant time, effort, and personnel.
Where are those resources supposed to come from?
All around this city, everybody is agitating for deeper cuts to
nondefense discretionary accounts. If we are going to make cuts, we are
going to have to make some tough choices.
The personnel responsible for implementing this bill would be
diverted from terrorist financing and money laundering. Let me say that
again. The people, the personnel responsible for implementing this bill
would be diverted from terrorist financing and money laundering.
Propaganda about corruption of Iranian leadership--which I stipulate
to here up front--could be valuable, but it can't be more valuable than
stopping actual terrorist financing. Terrorist financing should be our
target. Money laundering should be our target, not garden-variety
corruption.
We had a lengthy discussion in committee just yesterday about using
money laundering authorities to fight human trafficking. For God's
sake, that has to seem more valuable than propaganda. It has to.
So until we solve these tight budget constraints, I think we need to
make the hard choice about what our priorities are and how to
prioritize resources for stopping, again, money laundering and
terrorism financing. Leave this effort for a world where the sequester
has been lifted.
The second reason why I oppose this legislation, I can't help
wondering: Shouldn't we apply this principle more broadly?
The idea here is that we should investigate and publicize it when a
country's leadership has undisclosed assets, especially if those are
overseas. That is the point of this legislation. We should investigate
and publicize it when a country's leadership is using government
resources to enrich itself. But why--why--just apply that principle to
Iran?
I am informed in my point of view here by wisdom I found in this
black, leather-bound book that I gratefully received when I was sworn
into office 5 years ago. In fact, the passage that I will cite you
actually occurs in two places. Let me share it with you now:
``How can you say to your brother, `Brother, let me take the speck
out of your eye,' when you, yourself, fail to see the plank in your own
eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then
you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.''
So I wonder: When is this Congress going to turn its attention to the
plank in our eye?
Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Royce), who is the chairman of the Foreign Affairs
Committee and a senior member of the Financial Services Committee.
Mr. ROYCE of California. Mr. Chairman, with all due respect to the
arguments on moral equivalency with respect to Iran, the reality is
that this is a government that starts its morning prayers with: ``Death
to America. Death to Israel.'' The Ayatollah makes it clear he means
it.
So, yes, we should try to remove the plank from our eye, but we
should not remove our eyes from the fact that what we have in terms of
policy being directed from the Ayatollah and the Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps is a policy that calls for the destruction of the United
States of America.
Now, Mr. Chairman, this bill has a powerful goal, and it is to expose
the corrupt nature of the Iranian regime. But when we talk about why,
the answer is because the personnel responsible for carrying out these
assassinations, that have us concerned about carrying out terror are,
in fact, the leadership in Iran of these organizations that we attempt
to identify here. That is the job of doing terror research and cutting
off terror finance. That is what we are supposed to be doing.
This regime claims to be more than a government. It claims to be a
revolution. They call themselves the Islamic
[[Page H9871]]
Revolution. But when you look at it closely, as this bill requires the
Treasury Department to do, the regime in Tehran resembles something
else, a criminal enterprise, because, from the Supreme Leader to the
Revolutionary Guard, these so-called servants of the Revolution control
one-third of the Iranian economy because they seized it. They seized
everybody's privat property in terms of these companies. The Supreme
Leader's empire alone is worth $95 billion.
This is called the Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order, or Setad. It
holds stakes in just about every sector of the Iranian industry,
including finance, oil, and telecommunications.
These funds are not simply used to enrich Iranian officials. That is
not our problem here. It is not that they are propping up the regime.
It is thanks to Iran's lack of money laundering control they are easily
used to destabilize the entire region. That is what they are doing now
by funding terrorism abroad and fueling Iran's ballistic missile
program at home.
These ICBMs, by the way, they announce, are intended for us.
So that is why, as this bill says, the Treasury Department--and the
bill notes this--has identified Iran as a jurisdiction of primary money
laundering concern. This means that any transaction with Iran risks
supporting the regime's ongoing illicit activities, their terrorists
activities.
Mr. Chairman, I thank my colleague, Mr. Poliquin, for introducing
this bill and Chairman Hensarling for working with us to get it to the
floor.
Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield 5 minutes to
the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), who is a longtime supporter
of diplomacy with Iran and a strong supporter of the nuclear deal.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentlewoman's
courtesy, and I appreciate her advocacy on this.
This is serious business. There are people--no secret--in the
administration and there are people in Congress who would like to
undermine this agreement. The mixed signals that have been sent by the
administration are truly disturbing.
One has to wonder what North Korea is thinking about, that there are
people who suggest that we ought to go ahead and blow it up when, in
fact, they are abiding by the terms of the agreement, and officials in
the administration agree with this. What sort of deterrent is that to
North Korea in terms of its reckless action with nuclear weapons? It
seems to reinforce that behavior.
But there are also elements in Iran, hardliners who didn't agree with
this agreement, who felt that it was too evenhanded, who felt that the
leadership gave up too much, and who don't want closer relationships
with the United States or the other Western powers that worked with
us--including China and Russia--to enact this historic agreement,
which, as I pointed out, was agreed to even by officials in the Trump
administration that Iran has abided by.
