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98–188PDF 2016

COUNTERTERRORISM SCREENING AND

ASSISTANCE ACT OF 2015; IRAN TERROR

FINANCE TRANSPARENCY ACT; AND END

NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES ACT

MARKUP

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

ON

H.R. 4314, H.R. 3662 and H.R. 1797

JANUARY 7, 2016

Serial No. 114–134

Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/ or

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/

(II)

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas 

TED POE, Texas 

MATT SALMON, Arizona 

DARRELL E. ISSA, California 

TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania 

JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina 

MO BROOKS, Alabama 

PAUL COOK, California 

RANDY K. WEBER SR., Texas 

SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania 

RON DESANTIS, Florida 

MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina 

TED S. YOHO, Florida 

CURT CLAWSON, Florida 

SCOTT DESJARLAIS, Tennessee 

REID J. RIBBLE, Wisconsin 

DAVID A. TROTT, Michigan 

LEE M. ZELDIN, New York 

DANIEL DONOVAN, New York 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia 

THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida 

BRIAN HIGGINS, New York 

KAREN BASS, California 

WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts 

DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island 

ALAN GRAYSON, Florida 

AMI BERA, California 

ALAN S. LOWENTHAL, California 

GRACE MENG, New York 

LOIS FRANKEL, Florida 

TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii 

JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas 

ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois 

BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania

AMY PORTER, Chief of Staff THOMAS SHEEHY, Staff Director

JASON STEINBAUM, Democratic Staff Director 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

MARKUP OF 

H.R. 4314, To require a plan to combat international travel by terrorists 

and foreign fighters, accelerate the transfer of certain border security systems to foreign partner governments, establish minimum international border security standards, authorize the suspension of foreign assistance to 

countries not making significant efforts to comply with such minimum 

standards, and for other purposes ...................................................................... 2

Amendment to H.R. 4314 offered by the Honorable Edward R. Royce, a 

Representative in Congress from the State of California, and chairman, 

Committee on Foreign Affairs ......................................................................... 19

H.R. 3662, To enhance congressional oversight over the administration of 

sanctions against certain Iranian terrorism financiers, and for other purposes ...................................................................................................................... 25

H.R. 1797, To facilitate effective research on and treatment of neglected 

tropical diseases, including Ebola, through coordinated domestic and international efforts ..................................................................................................... 44

Amendment to H.R. 1797 offered by the Honorable Christopher H. Smith, 

a Representative in Congress from the State of New Jersey ........................ 68

LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD 

APPENDIX 

Markup notice .......................................................................................................... 80

Markup minutes ...................................................................................................... 81

Markup summary .................................................................................................... 83

The Honorable Christopher H. Smith: 

Prepared statement .............................................................................................. 84

Material submitted for the record ...................................................................... 85

(1)

COUNTERTERRORISM SCREENING AND 

ASSISTANCE ACT OF 2015; IRAN TERROR 

FINANCE TRANSPARENCY ACT; AND END 

NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES ACT 

THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2016

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS,

Washington, DC. 

The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:06 a.m., in room 

2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Ed Royce (chairman of 

the committee) presiding. 

Chairman ROYCE. This committee will come to order. 

Pursuant to notice, we meet today to mark up three bills. And, 

without objection, all members may have 5 days to submit statements for the record and any extraneous material on any of today’s 

business. 

As members were notified yesterday, we are going to consider 

each bill separately. For each item, after the opening remarks by 

myself and the ranking member, I will recognize any member seeking recognition to speak on the bill. 

So, for the purpose of marking up, I now call up H.R. 4314, the 

Counterterrorism Screening and Assistance Act. Without objection, 

it is considered read, and it is open for amendment at any point. 

And also without objection, as members were notified yesterday, we 

are going to consider this item en bloc with Royce Amendment 92, 

a manager’s amendment that was provided to your offices. And 

that amendment is in your packets. 

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Chairman ROYCE. I now recognize myself to speak. 

So I would like to begin by thanking Mr. Zeldin for his work on 

this legislation. This is the Counterterrorism Screening and Assistance Act. 

Last year, the horrific terrorist attack in Paris, I think, showed 

us how easy it has become for terrorists and for foreign fighters to 

move across open borders. This important legislation makes several 

important changes. It requires the Departments of State and 

Homeland Security to produce an annual scorecard. That scorecard 

would assess the border security efforts of countries around the 

world. This will identify weaknesses and areas for improvement 

abroad, and it will streamline our own efforts to assist partners 

overseas with border security programs. The administration will 

then submit a plan to Congress for prioritizing U.S. assistance. 

The bill also requires the establishment of minimum standards 

for border security. Countries that fail to meet these minimum 

standards can have U.S. foreign assistance suspended, employing 

the same incentive already in place for trafficking and for human 

rights violations. 

This bill reflects the recommendations made by our colleagues on 

the Committee on Homeland Security’s bipartisan Task Force on 

Combating Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel, which we have 

worked together on, by the way. 

And I again thank Mr. Zeldin for his leadership on this critical 

issue and recognize Homeland Security Chairman Mike McCaul for 

his efforts on this legislation as well. 

