Hamas and Other Palestinian Terrorist Groups International Financing Prevention Act

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.

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.

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.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill), a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mast).

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.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

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. 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. 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

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. 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.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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. Speaker, I rise to address my votes on bills passed through the House of Representatives under suspension of the Rules the week of October 30. 2023: H. Res. 559, H.R. 340, H.R. 3774, and H. Res. 798.

I voted no on H. Res. 559 because it contained language that could insinuate U.S. support for potential military action against Iran at a moment when de-escalation is necessary. This legislation was overly broad, and without an opportunity for proper debate on the House Floor, this bill has the potential to give license to the United States to use any means, including military action, against Iran without Congressional approval.

I voted no on H.R. 340, the Hamas International Financing Prevention Act, because it was intentionally amended to delay humanitarian aid to Gaza, where people are suffering without access to food, drinking water, fuel, and medical care. The United States has rightly designated Hamas as a terrorist organization since 1997--but holding Hamas accountable cannot come at the expense of Palestinian civilians living in Gaza, roughly 40 percent of which are under 14 years of age. This is dangerous, as civilians must be protected under international law.

I voted no on H.R. 3774, the SHIP Act, because the bill contains overly broad language that would have serious impacts on the global economy and the U.S. economy as well. Sanctions are one of the most important and impactful diplomatic tools that we have in managing our relationships and security around the globe. The Executive Branch that administers them needs to be able to adjust and scale sanctions for them to be effective. The waiver within this bill provides the Executive with limited flexibility--rendering the waiver provision nearly unusable.

I voted yes on H. Res. 798 condemning the support of Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist organizations at institutions of higher education because every student deserves a safe environment in which to learn and live. This resolution fails to mention the concurrent rise in anti-Muslim and anti-Arab hate. It is a glaring omission not to include other protected classes. Antisemitism and Islamophobia are on the rise in the U.S., and hatred in all its forms is unacceptable and must not be tolerated anywhere.

All people deserve safety and security, and the only sustainable path forward is one where international human rights and international law are at the forefront and democratic ideals are upheld. Peace must remain our utmost goal in the days, weeks, and months ahead.

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.

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.''