[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 180 (Wednesday, November 1, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H5189-H5193]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HAMAS AND OTHER PALESTINIAN TERRORIST GROUPS INTERNATIONAL FINANCING
PREVENTION ACT
Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 340) to impose sanctions with respect to foreign support for
terrorist organizations, including Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic
Jihad, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 340
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 ``Hamas and Other Palestinian
Terrorist Groups International Financing Prevention Act''.
SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It shall be the policy of the United States--
(1) to prevent Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa
Martyrs Brigade, the Lion's Den, or any affiliate or
successor thereof from accessing its international support
networks; and
(2) to oppose Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa
Martyrs Brigade, the Lion's Den, or any affiliate or
successor thereof from using goods, including medicine and
dual use items, to smuggle weapons and other materials to
further acts of terrorism, including against Israel.
SEC. 3. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FOREIGN
PERSONS SUPPORTING ACTS OF TERRORISM OR
ENGAGING IN SIGNIFICANT TRANSACTIONS WITH
SENIOR MEMBERS OF HAMAS, PALESTINIAN ISLAMIC
JIHAD AND OTHER PALESTINIAN TERRORIST
ORGANIZATIONS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the President shall impose the
sanctions described in subsection (c) with respect to each
foreign person that the President determines, on or after the
date of the enactment of this Act, engages in an activity
described in subsection (b).
(b) Activities Described.--A foreign person engages in an
activity described in this subsection if the foreign person
knowingly--
(1) assists in sponsoring or providing significant
financial, material, or technological support for, or goods
or other services to enable, acts of terrorism; or
(2) engages, directly or indirectly, in a significant
transaction with--
(A) a senior member of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad,
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the Lion's Den, or any affiliate or
successor thereof; or
(B) a senior member of a foreign terrorist organization
designated pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189) that is responsible for
providing, directly or indirectly, support to Hamas,
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the
Lion's Den, or any affiliate or successor thereof.
(c) Sanctions Described.--The President shall exercise all
of the powers granted to the President under the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701
et seq.) to the extent necessary to block and prohibit all
transactions in property and interests in property of a
foreign person described in subsection (a) if such property
and interests in property are in the United States, come
within the United States, or are or come within the
possession or control of a United States person.
[[Page H5190]]
(d) Penalties.--The penalties provided for in subsections
(b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to a person
that violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or
causes a violation of this section or any regulations
promulgated to carry out this section to the same extent that
such penalties apply to a person that commits an unlawful act
described in section 206(a) of that Act.
(e) Implementation; Regulations.--
(1) In general.--The President may exercise all authorities
provided under sections 203 and 205 of the International
Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) for
purposes of carrying out this section.
(2) Regulations.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the President shall issue
regulations or other guidance as may be necessary for the
implementation of this section.
(f) Waiver.--The President may waive, on a case-by-case
basis and for a period of not more than 180 days, the
application of sanctions under this section with respect to a
foreign person only if, not later than 15 days prior to the
date on which the waiver is to take effect, the President
submits to the appropriate congressional committees a written
determination and justification that the waiver is in the
vital national security interests of the United States.
(g) Humanitarian Exemption.--The President may waive the
application of any provision of this section if the President
certifies in writing to the appropriate congressional
committees that such a waiver is vital to facilitate the
delivery of humanitarian aid and is consistent with the
national security interests of the United States 15 days
prior to the waiver taking effect.
(h) Rule of Construction.--The authority to impose
sanctions under this section with respect to a foreign person
is in addition to the authority to impose sanctions under any
other provision of law with respect to a foreign person that
directly or indirectly supports acts of international
terrorism.
SEC. 4. IMPOSITION OF MEASURES WITH RESPECT TO FOREIGN STATES
PROVIDING SUPPORT TO HAMAS, PALESTINIAN ISLAMIC
JIHAD AND OTHER PALESTINIAN TERRORIST
ORGANIZATIONS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the President shall impose the
measures described in subsection (c) with respect to a
foreign state if the President determines that the foreign
state, on or after the date of the enactment of this Act,
engages in an activity described in subsection (b).
