Taylor Force Act

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, in strong support of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank Ed Royce, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee. I agree with everything he said in his remarks. I want to thank him for his hard work on this legislation. We worked closely together to make this bipartisan bill as strong as possible, while also taking care to limit any unintended consequences. That is what we have been doing on the Foreign Affairs Committee, and that is why we have been so successful in passing legislation. We do it in a bipartisan way.

Let me begin by saying that the Palestinian system of so-called martyr payments is downright disgusting. We are talking about a system that involves paying people on a sliding scale based on the death and destruction that they cause. It is simply sickening.

These payments clearly incentivize terrorist attacks, and they further threaten prospects for peace, pushing the chance for a Palestinian state further and further out of reach.

This legislation was named for Taylor Force, an American victim of Palestinian terrorism. He was a West Point graduate and a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was stabbed to death in Jaffa in 2016.

The question we face is: How do we compel the PA, the Palestinian Authority, to end the martyr payment system?

In 2015, appropriations bills began to include language cutting off funds for the Palestinian Authority by the amount that they spent on so-called martyr payments, but that didn't curb the practice.

We stopped giving the Palestinian Authority direct assistance, but the Palestinian Authority hasn't budged.

We are now considering this legislation, which cuts all funds that directly benefit the Palestinian Authority if the Palestinian Authority continues to make these payments. This will make it crystal clear to the Palestinian Authority that so-called martyr payments are unacceptable, period.

At the same time, the bill allows the United States to continue humanitarian and democracy assistance, which is in our interest and the interest of our ally Israel. It also includes a thoughtful exemption proposed by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly) which exempts childhood vaccinations from the cuts required under this bill.

Overall, I believe that this version of the Taylor Force Act strikes the right balance. Chairman Royce and I worked very hard to come up with a piece of legislation that both sides would support. The Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously passed this legislation. The message should be clear: this is not a partisan issue.

We must send a message to the Palestinian Authority that these so- called martyr payments, which are ``killing'' payments, must stop.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation that ensures no unintended consequences, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutch), the ranking member of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, and a valued member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Florida.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I think that points have been made on both sides of the aisle with which we all agree. If the Palestinian Authority is serious about peace and is serious about a two-state solution and is serious about living in peace with Israel, then I think they have to be serious about not paying people who murder, not paying people who are terrorists, not paying people who randomly go over and stab somebody.

Taylor Force happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. No other reason. That should not be left to stand. I think our colleagues have all talked about what a wonderful young man he was, an exemplary American, someone who played by the rules, kept his country safe, did the right things, respected his own faith. We should respect him and all the other people as well.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Gottheimer), my friend on the Financial Services Committee, a rising star in Congress.

Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Frankel), my good friend and valued member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mr. Speaker, if there are no other speakers on this side, I am prepared to close. I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, let me close by saying that this bipartisan legislation seeks to compel the Palestinian Authority to stop incentivizing acts of terrorism against innocent victims, including American Taylor Force.

Now, the encouragement of hooligans and thugs to just randomly try to kill people for no other reason than just to try to perpetrate violence needs to be stopped. While the Palestinian Authority seems to be encouraging knife attacks and terror attacks against Jewish Israelis, it is important to say that being in the wrong place at the wrong time leaves everybody vulnerable. That is what happened to Taylor Force. He wasn't Jewish. He happened to be American, and he happened to be a soldier in a war area and a very good, nice, decent human being. He didn't deserve it.

Nobody deserves to be a victim of terror. But certainly, the victims of terror, if we are going to cry out to help them, we have got to put a stop to this disgusting practice of calling these murderers martyrs. They are not martyrs. They are murderers. They have no regard for human beings. They have no regard for anything. It is time for us to say: Enough is enough.

In this current bill, it allows the United States to avoid any unintended consequences such as the cessation of humanitarian assistance, the right thing to do. I hope that the Palestinian Authority will use this opportunity to stop these martyr payments, move away from incitement, and move toward a two-state solution. Again, this bipartisan legislation seeks to compel the Palestinian Authority to stop acts of terrorism, to stop aiding and abetting acts of terrorism against innocent victims, including American Taylor Force.