Are they a nation of bad actors? Absolutely. There are forces within
the government that are very destructive. But the point is we focused
on something that all of us agree is absolutely critical, and that is
not having Iran rushing forward to become another nuclear state. We
have seen that the breakout time under this agreement has lengthened.
It is acting as we intended.
It was also one of those rare areas where we actually had Germany,
Great Britain, France, Russia, and China working with us to negotiate
an agreement.
Now, this is going to be perceived as an effort by the United States
to undermine the agreement. Should we give them and the hardliners in
Iran an excuse to walk away because we violated it? What is going to be
the assessment of our allies who are deeply committed to this and have
resisted efforts to unravel it?
We need all the help we can get in the international arena. We have
watched this administration systematically isolate us, this last week
with the reckless decision to go ahead and relocate the Embassy--or at
least claim we are going to relocate the Embassy--condemned by
virtually everybody else in the world. We are standing alone with an
action to destabilize a very volatile situation.
This comes forward at a time when Iran is abiding by it, to go ahead
and crank up the report on the assets of a variety of Iran's senior
political, religious, and military leaders, including people who aren't
subject to the sanctions.
It is placing, it has been mentioned, strain on the Department that
has finite resources--it needs to focus on things--taking away
resources from efforts to target on actual sanctionability. It seems to
be decidedly wrongheaded.
It is interesting that Congress had until this week to reimpose the
sanction lifted under the agreement per Trump's decertification in
October. Congress chose not to. I think that was a wise decision. To
me, it indicates, at least, that the agreement has been largely
successful.
But, if we are going to jeopardize the framework, giving the hardline
elements an opportunity to claim that we are repudiating, while giving
a green light to some of the folks there who have no intention of being
able to work on a cooperative basis, we ought not to fan the flames. We
ought to be trying to nurture opportunities for cooperation.
We should focus on areas where they are doing things we don't agree
with. If you want to target some specific sanctions that we somehow
haven't imposed that are within the purview of the framework and
wouldn't violate it, go ahead. But having these actions, I think, sends
the wrong signal. It is the wrong resource.
Mr. Chairman, I think it is important to reject this legislation.
Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Minnesota (Mr. Emmer), who is a hardworking member of the Financial
Services Committee.
Mr. EMMER. Mr. Chairman, since our founding, and as Ronald Reagan
emphasized regularly, America has stood as a shining city upon a hill
whose beacon light guides freedom-loving people everywhere. Today we
have an opportunity to shine a little brighter.
As we continue our battle to defeat terrorism, the Islamic Republic
of Iran remains dangerously corrupt. While the average Iranian earns a
mere $15,000 a year, corrupt, top political and military leaders
control an estimated one-third of the nation's total economy. These
same leaders are, more often than not, the same ones who repeatedly
provide support for acts of terrorism in the Middle East and continue
to sponsor terrorist groups around the world.
Unfortunately, the Iranian Government continues to tolerate this
corruption, which is why the State Department has named Iran as a
country of primary concern for money laundering and it continues to be
listed as a state sponsor of terrorism.
These officials who perpetuate such destructive and destabilizing
behavior should and need to be exposed.
Today, I encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 1638, the Iranian
Leadership Asset Transparency Act. This bill will require a list of the
known assets of senior Iranian officials to be made publicly available
in all three of Iran's major languages. Specifically, the U.S. Treasury
Secretary will submit a report to Congress on the assets held by Iran's
most senior political, military, and business leaders and on the
probable sources and uses of the assets.
{time} 1530
This report will serve as yet another tool in the toolbox of
businesses and financial institutions, both foreign and domestic, to
better comply with existing sanction regimes and international
financial restrictions.
It will provide clarity and certainty for companies when determining
the legitimacy of their business partners if they decide that doing
business with Iran is in their interest.
Moreover, with this information, with better knowledge of where their
money is going, Iranians who wish to invest not in terrorism or in
corruption, but in freedom, can.
Today, we can help the freedom-loving people of Iran. We can help
shine a light on Iran's corruption, and America can continue to be a
shining city on a hill.
I appreciate the work of my colleague from Maine (Mr. Poliquin),
[[Page H9872]]
whom I am proud to serve with on the Terrorism and Illicit Finance
Subcommittee. I thank Chairman Hensarling and Monetary Policy and Trade
Subcommittee Chairman Barr for moving such an important bill through
the committee and to the floor today. I urge all of my colleagues to
vote in support of H.R. 1638.
Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time
as I may consume.
Mr. Chair, I would like the author of this bill, Mr. Poliquin, and
perhaps the chairman of our committee, Mr. Hensarling, to answer the
question that I am about to propose, and that is this: We have allies
with us in this agreement. This is an agreement that was worked on for
a long time. We have Russia, China, Germany, England, and France. What
are our allies saying about our attempt to interfere with the
agreement?
What are they saying about whether or not we can be trusted to live
up to the commitments that we have made?
What are they saying about our attempts to add to, lengthen, and
create new, really, what have become obstacles to peace?
I would ask my friends on the opposite side of the aisle, as they
talk about targeting certain leaders--I don't know what leaders they
are talking about--and wanting to know about their assets and where
their assets came from and how they are being used, I ask my friends on
the opposite side of the aisle: Are you willing to do that for certain
leaders in our own country?
