S.Amdt. 3342

SA 3342. Mr. CURTIS submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 2296, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2026 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle E of title XII, add the following:

SEC. 1265. ASSESSMENT OF HIZBALLAH'S OPERATIONAL CAPABILITIES
AND FINANCIAL NETWORKS IN AREAS OF
RESPONSIBILITY OF THE UNITED STATES NORTHERN
COMMAND AND THE UNITED STATES SOUTHERN COMMAND.

(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Hizballah, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization
by the Department of State, operates a global network with
operational and financial activities in the Western
Hemisphere that pose a direct threat to United States
military and civilian personnel stationed or operating
outside the United States and to the United States homeland.
(2) Hizballah's illicit financial networks, including those
engaged in money laundering, drug trafficking, and other
criminal enterprises, are active in regions under the areas
of responsibility of the United States Northern Command and
United States Southern Command, particularly in Latin America
and along the United States-Mexico border, enabling
activities that could target United States personnel abroad
and the homeland.
(3) Hizballah's operational capabilities, including
potential sleeper cells, logistical networks, and
coordination with criminal organizations, increase the risk
of terrorist or asymmetric attacks against United States
military and civilian personnel deployed outside the United
States and could facilitate threats to the United States
homeland.
(4) Disrupting Hizballah's financial networks in the areas
of responsibility of the United States Northern Command and
the United States Southern Command is essential--
(A) to limiting Hizballah's ability to fund operations that
threaten United States military and civilian personnel
abroad;
(B) to constraining Hizballah's capacity to reconstitute
military capabilities in Lebanon; and
(C) to preventing attacks on the United States homeland.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) Hizballah's operational capabilities and financial
networks in the Western Hemisphere constitute a significant
and growing threat to the safety of United States military
and civilian personnel outside the United States and to the
security of the United States homeland;
(2) targeting and dismantling Hizballah's operational and
illicit financial networks in the areas of responsibility of
the United States Northern Command and the United States
Southern Command is critical to reducing the organization's
ability to conduct operations that endanger United States
personnel abroad, support its military reconstitution in
Lebanon, or enable attacks on the United States homeland; and
(3) the United States should prioritize interagency and
international efforts to identify, monitor, and disrupt
Hizballah's networks in the Western Hemisphere to protect
United States military and civilian personnel and safeguard
the homeland.
(c) Assessment.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in
coordination with the Secretary of State, the Director of
National Intelligence, and the Secretary of the Treasury,
shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a
comprehensive assessment of the threats posed by Hizballah's
operational capabilities and financial networks within the
areas of responsibility of the United States Northern Command
and the United States Southern Command to United States
military and civilian

[[Page S5106]]

personnel outside the United States and to the United States
homeland.
(2) Elements.--The assessment required by paragraph (1)
shall include the following:
(A) An evaluation of Hizballah's operational capabilities,
including--
(i) the presence and activities of Hizballah operatives,
affiliates, or sleeper cells in the areas of responsibility
of the United States Northern Command and the United States
Southern Command that could target United States military or
civilian personnel stationed or operating outside the United
States;
(ii) any training, recruitment, or logistical support
activities in these regions that could enable attacks on
United States personnel abroad or facilitate operations
against the United States homeland; and
(iii) the potential for Hizballah to conduct terrorist or
asymmetric operations against United States military
installations, embassies, or civilian personnel outside the
United States, or to stage attacks on the United States
homeland.
(B) An analysis of Hizballah's financial networks,
including--
(i) the sources of revenue, including illicit activities
such as drug trafficking, money laundering, and smuggling,
within the areas of responsibility of the United States
Northern Command and the United States Southern Command that
fund operations threatening United States personnel or the
homeland;
(ii) the key individuals, entities, and front companies
facilitating Hizballah's financial operations in such areas;
and
(iii) the extent to which Hizballah's financial networks in
the Western Hemisphere support activities that could target
United States military or civilian personnel abroad or enable
attacks on the United States homeland.
(C) An assessment of Hizballah's cooperation with state or
nonstate actors, including transnational criminal
organizations, in the areas of responsibility of the United
States Northern Command and the United States Southern
Command that enhances Hizballah's ability to threaten United
States personnel or the homeland.
(D) A description of current United States efforts to
counter Hizballah's operational and financial activities in
such areas that pose a threat to United States military and
civilian personnel outside the United States or to the United
States homeland, including interagency coordination and
partnerships with foreign governments.
(E) Recommendations for additional authorities, resources,
or actions needed to disrupt Hizballah's operational
capabilities and financial networks in the areas of
responsibility of the United States Northern Command and the
United States Southern Command, including enhanced sanctions,
law enforcement measures, and intelligence-sharing agreements
to protect United States personnel and the homeland.
(3) Form.--The assessment required by paragraph (1) shall
be submitted in unclassified form but may include a
classified annex.
(d) Appropriate Committees of Congress Defined.--In this
section, the term ``appropriate committees of Congress''
means--
(1) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Foreign Relations, and the Select Committee on Intelligence
of the Senate; and
(2) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, and the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence of the House of Representatives.
______