(b) Activities Described.--A foreign state engages in an
activity described in this subsection if the foreign state
knowingly--
(1) provides significant material or financial support for
acts of international terrorism, pursuant to--
(A) section 1754(c) of the Export Control Reform Act of
2018 (50 U.S.C. 4813(c)(1)(A));
(B) section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
U.S.C. 2371);
(C) section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C.
2780); or
(D) any other provision of law;
(2) provides significant material support to Hamas, the
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the
Lion's Den, or any affiliate or successor thereof; or
(3) engages in a significant transaction that materially
contributes, directly or indirectly, to the terrorist
activities of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa
Martyrs Brigade, the Lion's Den, or any affiliate or
successor thereof.
(c) Measures Described.--The measures described in this
subsection with respect to a foreign state are the following:
(1) The President shall suspend, for a period of at least 1
year, United States assistance to the foreign state.
(2) The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United
States Executive Director to each appropriate international
financial institution to oppose, and vote against, for a
period of 1 year, the extension by such institution of any
loan or financial or technical assistance to the government
of the foreign state.
(3) The President shall prohibit the export of any item on
the United States Munitions List (established pursuant to
section 38 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2778))
or the Commerce Control List set forth in Supplement No. 1 to
part 774 of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations, to the
foreign state for a period of 1 year.
(d) Penalties.--The penalties provided for in subsections
(b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency
Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to a person
that violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or
causes a violation of this section or any regulations
promulgated to carry out this section to the same extent that
such penalties apply to a person that commits an unlawful act
described in section 206(a) of that Act.
(e) Waiver.--The President may waive, on a case-by-case
basis and for a period of not more than 180 days, the
application of measures under this section with respect to a
foreign state only if, not later than 15 days prior to the
date on which the waiver is to take effect, the President
submits to the appropriate congressional committees a written
determination and justification that the waiver is in the
vital national security interests of the United States.
(f) Implementation; Regulations.--
(1) In general.--The President may exercise all authorities
provided under sections 203 and 205 of the International
Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) for
purposes of carrying out this section.
(2) Regulations.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the President shall issue
regulations or other guidance as may be necessary for the
implementation of this section.
(g) Additional Exemptions.--
(1) Status of forces agreements.--The President may exempt
the application of measures under this section with respect
to a foreign state if the application of such measures would
prevent the United States from meeting the terms of any
status of forces agreement to which the United States is a
party.
(2) Authorized intelligence activities.--Measures under
this section shall not apply with respect to any activity
subject to the reporting requirements under title V of the
National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.) or any
authorized intelligence activities of the United States.
(3) Humanitarian exemption.--The President may waive the
application of any provision of this section if the President
certifies in writing to the appropriate congressional
committees that such a waiver is vital to facilitate the
delivery of humanitarian aid and is consistent with the
national security interests of the United States 15 days
prior to the waiver taking effect.
(h) Rule of Construction.--The authority to impose measures
under this section with respect to a foreign state is in
addition to the authority to impose measures under any other
provision of law with respect to foreign states that directly
or indirectly support acts of international terrorism.