I just heard from one of the speakers, I believe it was Mr. Royce
from California, who identified the worth of one of the supposed
leaders. It seems to me that it did not nearly match the worth of many
of those who are in our Cabinet and who are in higher places in our
government. And I wonder what we are trying to do.
First, answer the question, if you will, about what our allies are
saying. And secondly, answer the question about disclosure as it
relates to those at the highest office in our country and those who are
serving in the Cabinet.
Also, when you talk about money laundering, answer the question about
the relationship between the leader of this country and Deutsche Bank,
that is known as a money laundering bank, that is involved with the
President of the United States.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Ohio (Mr. Davidson), who is never an apologist for the leading state
sponsor of terrorism in the world. He is a proud member of the
Financial Services Committee.
Mr. DAVIDSON. Mr. Chairman, I just have to say, I am in shock. I am
listening to the kind of thinking that, if it had caught on in the
eighties, may have allowed the Cold War to continue.
When I enlisted in the Army, I was privileged to serve in Germany,
wear our country's uniform, and see the fruit of generations of work. I
also saw the concern that Germans had that Ronald Reagan was going to
cause World War III and that actual leadership was somehow a problem.
Instead what we saw was that Mr. Gorbachev didn't tear down the wall.
The United States of America didn't tear down the wall. The East German
people tore down their own wall.
And why did they do that?
They did that because they knew the truth of what was on the other
side.
Mr. Poliquin's bill is a major effort to try to help the people of
Iran get their country back. They are under a strong authoritarian
leadership system that has oppressed their people and caused harm
throughout the region and, in fact, throughout the planet.
Meanwhile, I am so thankful that this is a bipartisan bill. The
Members opposed to this would have asked more public disclosure of
public company CEOs than they would of enemies of our country, and that
is hard to understand.
Mr. Chair, I was sent here to represent the people of the Eighth
District of Ohio and to support and defend the United States of
America. I don't think there is anyone who has sworn an oath to support
and defend 80 leaders in Iran.
This bill does not violate the JCPOA. It doesn't touch it. It simply
says we are going to gather this information.
As far as diverting resources, this is the leading state sponsor of
terror. It is precisely focused on the problem, and it gives the people
of Iran a chance for freedom that so many people of the world enjoy.
I am thankful that we have the opportunity to try to make this
difference. I encourage every Member of the House to vote for it, and
those who thought they were opposed, to reconsider a rational, measured
action to try to change the world for good.
Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chair, the gentleman from Maine
(Mr. Poliquin) will give some information that I think is very
important to understand how this bill would work.
The gentleman who just spoke said that this has nothing to do with
the agreement. Then what is it you are adding to? What is it you are
trying to change or make better? If it has nothing to do with the
agreement, then why are we doing it?
Mr. POLIQUIN. Will the gentlewoman yield?
Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. I yield to the gentleman from Maine
to respond to that description of what this bill is all about.
Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chairman, to the gentlewoman from California and to
the other side of the aisle, I do want to make sure I make a few things
clear.
First of all, I am not sure if it was the gentlewoman or someone else
saying: Why in the dickens would we divert resources away from fighting
terrorism to post this information on the Treasury website? It costs
too much.
Well, with all due respect, the CBO estimates it will cost $500,000
to do this for 2 years. The United States Treasury Department has a
budget of $14 billion per year. That is number one.
Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Reclaiming my time, I thank you for
wanting to talk about something else, but I yielded to you to see if
you could help me with information about what was stated that the
gentleman who spoke before you said that this bill had nothing to do
with the agreement.
Mr. POLIQUIN. Will the gentlewoman yield?
Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Is the gentleman prepared to respond
to the question that I have raised?
If you are going to talk about what this bill has to do with the
agreement, when the gentleman said it has nothing to do with the
agreement, then I yield to the gentleman from Maine.
Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chairman, the dangerous Iran nuclear deal that was
put together a year and a half or 2 years ago has absolutely nothing to
do with exposing the wealth that has cumulated through corruption by
the top 70 to 80 Iranian political and military leaders and posting
that for the world to see. I am sure the ranking member knows this has
zero to do with the Iran nuclear deal.
Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Reclaiming my time, we know that
there are individuals who are sanctionable in the deal.
What I thought you were attempting to do is to expand that and to
identify more leaders and try and understand where the assets come
from, what they use them for, whether or not they are involved in money
laundering. But the gentleman said it had nothing to do with the deal.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR (Mr. Jody B. Hice of Georgia). The Chair would
remind all Members to direct their remarks to the Chair, please.
Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 30 seconds just to say
in the time the ranking member was speaking, I went back, yet again, to
read the nine-page bill. Nowhere is the JCPOA mentioned in the bill.
Iran was the leading state sponsor of terrorism before the JCPOA.
They remain the world's foremost state sponsor of terrorism after the
JCPOA. We ought to know something about the leadership of this
terrorist nation, and I think the next speaker will tell us even more.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina
(Mr. Budd), another outstanding member of the Financial Services
Committee.
Mr. BUDD. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of Mr. Poliquin's
bill, the Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act, and I thank him
for his leadership on this issue.