The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutch) said that if someone drives their car and hits somebody, nothing happens. But if someone drives their car and kills somebody, they get a martyr payment. There is something perverse about that. There is something just wrong about that. And it is something that the United States needs to put its foot down and say, once and for all: We will not tolerate violence.

Finally, let me say that this bill, aptly named as a tribute to Taylor Force, to his parents whom I had the pleasure of meeting, and to all of the people who knew him--he really was the driving force behind this legislation. Because when we heard what had happened, it was so abhorrent, it was so disgusting, that we felt we needed to get together and do something.

So I want to thank the Force family. I want to thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, especially Chairman Royce. This is something that every Member of Congress and both sides of the aisle should vote for.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1164) to condition assistance to the West Bank and Gaza on steps by the Palestinian Authority to end violence and terrorism against Israeli citizens, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include any extraneous material in the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, today we consider the Taylor Force Act. This is bipartisan legislation that honors a courageous and patriotic young American, Taylor Force.

Taylor was an Eagle Scout. He was a West Point graduate who served his country with distinction in Afghanistan and Iraq before he enrolled in Vanderbilt's MBA program. He was a young man with big dreams and loads of potential. Then Taylor's life was tragically cut short at the age of 28 when he was murdered by a Palestinian terrorist while on a business school trip to Israel.

I had the honor of meeting again with Taylor's parents, Stuart and Robbi, who were on Capitol Hill today. They have worked so hard to make this bill a legacy for their son, to ensure that no other family has to experience what they have experienced. They have been so generous with their time, their spirit, their story. We are grateful for all of their efforts, and we wish them comfort as they continue to mourn the heartbreaking loss of their son.

We need to be clear about responsibility for this vicious attack. The Palestinian Authority gives salaries to Palestinians who attack innocent people like Taylor. If the attacker dies, then the attacker's family is compensated under their law. I know it is hard for us to adjust to this, but it is Palestinian law to reward Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails with a monthly paycheck. The Palestinian leadership also pays the families of Palestinian suicide bombers.

It goes without saying that these policies clearly incentivize terrorism. In fact, this perverse pay-to-slay system uses a sliding scale: the longer the jail sentence, in other words, the greater the mayhem created there, the greater the reward. The highest payment goes to those serving life sentences, to those who prove, obviously, most brutal.

This system is a disgrace. It is also the result of an abiding climate of hatred that Palestinian leaders continue to foster toward Jews, toward Israelis.

As one witness told our committee: `` `Incitement' is the term we usually use, but hatred is what we mean . . . teaching generations of Palestinians to hate Jews by demonizing and dehumanizing them.'' That is what democratic Israel faces, and it is not getting any better.

Yet, for a generation, we have given economic aid to the Palestinians, in large part, to try to stabilize their society to promote peaceful coexistence between the Palestinians and Israelis. This goal is undermined every day that the PA makes payments for acts of terrorism. This must stop.

This bipartisan bill cuts off assistance that directly benefits the Palestinian Authority unless the PA takes credible steps to end acts of violence,

stops payments for acts of terrorism, revokes the laws requiring these payments, or takes actions comparable to revoking the laws, and publicly condemns these acts of violence.

Our bill also requires consistent reporting to Congress that clearly explains how the administration makes its determinations. If our assistance is being withheld, the administration must report which of the PA's dangerous actions are continuing so that Congress can determine how to apply pressure going forward.

Too many grieving families go to sleep every night knowing that money is changing hands as a reward for violence that killed one of their loved ones.