SEC. 5. REPORTS ON ACTIVITIES TO DISRUPT GLOBAL FUNDRAISING,
FINANCING, AND MONEY LAUNDERING ACTIVITIES OF
HAMAS, PALESTINIAN ISLAMIC JIHAD, AL-AQSA
MARTYRS BRIGADE, THE LION'S DEN OR ANY
AFFILIATE OR SUCCESSOR THEREOF.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter, the
President shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees a report that includes--
(1) an assessment of the disposition of the assets and
activities of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa
Martyrs Brigade, the Lion's Den, or any affiliate or
successor thereof related to fundraising, financing, and
money laundering worldwide;
(2) a list of foreign states that knowingly providing
material, financial, or technical support for, or goods or
services to Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa
Martyrs Brigade, the Lion's Den, or any affiliate or
successor thereof;
(3) a list of foreign states in which Hamas, the
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the
Lion's Den, or any affiliate or successor thereof conducts
significant fundraising, financing, or money laundering
activities;
(4) a list of foreign states from which Hamas, the
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the
Lion's Den, or any affiliate or successor thereof knowingly
engaged in the transfer of surveillance equipment, electronic
monitoring equipment, or other means to inhibit communication
or the free flow of information in Gaza; and
(5) with respect to each foreign state listed in paragraph
(2), (3), or (4)--
(A) a description of the steps the foreign state identified
is taking adequate measures to restrict financial flows to
Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa Martyrs
Brigade, the Lion's Den, or any affiliates or successors
thereof; and
(B) in the case of a foreign state failing to take adequate
measures to restrict financial flows to Hamas, Palestinian
Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the Lion's Den or any
other designated entity engaged in significant act of
terrorism threatening the peace and security of Israel--
(i) an assessment of the reasons that government is not
taking adequate measures to restrict financial flows to those
entities; and
(ii) a description of measures being taken by the United
States Government to encourage the foreign state to restrict
financial flows to those entities; and
(b) Form.--Each report required by subsection (a) shall be
submitted in unclassified form to the greatest extent
possible, and may contain a classified annex.
SEC. 6. EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF GOODS.
(a) In General.--The authorities and requirements to impose
sanctions authorized under this Act shall not include the
authority or requirement to impose sanctions on the
importation of goods.
(b) Good Defined.--In this section, the term ``good'' means
any article, natural or man-made substance, material, supply
or manufactured product, including inspection and test
equipment, and excluding technical data.
SEC. 7. TERMINATION.
This Act shall terminate on the earlier of--
(1) the date that is 7 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act; or
(2) the date that is 30 days after the date on which the
President certifies to the appropriate congressional
committees that--
(A) Hamas or any successor or affiliate thereof is no
longer designated as a foreign terrorist organization
pursuant to section
[[Page H5191]]
219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189);
(B) Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa Martyrs
Brigade, the Lion's Den, and any successor or affiliate
thereof are no longer subject to sanctions pursuant to--
(i) Executive Order No. 12947 (January 23, 1995; relating
to prohibiting transactions with terrorists who threaten to
disrupt the Middle East peace process); and
(ii) Executive Order No. 13224 (September 23, 2001;
relating to blocking property and prohibiting transactions
with persons who commit, threaten to commit, or support
terrorism); and
(C) Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa Martyrs
Brigade, the Lion's Den, and any successor or affiliate
thereof meet the criteria described in paragraphs (1) through
(4) of section 9 of the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of
2006 (22 U.S.C. 2378b note).
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Act of terrorism.--The term ``act of terrorism'' means
an activity that--
(A) involves a violent act or an act dangerous to human
life, property, or infrastructure; and
(B) appears to be intended to--
(i) intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
(ii) influence the policy of a government by intimidation
or coercion; or
(iii) affect the conduct of a government by mass
destruction, assassination, kidnapping, or hostage-taking.
(2) Admitted.--The term ``admitted'' has the meaning given
such term in section 101(a)(13)(A) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(13)(A)).
(3) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on
Financial Services of the House of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate.
(4) Foreign state.--The term ``foreign state'' has the
meaning given such term in section 1603 of title 28, United
States Code.
(5) Humanitarian aid.--The term ``humanitarian aid'' means
food, medicine, and medical supplies.
(6) Material support.--The term ``material support'' has
the meaning given the term ``material support or resources''
in section 2339A of title 18, United States Code.