It is not uncommon these days to see Iranian fingerprints all over
the instability and unrest that plague the Middle East. That is why our
own State
[[Page H9873]]
Department classifies Iran as a country of primary concern for money
laundering and international terror financing.
Just this weekend, Mr. Chair, we saw their handiwork yet again. This
time, it was Lebanon, where the now largely Iranian-backed Hezbollah
influenced government called for economic sanctions on the United
States. Why?
Simply for recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Just a few at the top in this corrupt Iranian regime are flush with
cash, but they support illicit causes and terror in the Middle East,
all the while the average Iranian gets by on an average salary of
$15,000 a year.
Accountability for those profiting at the top, at the expense of
those suffering at the bottom, is long overdue. Luckily, Mr. Poliquin's
bill helps us to achieve this goal by requiring that the Treasury
Department provide a report to Congress on the financial assets of
these senior Iranian officials involved in corruption and illicit
finance.
Also, if enacted, this bill will shed light on Iranian terror
activities and let the Iranian people know how their leaders actually
operate. This is a key aspect of the bill, since most news is
disseminated through government-controlled outlets. True information is
hard to come by.
The bottom line is this: This is an important piece of legislation
that I believe will help disrupt the Iranian terror network. I urge all
my Democrat colleagues to support this measure. Let's send a message to
this regime that this body, the people's House, is united on this
front, and let's send a message to the Iranian people that we are with
them as well.
I again thank my friend, Mr. Poliquin from Maine, for his leadership
on this issue, and I urge adoption of his legislation.
Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. May I inquire as to how much time I
have remaining.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from California has 10\1/2\ minutes
remaining.
Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, I have here a
Statement of Administrative Policy from the previous President, where
he advised us when this bill came before the House before that it would
be vetoed by the administration.
I will read to you from one of the paragraphs in the veto message. He
said, in addition: ``This bill's required public postings also may be
perceived by Iran, and likely our Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,
JCPOA, partners as an attempt to undermine the fulfillment 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.
I think that is a very powerful statement. I do know that Iran is in
compliance. We have a very strict and strong monitoring program, and
they are in compliance.
{time} 1545
So the questions become: If indeed they are in compliance, why would
we interfere with the plan? Why would we jeopardize this plan that has
been worked on with our strong allies in an attempt to try and find
another way to say that Iran must be scrutinized?
Everything in this plan has to do with discontinuing the development
of nuclear capability. I think we should respect the work that we have
done with our allies and discontinue all of these attempts to undermine
the deal that we have entered in with and caused our allies to distrust
us.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
New Jersey (Mr. Lance), a member of the House Energy and Commerce
Committee.
Mr. LANCE. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Iranian
Leadership Asset Transparency Act, and I thank Chairman Hensarling and
Representative Poliquin for their leadership on this issue.
We must be scrutinizing the financial dealings of senior Iranian
political and military leaders. It is in the national security interest
of the United States to understand the international web of finances
that supports terror operations and other nefarious causes.
I am pleased that this bill includes an amendment I proposed to
target the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, a position
currently held by Ali Akbar Salehi, to the list of Iranian leaders
named in this legislation.
Given Iran's violations of international law and its clear ties to
international terrorism--it is, after all, the leading state sponsor of
terrorism across the globe--we should be monitoring the finances of the
head of its nuclear program to ensure compliance with sanctions and
other laws.
For years, the Iranian regime has been mired in institutionalized
corruption, to the detriment of the people of that great country. In
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. This legislation is a response
to all of that. It is completely bipartisan in nature. It is the way we
should act in the House of Representatives in a bipartisan capacity.
The national security interests of the United States know no partisan
bounds.
Mr. Chairman, we need all of the tools at our disposal to investigate
the finances of this terrorist regime.
I urge a ``yes'' vote on Mr. Poliquin's legislation.
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 I have
remaining on my side?
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Texas has 5\3/4\ minutes.
Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes again to the
gentleman from Maine (Mr. Poliquin), the sponsor of the legislation.
Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chairman, I did want to respond to the gentlewoman
from California and to other folks who are on the other side of this
bill.
First of all, I think it is very clear to the world that the Iranian
Government has been cheating on the nuclear deal almost since day one.
I think it was within months, Mr. Chairman, that they test-fired both
medium-range and long-range ballistic missiles, in violation of an 8-
year ban on developing those conventional weapons.
So I think it is kind of silly for us to be debating here about a
government that sponsors terrorism and vows to wipe Israel off the face
of the Earth and kill as many Americans as they can, as a leadership
regime that is going to abide by this agreement when they have proven
they are not.
Second of all, as I have mentioned several times, my bill has nothing
to do with this agreement. But, then again, someone on the other side
of the aisle, Mr. Chairman, also said: Well, we think American
officials, American leaders, should be responsible for disclosing that.
Well, here is the difference: America does not sponsor terrorism. The
Iranian Government does.
That is exactly what we are trying to get at, Mr. Chairman. I am
trying to understand what folks who will not support this bill are
going to say when they go back home at Christmastime, when they had an
opportunity to shed sunlight on the top political and military leaders
in Iran who are ripping off the Iranian people and who are sponsoring
terrorism, why it is a bad idea to make sure this information is public
to the world as well as to the Iranian people. I would like to
understand what they are going to say when they go back home and talk
to their constituents.