With this bill, we are using the weight of U.S. law to help see that no more families--American, Israeli, or anyone--join their tragic ranks. We do this in the name of one brave American, Taylor Force, to honor the memories of all victims and, importantly, help prevent future victims. We also do it in the hopes of peace.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn). He is the author of this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), who chairs the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa. She is also our chairman emeritus.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Zeldin), a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He is the coauthor of this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, let me thank my friend and colleague, Eliot Engel, for his eloquence in explaining the enormity of the tragedy here and the meaning of this terrorism. I think Mr. Engel has been such a diligent partner in not only helping us move this bill through, but helping us run the committee in a bipartisan way. I want to thank him at this moment as we pass this act for all of his work on this issue through the legislation and through the hearings. I think it has had an impact in the understanding of the Members here.

I also want to recognize and thank our former colleague, Senator Lindsey Graham. I have talked with him about this issue. He originated this bill in the Senate. I know also how passionately he feels about this, as do Eliot and myself. I look forward to working with our Senate colleagues to ensure that the bill that we pass here in the House or the Senate bill, either one, the bottom line is that the Taylor Force Act must become law quickly. That is our objective.

The purpose of our aid, as we understand it, is to advance U.S. interests around the world. That is why we give aid. I think all of us can agree that that does not include paying people to commit crimes of terrorism. The Palestinian Authority is flatout undermining U.S. interests by compensating and incentivizing violence, as articulated by my friend, Mr. Engel.

I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill, which ensures that there are consequences for this disgraceful policy and ensures that the U.S. plays no part, even indirectly, in participating in this behavior. The PA giving compensation for violence is beyond the pale. It is long past time that we treat it that way.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1164, the bipartisan Taylor Force Act. I want to thank Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Eliot Engel, who is my friend and colleague and a real leader for our party and for this issue, for all of their hard work and leadership to bring this legislation to the floor. All of us in Congress could learn from and emulate their friendship and bipartisan working relationship, especially when it comes to our foreign policy and support for our vital ally Israel, and in our fight against terror around the world.

I commend the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn) for introducing this important legislation, and I am proud that Ranking Member Engel and I were the very first Democrats in the House to cosponsor this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I serve on the House Financial Services Committee's Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance, where, day in and day out, my colleagues and I track the flow of money to terrorist groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and ISIS through illicit financial networks.

For years, the Palestinian Authority has shamelessly engaged in an equally heinous practice out in the open: the awarding of official payments to terrorists it inspires to go out and kill innocent civilians, including American citizens like U.S. Army veteran Taylor Force.

Israeli citizens live under the constant threats of stabbings, suicide bombings, and vicious terrorist attacks. Palestinian leaders, including President Abbas, have not just refused to call for an end to these attacks or to speak out against those who promote hate and violence, rather, they celebrate, defend, and promote terrorism through an elaborate system whereby the Palestinian Authority literally ``pays to slay.''

That is because for decades the PLO and the PA have provided payments in some form or another to terrorists and their families, as well as various other awards and titles and honorifics, but the practice is especially heinous because today it is enshrined into Palestinian law. The deadlier attacks of terrorism will be rewarded with even more money.

I know because I have read the laws and seen the accompanying payment charts. There is literally a payment schedule based on the severity of the terrorist attack, which encourages more severe and gratuitous violence and terrorist activity.

For instance, a terrorist who slayed three people in 2015, including an 18-year-old American citizen, Ezra Schwartz, who was spending his gap year in Israel and planned to attend business school at Rutgers University in New Jersey, would be rewarded by the PA with a monthly salary--the terrorist--of more than $3,000.

In sum, these payments total hundreds of millions of dollars that the PA redirects from its own budget to pay off the murderers of Jews, Israelis, and foreigners. The Taylor Force Act will eliminate U.S. foreign aid to the West Bank and Gaza that directly benefits the Palestinian Authority until the Secretary of State can guarantee that they have ended these payments. This legislation is carefully targeted to achieve maximum leverage over the PA to end the funding of terror.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation stands in stark contrast to a partisan, one-sided, offensive, and harmful bill recently introduced in Congress under the guise of promoting human rights that would cut aid to Israel for cracking down on terrorism. Israel has the right and obligation to defend itself and its civilians who have been the targeted victims of brutal attacks and murders while going about their daily lives. The United States ought to stand with them by condemning Palestinian incitement.