(7) United states person.--The term ``United States
person'' means--
(A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted
for permanent residence to the United States; or
(B) an entity organized under the laws of the United States
or of any jurisdiction within the United States, including a
foreign branch of such an entity.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. McCaul) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Schneider) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
General Leave
Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to
include extraneous material on this measure.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, on October 7, over 2,000 Hamas terrorists invaded Israel
and brutally murdered over 1,400 people. The images from these gruesome
attacks will haunt us all for eternity.
There were beheadings, families were burned alive, and women were
raped and slaughtered, one of whom was dragged through the streets of
Gaza.
I was in one of the kibbutzim right on the border of Gaza last year
meeting with members of the community. I saw their daycare center and
the children who were there. That very same kibbutz, Mr. Speaker, was
overrun by 70 Hamas terrorists. Many of the residents whom I met were
slaughtered, but most viciously, the babies and the children I visited
in the daycare center were slaughtered, shot to death, beheaded, and
burned alive. Reports are that a pregnant woman was forced to watch as
they cut her baby out of her womb, killing her child before they killed
her.
{time} 1430
On December 7, 1941, in response to the bombing at Pearl Harbor,
President Roosevelt said it was ``a date which will live in infamy.''
So, too, will October 7, 2023.
The United States must stand resolute and use every tool at our
disposal to support our friend and ally, Israel. Israel has been pulled
into a war with the Iran-backed terrorist Hamas and the Palestinian
Islamic jihad, who have launched more than 8,000 rockets at Israel
since this war started.
We know that Iran has historically provided around $100 million a
year in support to Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic jihad, and other
Palestinian terrorist groups. Hamas also generates hundreds of millions
of dollars every year from its secret international investment
portfolio. These accounts help fund Hamas' terrorist infrastructure.
They pay for its elaborate 500-mile tunnel network--500 miles of
tunnel--and for the rockets being fired into Israel.
This bill takes aim at Iran's support for Hamas and makes it clear
that banks cannot facilitate the toxic relationship between the largest
state sponsor of terror and its proxies. Unfortunately, the media seems
to have forgotten that for years Hamas has profited off innocent
people, prioritizing rocket production over supporting the basic needs
of their own people, exacerbating suffering.
I thank my colleague, Mr. Mast, who also served in the IDF with
distinction, for introducing this important piece of legislation. We
need every tool at our disposal to restrict Hamas and other Palestinian
terrorists' access to financing and hold the countries enabling them to
account.
I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for this bill, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
House of Representatives,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC, February 9, 2023.
Hon. Patrick McHenry,
Chairman, Committee on Financial Services,
Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman McHenry: Thank you for consulting with the
Foreign Affairs Committee and agreeing to be discharged from
further consideration of H.R. 340, the Hamas International
Financing Prevention Act, so that the measure may proceed
expeditiously to the House floor.
I agree that your forgoing further action on this measure
does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of
your committee, or prejudice its jurisdictional prerogatives
on this measure or similar legislation in the future. I would
support your effort to seek appointment of an appropriate
number of conferees from your committee to any House-Senate
conference on this legislation.
I will seek to place our letters on H.R. 340 into the
Congressional Record during floor consideration. I appreciate
your cooperation regarding this legislation and look forward
to continuing to work together as this measure moves through
the legislative process.
Sincerely,
Michael T. McCaul,
Chairman.
Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 340, and I
yield myself such time as I may consume.
Since its inception, Hamas has been a military and political entity
dedicated to the destruction of Israel.
Rather than addressing the needs of the Palestinian people, Hamas has
furthered their suffering and has destabilized the Gaza Strip. Rather
than building schools, industries, and public infrastructure to lift up
their own people, Hamas has built a terrorist army and a network of
sophisticated attack tunnels to destroy Israel and kill Jews. The group
has terrorized its people rather than govern, using Palestinian
civilians as human shields and has terrorized its own population and
that of Israel.
Since 2007, when Hamas violently seized governing control of the Gaza
Strip, it has launched tens of thousands of rockets targeting Israeli
cities and towns from hospitals, schools, and Palestinian neighborhoods
in Gaza. It has conducted countless terrorist attacks, engaged in
hostage taking, and tortured its own, the Palestinian people.