Mr. Chairman, I am grateful for this opportunity. This is a terrific
bill. It does something very common sense: put pressure through
sunlight, through transparency, on the chief sponsor of terrorism in
the world--the Iranian regime.
Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the
information that is being shared by my colleague, Mr. Poliquin. I am
going to yield more time to him to explain to me: The missiles that he
is describing in Iran, that are not a part of the deal, of the plan,
are they similar to the missiles that are being fired with nuclear
warheads from North Korea.
[[Page H9874]]
Mr. POLIQUIN. Will the gentlewoman yield?
Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. I yield to the gentleman from Maine.
Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chairman, can the gentlewoman repeat the question
again? I didn't understand it.
Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, I said: The missiles
that he is referring to, that he is concerned about with Iran, that are
not a part of the plan, are they similar to the ballistic missiles that
are being fired from North Korea with nuclear warheads possibly on
them?
Mr. POLIQUIN. Mr. Chairman, the missiles that I was referring to are
very clear to the gentlewoman from California. They deal specifically
with the Iran nuclear deal, which is a dangerous deal for this world
and for this country. It has nothing to do with any issue dealing with
North Korea.
Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Are they more dangerous than the
missiles from North Korea?
Mr. POLIQUIN. What difference does that have to do with the----
Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming
my time, I will tell Mr. Poliquin what difference it makes.
Here we are with threats from North Korea and the President of the
United States unwilling to be involved with diplomacy, who, rather,
would like to basically mimic and mock the leader of North Korea by
calling him ``Little Rocket Man,'' and by telling the Secretary of
State: Don't talk to him. It is no use to talk with him.
So here we have North Korea, who has already indicated that they have
missiles that will reach us right here in the United States, anywhere
in the United States, and Mr. Poliquin is telling me about his concern
about missiles in Iran that are not a part of the nuclear deal.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I have no other speakers, and I believe
I have the right to close.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, may I inquire as to
how much time I have remaining?
The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from California has 6 minutes
remaining.
Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such
time as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, I include in the Record a statement from J Street that
is in opposition to this legislation.
J Street,
December 12, 2017.
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Members of Congress: J Street urges Members to oppose
H.R. 1638 and H.R. 4324, which would undermine or violate the
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran's nuclear
activities.
J Street again urges Members to oppose the ``Iranian
Leadership Asset Transparency Act'' (H.R. 1638). As we noted
in our statement opposing the bill when it was introduced
last year, it risks harming the U.S. Government's ability to
ensure Iranian and third party compliance with the agreement
and to counter Iran's dangerous non-nuclear behavior by
redirecting and tying up the very USG personnel and resources
charged with those tasks.
J Street also urges Members to oppose the so-called
``Strengthening Oversight of Iran's Access to Finance Act''
(H.R. 4324), which is clearly intended to lead to a U.S.
violation of the JCPOA.
This bill would impose additional certification
requirements on the administration in order to carry out
current U.S. obligations related to commercial aircraft sales
under the JCPOA. These new obligations require the
administration to certify that Iran is not engaged in certain
non-nuclear activity, or issue a national security waiver
saying they'll allow the planes to be sold anyway. In other
words, it imposes new, unilateral terms for continuation of
the JCPOA that are unrelated to Iran's nuclear conduct.
It has been widely reported in connection with the
president's recent refusal to make the necessary
certification to Congress under the Iran Nuclear Agreement
Review Act that the president resents having to undertake
official actions to keep the United States in compliance with
the JCPOA. Proponents of this legislation clearly hope to
make use of the president's apparent resistance to taking
such steps by adding a new certification requirement that
they hope he will also fail to meet--thereby blocking the
sale of commercial aircraft and forcing a U.S. violation of
the agreement.
Anyone doubting that this is the point of the bill need
look no further than the first finding, which makes clear
that this bill is a gratuitously anti-Obama, anti-JCPOA
vehicle, and not a serious.
Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California. Mr. Chairman, I also include in the
Record a Statement of Administration Policy from the previous Obama
administration, which I read a paragraph from.
Statement of Administration Policy
H.R. 5461--Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act
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 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. Chairman, we are opposed to this
bill not because we are not concerned about the security of our country
and security of our allies in the Middle East. The Members on the
opposite side of the aisle don't care any more than we care, but we
respect when our leadership and our country gets involved and
negotiates with another country, such as they have done with Iran, and
they come to some agreements. We would like our country to live up to
the agreement.
When we have included in that agreement a description of the
monitoring that will be done, and when that monitoring is being carried
out, and when it is represented to us by those that we have in charge
of that monitoring that that country, Iran, is in compliance, we
believe them. And when we trust our negotiators, when we trust our
country, when we trust our leadership, and Iran is in compliance, there
is no reason to try and undo the deal. There is no reason to come
behind the agreement and what has been negotiated and begin to think of
ways that they believe we ought to expand that agreement. We could, in
the Congress of the United States, come up with a new idea every day.