Members of both parties have been working together to do just that. Since fiscal year 2015, Congress has reduced, dollar for dollar, the amount of money that the PA and PLO pay to terrorists and their families from the Economic Support Fund aid that the U.S. provides. While this has resulted in the reduction of our foreign aid, it has not yet brought an end to this practice.

In May, I joined Representatives Claudia Tenney and Tom Suozzi and 33 of our colleagues who demanded that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson address these terror payments directly with Palestinian President Abbas during his visit to Washington, D.C.

It has been suggested that the PA may be more receptive to international pressure. I am glad that this bill urges the Secretary of State and the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations to highlight this issue with the international community to condemn these horrific acts of violence. But that is simply not enough.

The United States must use every tool at our disposal to counter violence and terrorism. The PLO and the PA may well continue down the path of more hatred, violence, and terror without regard for the damage inflicted or for their role in diminishing the prospects for peace. But so long as they pay citizens to murder civilians, then they will do so without benefiting from the support of the United States taxpayer. There is no question that should be asked about that.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in standing in solidarity with the families of the victims of terror to bring an end to this appalling system of paid violence, and I urge support for this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1164, the Taylor Force Act. This legislation conditions financial assistance from the United States on the Palestinian Authority's termination of support for terror committed by individuals under its jurisdictional control. In order for the Palestinian Authority to receive aid, it would also be required to condemn acts of terror and cease providing payments to those who have committed such acts.

The bill is named after Taylor Force, a former U.S. Army officer who was stabbed to death during a terrorist attack in Tel Aviv.

This legislation is a commonsense solution that we must address. The Palestinian Authority, under the leadership of Mahmoud Abbas, has continued to support efforts that undermine attempts at peace between the Palestinians and our great ally Israel.

The blatant encouragement of terrorist activity by the Palestinian Authority must end. Why should we be rewarding this kind of behavior?

The Palestinian Authority perpetuates terrorism by paying salaries to terrorists who are in prison. To make matters worse, those salaries increase the longer they are in jail, thus encouraging these terrorists to commit more violent acts.

This is unacceptable. The United States must do something to end this conduct because the reality is it is costing innocent lives. I believe the goals of H.R. 1164, the Taylor Force Act, are a step in the right direction, and I urge my colleagues to join me in calling for its consideration and passage in the House.

Low Income Housing

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to draw much-needed attention to our Nation's rental affordability crisis, from rural America to the suburbs, to the big cities, this problem grows in severity each day, limiting Americans' abilities to provide quality food, medical care, and safety for their families.

My home State of Florida has been particularly hard-hit, ranking third among States with the greatest number of severely cost-burdened renters. In my district, the Florida Keys continue to face an affordable housing crisis that has made it difficult for the workers and entrepreneurs of its ever-growing economy.

That is why, earlier this year, I attended the opening of the first- ever affordable housing project for low-income seniors outside of Key West. I have also been working to ensure Naval Air Station Key West, which currently has 166 units on base that have sat vacant for several years, is put to better use. While the process is slow, I am grateful for the Navy's assistance as we work to explore the possibility of opening these units for more affordable housing in the Keys.

Mr. Speaker, finding solutions to making housing more affordable for our constituents, especially the most vulnerable, is a priority of mine here in Congress. I am proud to stand with Mr. Tiberi of Ohio and over 70 bipartisan Members to support his efforts to reform and strengthen low-income housing tax credits. It is time for Congress to work towards responsible solutions and make the rental affordability crisis a priority.

Passage of Sanctions Package

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the passage of sanctions against the Iranian, Russian, and North Korean regimes. This package of sanctions sends a strong message to these regimes that the United States will not tolerate their rogue actions.

These sanctions will hold accountable those involved in the Iranian regime's ballistic missile program, those who attempt to destabilize the region and threaten Israel, as well as those responsible for Iran's ongoing human rights abuses. The legislation also sets us on a path to deter conventional Iranian activities in the region and imposes sanctions on any individual that contributes to Iran's ballistic missiles or to terrorism.