The State Department first designated Hamas as a foreign terrorist
organization in 1997. The EU and other Western countries have done the
same. Passage of this legislation today will provide more tools for
this and future administrations to hold Hamas accountable for its
terrorism and brutality.
While Hamas leaders don't have financial assets in the U.S., new
sanctions have been unveiled by the Biden administration in recent days
that will increase pressure on some of the countries that host them.
With this legislation before us, the United States will now be able to
penalize third parties who provide assistance to Hamas.
While we desire to put more pressure on Hamas, we want to make
certain
[[Page H5192]]
that American and partner NGOs and governments are still able to assist
the people of Gaza and their humanitarian needs. The waiver present in
this legislation, while strict, will allow that assistance to continue.
Hamas' reign of terror must end. It is our only chance at a lasting
peace.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Mast), the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on
Oversight and Accountability and the author of this bill.
Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman and the submariner up
front. That is a special kind of service, no doubt about it. I thank
the chairman for his work on this legislation, for helping to bring it
to the floor, and for his work in helping to make sure that in this
body when those of us who are in here say never again in support of
Israel and the Jewish state, that it is something that we are doing
everything possible to make sure that never again is the truth.
You might ask what can this bill do in support of never again, and
why. The ``why'' on it is very simple because October 7 didn't happen
for free. October 7 didn't happen without planning. October 7 didn't
happen without delivery of arms from multiple nations. October 7 didn't
happen without the intelligence from multiple nations, nongovernment
organizations, and individuals. This happened as a result of a great
deal of all of the above.
This bill is specifically about sanctions, about making sure that we
can get to the individuals, the states, the government agencies, the
nongovernment agencies, or the companies that enabled October 7 to
happen. It is about making sure that we cut off the material support,
whether that is money or equipment or something that we might label
here in Washington as a dual-use item, from making it to the Gaza Strip
or the West Bank or into the hands of Hezbollah or somewhere else; from
making sure that we cut off the technological support, whether it is
intelligence or, literally, software or hardware or arms of propaganda;
whether we are cutting off the financial support, the terror financing,
the transactions, those that are engaging with the literal perpetrators
of terrorism, doing it by blocking and freezing assets and funds,
providing travel restrictions, export restrictions, and financial
sanctions so that they can't use our banks or financial institutions.
The list goes on.
That is the work that has to be done within these walls to make sure
that we can say never again. That is the work that we can do in here to
make sure that October 7 doesn't happen again, and it is the work that
we have to do in passing this bill to make sure that we do everything
possible to prevent the kind of terrorism, the barbaric acts that the
chairman spoke so eloquently and so vividly about.
It is in that vein that I ask my colleagues to rise in support of
this bill. Join us, vote unanimously in support of this bill.
Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from
North Carolina (Ms. Manning), my dear friend and the vice ranking
member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Ms. MANNING. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to speak in support of H.R. 340,
the Hamas International Financing Prevention Act, a bipartisan bill
introduced by Representatives Brian Mast and Josh Gottheimer to impose
sanctions on the terrorist group Hamas.
On October 7, we woke in horror to find Hamas' brutal and despicable
terrorist attacks, firing rockets at innocent civilians, storming the
Israeli border, invading Israel, going house to house, murdering
babies, executing parents in front of their children, massacring 260
young people at a music festival. Hamas killed 31 U.S. citizens and
more than 1,400 Israelis while taking hundreds of innocent people
hostage in Gaza, including babies and toddlers.
Hamas terrorists are not militants. They are not freedom fighters.
They are not a civil resistance movement. They are a brutal foreign
terrorist organization which is dedicated to the destruction of Israel
and the murder of Jews.
It is no secret that this is their goal. It is plainly stated in
Hamas' founding charter. It is also important to recognize that Hamas
has no regard for the lives of innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza,
the very people they rule over, who suffer under Hamas. Let there be no
mistake. Hamas bears responsibility for their pain as well.