With all of the Members of this House, with all of the different
thoughts and, possibly, ideas, and everybody thinking they are smarter
than everybody else, we could come up with all kinds of plans to
interfere with that agreement.
[[Page H9875]]
But I would advise the Members of this House and the Members on the
opposite side of the aisle that they do not need to do this. This is a
bad idea. I would advise them to put faith in the negotiations that
have gone on and to accept the representations about compliance that we
are being given. We are being assured that not only is the monitoring
taking place, but Iran is in compliance.
So, again, I am so worried about our role in this country today and
the fact that our leadership is being diminished day by day because of
the way that our President and the White House is handling our
relationships with other countries. As a matter of fact, we see a
President that is endangering us and destroying relationships
constantly.
I mention that we have in this deal Russia, China, Germany, England,
and France. I asked the question: What are our allies in this agreement
saying about our attempts to interfere with the agreement? Do they
agree with them? Are they consulted? Are they unhappy about what is
being done?
I suppose they could do the same in their countries every day. They
could come up with new ways to interfere with the agreement. They could
begin to ask questions about us and why we are doing what we are doing.
They could even ask questions about why are we concerned about the
assets of those who are not sanctionable when we are not concerned
about the assets of our own President.
Mr. Chairman, this is Mr. Poliquin's bill. He wants to know about the
assets of leaders in Iran.
Has he seen his President's tax returns? Does he know about his
assets? Does he know about where they have come from? Does he know
about how they are utilized?
I don't think so.
So I think it is very, very important for us to do everything that we
can to have our allies trust us, to live up to the deals that we make,
not to ask more of others than we are willing to do ourselves, no.
We are not sponsors of terrorism. We are a people who have always
tried to avoid war. Unfortunately, we have engaged in it, and we know
that it is not the best answer to trying to deal with the problems that
we encounter around the world. I do believe that we honestly try to
avoid war and that we work for peace.
This is working for peace, and peace in the Middle East is one of the
most important goals that we should have. I see the opportunities for
that eroding every day.
So I would ask Mr. Poliquin to think about what he is doing. I
believe that his intentions are good, but I think it is a bad bill.
Mr. Chairman, I ask for a ``no'' vote on this bill. It is not needed.
I think it creates problems with our allies, and they begin to wonder
whether or not they can trust us. We are an honorable people and we are
leaders in the world, even though it is being questioned more and more.
Mr. Chairman, I ask Members to vote ``no'' on this bill, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR (Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois). The Chair reminds
all Members to address their remarks to the Chair.
Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, may I inquire how much time I have
remaining?
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Texas has 3\3/4\ minutes
remaining.
{time} 1600
Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, I find it fascinating how often the ranking member
criticized our own President and didn't have one critical comment for
the President of Iran, the nation which our State Department, including
the Obama State Department, has labeled as the world's foremost state
sponsor of terrorism. But yet, in the last almost hour we have not
heard one single critical word.
We hear much about the JCPOA, the Iran nuclear deal, perhaps one of
the worst arrangements, international agreements that has ever been
entered into by our country, but look as I may, in the legislation--and
it is 9 pages long, not 900--you will not see the JCPOA in it.
Mr. Poliquin's bill, the Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act,
is just that. It is seeking to have greater international transparency
for the leaders of this rogue nation, regardless of the JCPOA.
Let's remember what the gentleman from Ohio reminded us, that it was
because of information, including radio-free Europe, that went across
the Iron Curtain that ultimately brought that curtain down and freed
millions. We want to make sure the Iranian people know about their own
leadership.
Our own State Department has said the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps' Quds Force along with Iranian partners, allies, and
proxies continue to play a destabilizing role in military conflicts in
Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, but the ranking member says: Oh, let's not say
anything about their leadership because we might hurt their feelings.
The State Department goes on to say: Iran continued to recruit
fighters from across the region to join Iranian-affiliated Shia militia
forces engaged in conflicts in Syria and Iraq and has even offered a
path to citizenship for those who heed this call. And yet the ranking
member says let's not report on the leadership of this rogue regime
because they are very sensitive people.
The State Department goes on to say: Hezbollah continued to work
closely with Iran in these conflict zones, playing a major role in
supporting the Syrian Government's efforts to maintain control in the
territory and providing training and a range of other support for
Iranian-aligned groups in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. Yet we continue to
hear from the ranking member that we shouldn't learn anything about
their leadership. Again, we might step on their toes after the JCPOA,
and we wouldn't want to do that. We wouldn't want to be insensitive to
international terrorists.
In 2016, Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, boasted: ``We are open
about the fact that Hezbollah's budget, its income, its expenses,
everything it eats and drinks, its weapons and rockets are from the
Islamic Republican of Iran.''
I mean, how much more do we need to know? Why do we continue to have
Members of the United States Congress come to the floor of this
institution and somehow want to seemingly protect the leaders of this
rogue regime?
We want to know more information. We want to disseminate this
information. We want the whole world to know about the leadership of
the world's foremost state sponsor of terrorism. It is exactly what the
gentleman from Maine is trying to. I salute him for his leadership.
I encourage all Members to vote ``aye'' for his bill.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. All time for general debate has expired.