The sanctions against North Korea will respond to its increasingly hostile threats against the United States and our allies in Asia. By increasing the President's authority to impose sanctions on persons in violation of United National Security Council resolutions regarding North Korea, we are ensuring action can be taken swiftly when necessary.

Last, but certainly not least, we have strengthened sanctions against Russia in response to cyber attacks and interference in Ukraine. Specifically, we are increasing sanctions on human rights abusers, those who supply weapons to the Assad regime in Syria, and those conducting cyber activity on behalf of the Russian Government.

Given the seriousness of Russia's aggression, we are strengthening the existing sanctions contained in executive orders on Russia and mandating a congressional review if any sanctions are relaxed, suspended, or terminated. I strongly encourage the President to sign this bill into law and will continue to impress upon all of my colleagues the need to not treat Russia lightly.

These threats posed to our national security by Iran, Russia, and North Korea cannot be understated. With passage of this sanctions package, Congress is doing its job to ensure they will be held accountable.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York, my friend, the ranking member, for yielding.

I rise in support of H.R. 1164, the Taylor Force Act.

Mr. Speaker, the pursuit of a negotiated two-state solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict requires a commitment to peace, but it is impossible for the Palestinian Authority to demonstrate that commitment to peace while paying terrorists for attacks on innocent civilians. But that is the reality today, and that is what this bill seeks to end.

Under current Palestinian law, the PA pays salaries to terrorists and their families more money for worse crimes, typically well exceeding the mean salary for Palestinian workers. If a terrorist is sentenced to life in prison for a horrific attack that kills Israeli citizens, he will get a four-times higher monthly salary than if he had been sentenced to only a couple of years in prison for a lesser attack. This is blatant incentive to terrorism; the same type of terrorism that we have seen tear through buses, shopping malls, nightclubs, and places of worship around the world.

In March of last year, during a surge of deadly stabbings, shootings, and car rammings in Israel, we saw the consequences of this incitement and incentive to terror.

Taylor Force, a 28-year-old American tourist, a West Point graduate and then-Vanderbilt graduate student, who

had fought in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, was stabbed to death on a promenade in Jaffa by a young Palestinian terrorist.

Taylor, by all accounts, was loved and humble. He enjoyed playing the guitar. He was an Eagle Scout and an Army veteran. His father described him as an all-American kid who made sure that everyone around him felt good. A friend of his in Nashville said simply: He made people better.

But rather than unambiguously condemn this attack against innocent civilians, as any responsible government would do, the PA instead has rewarded these types of attacks by paying more than $1 billion to convicted terrorists over the past decade.

It is the job of the Palestinian Authority, like any responsible government, to deliver services to its people, including welfare to those who need it most, like a grieving widow who suddenly has to take care of her family without the breadwinner. But this is not welfare.

The current law essentially tells Palestinians: If you tragically die in a car accident, your family gets nothing; but if you die driving your car into a group of Israeli civilians, your family will be taken care of for life.

That is not welfare. That is incentive to terror. It is pay for slay, and it must end.

I am proud of the bipartisan manner in which today's bill was crafted, and it is carefully written in a way that targets only those funds that directly benefit the Palestinian Authority, thereby creating real incentives for the PA to end this practice without damaging the vital U.S. investments in humanitarian assistance and grassroots people-to-people programs that are essential to achieving our overall objective of peace.

Taylor Force served our country to advance and protect peace. His life was taken by terrorists seeking to undermine peace.

It is our duty to call on the PA to end this indefensible practice of rewarding terror and to demonstrate a real commitment to peace, a peace where Israel can live safely and securely as a Jewish and democratic state next to a Palestinian state that does not seek its destruction.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation honors Taylor Force's name and memory by stopping an abhorrent practice. In his name, and in the name of peace, the PA must end these payments to terrorists, and I urge my colleagues to support this effort to make them stop.