All countries around the world should join the U.S. in demanding
Hamas immediately release all the hostages currently held in Gaza. I am
grateful that the Biden administration has imposed additional sanctions
on senior Hamas officials and their financial backers. We need to
continue to bring pressure to bear on Hamas and cut off their flow of
resources.
That is why this legislation would impose sanctions on foreign
entities that provide material and financial support to Hamas and
Islamic jihad, while also providing for important humanitarian
exemptions.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their work on this bill, and I
urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting it.
Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Castro), an esteemed member of our Foreign Affairs Committee
and the ranking member on the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee.
Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 340. I
unequivocally condemn Hamas' attack on Israel, which resulted in the
deaths of over 1,400 innocent people and the kidnapping of hundreds of
hostages, including American citizens.
The United States has rightly designated Hamas as a terrorist
organization since 1997, and I have fully supported sanctions on Hamas
when they have come before the House in the past. However, there is a
distinction between Hamas and the innocent Palestinians it holds
captive in Gaza, and we must legislate with that understanding. Our
efforts to hold Hamas accountable must not come at the expense of those
innocent civilians.
As originally written, this bill included a broad humanitarian
exemption that would have protected the provision of food, medicine,
and other lifesaving supplies into Gaza. The State Department and the
Treasury both supported that exemption, which aligned with the Biden
administration's goals to weaken Hamas without causing undue civilian
suffering and deaths.
Unfortunately, the primary sponsor of H.R. 340 offered an amendment
during committee markup that removed that exemption, replacing it with
a case-by-case waiver that will impede the delivery of humanitarian aid
into Gaza.
At times here, we need to speculate about the motivations behind
specific legislation and legislative decisions. In this case, however,
it is part of the committee record. The bill's sponsor said that he
believes ``any assistance should be slowed down'' and argued that no
one can distinguish between innocent Palestinians and Hamas.
The situation in Gaza is incredibly dire and becoming more so by the
day, which is why President Biden has worked to secure the delivery of
humanitarian assistance to Gaza and requested funding to support those
efforts. The decision to intentionally remove this provision was a
choice to hurt people in Gaza who are not responsible for this
conflict.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the
gentleman from Texas.
Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Mr. Speaker, if the humanitarian exemption that
was originally in this bill was restored, I would fully support H.R.
340, but I cannot in good faith support a bill that amounts to
intentional collective punishment against the people of Gaza, nearly
half of whom are children. For this reason, I urge the House to vote
``no.''
Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Arkansas (Mr. Hill), a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Mr. HILL. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman McCaul, and I certainly thank
the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mast) for offering this important bill,
H.R. 340, the Hamas International Financing Prevention Act.
In addition to my work on the Foreign Affairs Committee, I serve on
the
[[Page H5193]]
House Financial Services Committee. Over the years that I have been in
Congress, I have been on the Task Force to Investigate Terrorism
Financing and the Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance. Today,
once again, we come to this House floor to tackle a new form of illicit
finance.
It was shocking to a lot of people in America to read in The Wall
Street Journal that Hamas is now using digital assets in order to raise
funds and move money around. Just as we tackle illicit charitable use,
illicit cash use, illicit bank use, this committee is dedicated to
tackling this new form of escaping our anti-money laundering Bank
Secrecy Act laws in order to fund terror.
{time} 1445
I expect all of my colleagues to be together, working together to
pass this bill and, in fact, standing up against this new form of
terror finance by using digital assets.
We look forward to working on that issue in both the Financial
Services Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee, and I
congratulate the gentleman from Florida for his leadership.
Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Mast).
Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I will address some of the comments that were
brought up about the bill and exemptions, and exemptions that do not
exist. I think it is important to recognize there are some exemptions.
There are exemptions for food and medicine.
Those exemptions exist, but there are not exemptions for pieces of
equipment that might be considered dual-use items that were used to
knock over the barricades, the fences, and the barriers that were
preventing the Palestinian terrorists from making it into Israel.
