Expressing support for the designation of May 2023 as "National Physical Fitness and Sports Month".

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H. Res. 599) urging the European Union to designate Hizballah in its entirety as a terrorist organization.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 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, 3 weeks ago, Hamas launched a brutal and unprovoked terrorist attack on our ally, Israel, from its perch in the Gaza Strip.

Now Israel is engaged in a major military operation in response to the pressing threat posed by this Iran-backed terrorist group. For years, Hamas benefited from the misconception that it was focused on governing the Gaza Strip but make no mistake, there is no difference between the political and military wings of terrorist organizations.

One of Hamas' allies in the region, Hezbollah, also benefits from this misguided fiction that its political and military entities are separate. Like with Hamas, this is unequivocally false. Even Hezbollah's leader himself admits there is no distinction between the two, so it is unfortunate that the European Union includes Hezbollah's military branch on its list of sanctioned terrorist organizations, but not its political wing.

This has enabled Hezbollah to use Europe as a base to plan extremist terrorist activities and exploit global financial networks to pay for them. Right now, Hezbollah is launching near daily attacks on Israel's northern borders with rockets, mortars, and antitank missiles. Every one of these attacks risks the opening of a second front in this war.

Does this sound like the work of a political party? Yet, the EU's continued recognition of this arbitrary distinction between political and military wings allows Hezbollah to continue to operate throughout Europe, even while causing casualties in Israel. This issue has never been more urgent. We must make clear to these terrorist proxies that we are not fooled about their true intention: the destruction of Israel. We must make clear to Iran that it cannot hide behind its terrorist proxies.

Mr. Speaker, I urge our allies in the European Union to designate Hezbollah in full as a terrorist organization.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues in the House to vote in support of this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the right to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, every day that passes risks further escalation from Hezbollah on Israel's northern border.

We must not allow Hezbollah to continue to present the illusion that its political and military wings are distinct. The EU must designate Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization to permanently dispense with this fiction.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I have spoken about Iran, Hamas, and the various bills on the floor today seeking to bring peace and prosperity to the region. That is why I am proud to lead H. Res. 599, urging the European Union to designate Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization.

I thank our former colleague and the current president of the American Jewish Committee, Ted Deutch, for his groundbreaking work on this issue.

Like Hamas, Hezbollah is an Iran-backed terrorist organization committed to the destruction of Israel and of peace throughout the region, and the U.S. has done the right thing by recognizing it as such.

Our good friends in Europe often make a distinction between the organization's political and military wings, seeing the former as a partner they can try to work with. Looking at how Lebanon has been on the verge of becoming a failed state, we cannot underestimate the pernicious role played by Hezbollah.

Hezbollah bombed our Embassy in Beirut in April 1983, killing 63 people. Then, in October of the same year, attacked a Marine Corps barracks, killing 241 Americans.

Their nefarious behavior has never stopped. They murdered Israeli tourists in Bulgaria in 2012 and tried to do so again in Cyprus in 2013. Two years later, they got caught in Cyprus with 8 tons of ammonium nitrate.

That year, Congress passed the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act of 2015, which I was proud to help lead and follow up on in 2018.

Despite our best efforts to counter it, the resolution describes in detail Hezbollah's nefarious activities in Belgium, France, and Germany and throughout the European Union.

I have always said that the world is at its best when America leads. We have led in countering Hezbollah, and now we must urge our European allies to join us as we look at Hezbollah's skirmishing with Israel and loudly supporting Hamas and threatening a war on a second front at a most perilous time.

I hope and trust our European partners will take this as a wake-up call. Hezbollah is a terrorist organization in its entirety and must be designated as such in its entirety.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Manning), my good friend and the vice ranking member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

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

Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 599 is critical for making sure our friends and allies in Europe join us in pushing back against Hezbollah and making sure it no longer can pose a threat to Lebanon, Israel, and the people of the region.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Representative Brad Schneider, for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bipartisan resolution that I reintroduced with Congressman Brad Schneider and colleagues on both sides of the aisle.

This resolution, originally introduced by former Congressman Ted Deutch and passed by the House last Congress, urges the European Union to designate Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization.

Mr. Speaker, the terrorist group Hezbollah is a linchpin of Iran's axis of resistance and is responsible for thousands of civilian deaths in the Middle East and around the globe, including the 1983 Marine Corps barracks bombing in Beirut and the 1994 AMIA Jewish community center bombing in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Until 9/11, Hezbollah had killed more Americans than any other terrorist group. Today, it maintains an arsenal of 150,000 rockets aimed at Israel.

In recent weeks, Hezbollah has fired upon Israel, threatening to open up a second front in the war along Israel's northern border, risking a wider regional confrontation and putting civilians in Lebanon at risk.

Given these facts, it is incomprehensible that any EU member state can credibly assert any distinction between Hezbollah's so-called military and political wings.

The truth is, there is one unified Hezbollah, and it is dedicated to carrying out terrorist activities around the world. That is why this bipartisan resolution calls on our partners in the EU to take a stronger stand against worldwide terrorism by designating Hezbollah as a whole as a terrorist organization.

We must continue to keep pressure on Hezbollah, Hamas, and all other terrorist groups that threaten the United States and our ally Israel, and that undermine peace, security, and stability throughout the region and around the world.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this bipartisan measure.