Pursuant to the rule, the bill shall be considered for amendment
under the 5-minute rule.
In lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by
the Committee on Financial Services, printed in the bill, it shall be
in order to consider as an original bill for the purpose of amendment
under the 5-minute rule an amendment in the nature of a substitute
consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 115-47. That amendment
in the nature of a substitute shall be considered as read.
The text of the amendment in the nature of a substitute is as
follows:
H.R. 1638
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
[[Page H9876]]
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 ``major
money-laundering country'' in its International Narcotics
Control Strategy Report (INCSR) for 2016.
(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 July 2017, 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 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;
(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);
(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.
(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.
(21) The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.
(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 use any credible publication, database, web-based
resource, public information compiled by any government
agency, and any information collected or compiled by a
nongovernmental organization or other entity provided to or
made available to the Secretary, that the Secretary finds
credible.
(e) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committees
on Financial Services and Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives and the Committees on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs and Foreign Relations 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.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that in preparing the reports
required under section 3, the Secretary of the Treasury
should consider acquiring information from sources that--
(1) collect and, if necessary, translate high-veracity,
official records; or
(2) provide search and analysis tools that enable law
enforcement to have new insights into commercial and
financial relationships.
The Acting CHAIR. No amendment to that amendment in the nature of a
substitute shall be in order except those printed in part A of House
Report 115-463. 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. Schneider
The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 1
printed in part A of House Report 115-463.
Mr. SCHNEIDER. 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 5, line 23, strike ``to contribute to'' and all that
follows through ``by Iran;'' on page 5, line 25 and insert
the following: ``to contribute--''
(A) to the continued development, testing, and procurement
of ballistic missile technology by Iran; and
(B) to human rights abuses.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 658, the gentleman
from Illinois (Mr. Schneider) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois.
Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of this bipartisan
amendment to H.R. 1638, the Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act.
I would like to thank my colleague from Texas, Judge Poe, for joining
me in this effort.
Iran is a bad and dangerous actor in a volatile region of the world,
which is why Congress has enacted sanctions in response to Tehran's
dangerous ballistic missile program and support for terrorist proxy
groups, including Hezbollah. We must hold senior Iranian leadership
accountable for destabilizing actions in the region and around the
world.
The legislation on the floor today is an effort to shine a light and
focus our
[[Page H9877]]
efforts on assets held by top Iranian officials, including the Supreme
Leader, members of the Council of Guardians, members of the Expediency
Council, and high-ranking military leaders.
Specifically, the bill requires the Secretary of the Treasury to
report to Congress information on the assets held by senior Iranian
leaders. Included in this report are recommendations on how to improve
the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions to prevent these assets and funding
from being used by Iranian officials to further develop Iran's
ballistic missile program.
My amendment simply, but importantly, expands this requirement to
include Iran's human rights abuses. We should be using every tool in
our toolbox to make clear to Iran that its human rights abuses are
unacceptable.
The human rights situation in Iran is appalling, and abuses permeate
many aspects of Iranian society. In Iran, repression and persecution of
members of different religious faiths, including Sunni Muslims,
Christians, and Baha'is is pervasive. The State Department's
International Religious Freedom Report of 2016 cites at least 103
members of minority religious groups imprisoned for their religious
activities. Since 1979, Iran has executed more than 200 Baha'i leaders
and, over the past 10 years, has conducted more than 850 arbitrary
arrests of Baha'i individuals.
Sexual orientation and gender identity are not protected categories
from discrimination under Iranian law, and same-sex acts are punishable
by flogging and possibly even death.
Arbitrary and unlawful killings are numerous. The State Department's
annual Human Rights Report says the Iranian Government announced 114
executions by August of 2016 and that unofficial reports suggest a
total of 469 executions by the end of that year. The U.N. puts this
number even higher at 530 executions in 2016.
Freedom of speech is limited, media is censored, and publications
have been banned and closed by the government. Harassment and
detainment of journalists continue, and Iran's citizens are not allowed
to criticize the government, Supreme Leader, or official religion.
The electoral system in Iran is neither free nor fair. In 2016, 79
percent of the candidates running for the Assembly of Experts and 58
percent running for the Islamic Consultative Assembly were disqualified
by the Guardian Council.
And we cannot forget about the Americans and other foreigners who
Iran has unjustly detained and continues to hold on fabricated charges,
including the following individuals whose family members testified
before the House Foreign Affairs Committee earlier this year: Baquer
and Siamak Namazi, Nizar Zakka, and, of course, Robert Levinson, who
has been held for more than 10 years.
These are just a handful of examples of egregious human rights abuses
by the Iranian Government. This amendment helps ensure that funds held
by senior Iranian leaders do not contribute to these human rights
abuses and that U.S. sanctions are best positioned to improve Iran's
human rights situation.
I hope that my colleagues will join me in supporting this important
amendment.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Chair, I claim time in opposition to the
amendment, although I am not opposed.
The Acting CHAIR. Without objection, the gentleman from Texas is
recognized for 5 minutes.
There was no objection.
Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I thank Mr. Schneider for bringing
this amendment. I am glad to be a cosponsor of the amendment.