There are not exemptions to allow those kinds of pieces of equipment
that might come in under agricultural exemptions in this bill. Why?
Because they can be dual-use items. That is a reason to not have them.
When we look at this as a whole, I encourage the other side to not so
lightly throw around the idea of innocent Palestinian civilians, as is
frequently said. I don't think we would so lightly throw around the
term ``innocent Nazi civilians'' during World War II.
We are going to speak later about a bill related to Palestinian
education and the fact that in their schools, schools run by the
Palestinian Authority, not Hamas, not Palestinian Islamic Jihad, not
al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, not Lions' Den, not any of the other groups
run by the Palestinian Authority, they have anti-Semitic teachings that
they put within their own schools.
The list goes on and on of the examples we could give of what
somebody might call a rank-and-file Gazan or a rank-and-file person in
the West Bank or just a Palestinian that maybe doesn't fall under that
name of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad but by any classical
definition would absolutely be considered a terrorist, somebody that in
the last couple of weeks had been conducting kidnappings, murders,
brutality that is nearly unspeakable.
As we look at this and what kind of exemptions should and should not
exist, I ask that it be looked at through that lens, that there is not
this far stretch to say there are very few innocent Palestinian
civilians.
I haven't seen the videos of the innocent Palestinian civilians who
were out there trying to protect the Israelis, who were out there
trying to stop the attacks and trying to get the captives returned
instead of being taken into the tunnel systems.
We need to look at that as well when we think about the equipment,
whether agricultural or otherwise, that might be put in the hands of
those terrorists.
Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 340 is an important effort to strengthen sanctions
on Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization that showed its true
intent and core evil on October 7, when it crossed over a border and
savagely massacred 1,400 people, took more than 240 people hostage,
wounded thousands of others, and continues its assault, as it is
written in its charter, to destroy the State of Israel and to murder
Jews.
I will remind my colleagues, if I can, that what we saw on October 7
was the worst day for the murder of Jews since the Holocaust, but I
also believe it is important that, unless we are talking about Nazis
and the Holocaust, we are very careful and avoid making comparisons.
I also think it is important that as Israel prosecutes its war
against Hamas--and it is against Hamas, not against the Palestinian
people--we recognize the humanity of the civilians, all the civilians
who are caught in the middle of this horrific war.
Hamas is a terrorist organization and must be eliminated from being a
threat to Israel, an oppressor of its people, and in control of Gaza.
That is why this legislation is so critically important. We have to see
the humanity of people.
I am a co-chair of the bipartisan, bicameral Abraham Accords Caucus.
I have committed my life to seeking and pursuing peace for Israel and
its neighbors. The Abraham Accords Caucus recognizes for the first time
that both Arabs and Jews belong to the same land and records in its
essence and in its being that by embracing each other, Arabs and Jews
cannot only live together but lift each other up and lift up the future
for the same land.
Hamas does not see that future. Hamas is a terrorist organization. It
is a threat to peace, a threat to Israel, a threat to democracy.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Schneider for his strong, passionate
support, as well as Ms. Manning and the author, Mr. Mast.
Mr. Speaker, I think the gentleman makes a great argument. Hamas
stands between the expansion of the Abraham Accords and the destruction
of the Abraham Accords. They are the ones standing between peace in the
Middle East and war, a war that they provoked, a war that was barbaric
against our friend and ally, Israel. It is impossible to overstate just
how violent and horrific the terrorist attacks in Israel were. I have
seen it. Don't tell me it didn't happen because it is real.
We can't underestimate the determination of Hamas itself. Their
covenant explicitly states: ``Israel will exist and will continue to
exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others
before it.''
I don't think it can be any more clear about their intent. Hamas has
told us who they are and what they plan to do. We need to act here in
Congress, and we need to act now.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 340, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. McCAUL. 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 motion will be postponed.
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