Mr. Chair, the Iranians are a serious threat to the world, to
international security. Iran's foreign policy is very clear. The
Ayatollah has said it numerous times and continues to say that the
foreign policy of Iran is: First, destroy Israel; second, destroy the
United States. They have never wavered on this goal, and they are doing
everything they can militarily to eventually try to reach those two
goals.
But the greatest victims of the mullah's regime in Tehran are the
people of Iran. They have been held hostage by the Supreme Leader who
obviously cares more about ballistic missiles and international
terrorism than taking care of the livelihood of the people who live
under this regime.
The regime has become a notorious international leader in
suppression, execution, torture, and inhumanity. The world knows about
what is taking place in Iran, and the good people of Iran have no
political space for expression or dissent. If they decide to dissent
from the actions of the Ayatollah, well, it is off to jail or they are
hung in the public square. We saw what the regime did to the protesters
of the Green Movement in 2009.
Despite what some people still try to say, the current government is
not seeking any sort of moderation. Over 3,000 executions have taken
place under the regime's so-called President Rouhani. Scores of human
rights defenders and political activists are still in prison or under
House arrest, and they haven't been charged with anything and, of
course, they haven't been tried.
The United States needs to prioritize elevating the voices of the
Iranian people who are persecuted under oppression by this regime.
These Iranians really represent the best of the Iranian civilization,
and they are going to be the future of Iran.
We should take note of what is happening to them. It should be the
U.S. foreign policy to focus significant attention on the serious human
rights violations taking place in Iran.
I am happy to support and join Mr. Schneider in this amendment which
will require the Treasury Department to issue recommendations as to how
we can better prevent the mullahs from continuing the violent assault
on human rights of the Iranian people. The United States must be at the
forefront of this battle for human rights and decency for the Iranian
people.
We must call out the Ayatollah and the mullahs for what they are
doing. They are persecuting, violating human rights of the Iranian
people. The Iranian regime is the number one state sponsor of world
terror, and it also rains down terror on its own people. We need to put
the squeeze on them even if it hurts their little feelings.
I urge support of this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague, Judge Poe, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman once again for
bringing this amendment to the floor. I gladly support it.
And that is just the way it is.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Schneider).
The amendment was agreed to.
Amendment No. 2 Offered by Ms. Meng
The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 2
printed in part A of House Report 115-463.
Ms. MENG. 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 6, line 3, strike ``and'' at the end.
Page 6, after line 3, insert the following new paragraph
(and redesignate the subsequent paragraph accordingly):
(7) an assessment of the impact and effectiveness of U.S.
economic sanctions programs against Iran; and
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 658, the gentlewoman
from New York (Ms. Meng) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York.
Ms. MENG. Mr. Chair, I rise today to offer an amendment that I think
every Member of this body can support, no matter how they intend to
vote on final passage of H.R. 1638.
This amendment simply seeks to insert a single new requirement into
the report required by H.R. 1638, and that new requirement is as
follows: ``an assessment of the impact and effectiveness of U.S.
economic sanctions programs against Iran.''
{time} 1615
Whether you voted for the Iran deal or against it, or whether you
think economic sanctions are an effective diplomatic tool or something
that sounds better than it is, I hope Members will support this
amendment.
We should make evidence-based policy decisions in this body, whenever
[[Page H9878]]
possible, and, toward that end, we should know whether or not the
sanctions that we pass here work.
If we are going to require a new report from the Treasury in this
bill, and that report must include ``a description of how Treasury
assesses the impact and effectiveness of U.S. economic sanctions
programs against Iran,'' I think it is only appropriate to ask for the
assessment itself; and that is what this amendment does.
Let me put it another way. Understanding how we count votes in
America is important, but at the end of an election, I want to know the
final tally. Who won? Who lost? What did we learn?
Similarly, I think it is important that if the Treasury is going to
have to produce a new report on sanctions against Iran pursuant to H.R.
1638, that we understand exactly how the Treasury intends to assess the
impact and effectiveness of those sanctions.
Even more importantly, though, I think this report should include the
results of that assessment, particularly when it comes to sanctions we
have authorized. That is all this amendment seeks to require, and I
hope everyone in this body will support it.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition to the
amendment, although I am not opposed to it.
The Acting CHAIR. Without objection, the gentleman from Texas is
recognized for 5 minutes.
There was no objection.
Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentlewoman from
New York for her amendment. I note that she was a supporter of H.R.
5461, a nearly identical bill that passed the House in the last
Congress. I think that her amendment is a valuable addition to H.R.
1638. Indeed, we should always know the effectiveness of the programs
that we promote. In this case, we do need to understand how effective
economic sanctions may be. So I appreciate her leadership.
Mr. Chairman, I would urge all Members to vote ``aye'' on the
amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. MENG. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Meng).
The amendment was agreed to.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment in the nature of a
substitute, as amended.
The amendment was agreed to.
The Acting CHAIR. Under the rule, the Committee rises.
Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Poe
of Texas) having assumed the chair, Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois,
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. 1638) 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 658, he reported the bill back to the House with an
amendment 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 to the amendment
reported from the Committee of the Whole?
If not, the question is on the amendment in the nature of a
substitute, as amended.
The amendment was 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.
____________________