I now recognize the ranking member, Mr. Eliot Engel, for his remarks on this legislation. 


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Mr. ENGEL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Happy new year to you, 

and happy new year to all the members of our committee. I am 

happy the committee is getting back to work, and I am happy to 

support our first measure today, Mr. Zeldin’s bill, the Counterterrorism Screening and Assistance Act. 

The United States and our partners need to do whatever we can 

to stop terrorists and foreign fighters from traveling across borders. 

Here at home, this bill would ramp up coordination among relevant 

government agencies. Around the world, it would help our partners 

by speeding up the transfer of the software and technology we use 

to track international travel, to collect biometric data, and to assess 

the risk individuals might pose. And this bill would put a particular focus on the countries where the danger of terrorists and 

foreign fighters is most acute. 

The bill is certainly a step in the right direction. I thank Mr. 

Zeldin for his hard work. I will support the measure. 

And I yield back, Mr. Chairman. 

Chairman ROYCE. Mr. Lee Zeldin. 

Mr. ZELDIN. Thank you, Chairman. 

Today, I am asking for everyone’s support of the Counterterrorism Screening and Assistance Act of 2016. 

First off, I would like to thank our committee chairman, Ed 

Royce, and his amazing staff here at the House Foreign Affairs 

Committee. Their incredible leadership and assistance on this issue 

and so many others do so much every day to keep Americans safe. 

I also wish to thank Chairman McCaul, who sits on this committee and serves as the chairman of the House Homeland Security 

Committee, for his efforts on this very important issue as well. 

I also thank the ranking member, Eliot Engel, for his support of 

this effort. 

The Counterterrorism Screening and Assistance Act of 2016 is so 

important for resolving the vulnerabilities that currently exist with 

international security abroad which pose a concerning threat to our 

homeland. 

The horrific terror attacks in Paris, France, that killed over 100 

people were largely carried out by European nationals, many of 

whom traveled to train and fight in Syria and then later returned 

to Europe through Greece and Turkey. Although local authorities 

already knew some of the attackers, they were still able to move 

across borders without detection and, in some cases, use fraudulent 

passports. 

With the rise of terrorism in the U.S. and around the world and 

with the high number of foreign fighters returning from ISIS 

strongholds in Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere, there is a very serious 

and well-recognized need for improved border security and information-sharing between governments. It is essential that the United 

States work together with the global community to monitor and 

stop the movement of terrorists abroad. 

The Counterterrorism Screening and Assistance Act of 2016 

would establish a plan to close security gaps that currently exist 

that allow terrorists and foreign fighters to travel internationally. 

The plan would establish international border security standards 

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retary of Defense, Attorney General, Director of National Intelligence, and Director of the FBI. 

Under the plan, U.S. resources would be utilized in the most efficient way possible, with a special focus on high-risk and mediumrisk countries. 

Under this legislation, a reporting system would also be established to monitor efforts of foreign governments to combat terrorism and foreign fighter travel and to suspend foreign assistance 

to countries not making significant efforts to comply. 

Furthermore, the legislation would put a monitoring system in 

place that would screen for infectious diseases to contain and prevent any potential outbreaks. 

This is a measure that is long overdue, and I am proud to help 

lead the effort in the House. I strongly encourage my colleagues in 

Congress to join in this effort to address a serious national security 

threat and vote today to pass the Counterterrorism Screening and 

Assistance Act of 2016 to keep Americans safe. 

Thank you again, Chairman, for your leadership, and I yield 

back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Zeldin. 

Do any other members seek recognition? 

Mr. McCaul? 

Mr. MCCAUL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank you for 

your hard work on this bill, and the ranking member. 

And, of course, this came out of our Counterterrorism Task 

Force, spearheaded by the majority leader. And I think it was a 

great, sort of, concert of work between the Homeland Security 

Committee and this Committee on Foreign Affairs. 

This holiday season provided, I think, further evidence of the 

high terror threat environment that has become a new norm. Just 

last week, authorities in the United States and Europe disrupted 

multiple ISIS plots aimed at innocent civilians celebrating the new 

year. 

Good intelligence, cooperation, and law enforcement vigilance 

helped prevent these potential massacres, but our enemies are still 

dead-set on conducting external operations against us, and they are 

more capable than ever of doing so. 

ISIS has now inspired or directed nearly 70 terrorist plots or attacks against Western countries, and, as we saw on the streets of 

Paris, they are deploying some of their 30,000 foreign fighters to 

carry out operations across the world. As we all now know, it is too 

easy for these extremists to get to and from terrorist hotspots undetected. Indeed, the mastermind of the Paris attacks bragged on 

ISIS’ online magazine, and I quote, ‘‘I was able to leave and come 

despite being chased after by so many intelligence services.’’

As chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, last 

year I launched a bipartisan Task Force on Combating Terrorist 

and Foreign Fighter Travel to examine this threat. The panel conducted the widest review on the subject since the 9–11 Commission. They uncovered shocking security gaps, especially overseas. 

For instance, many countries lack effective counterterrorism vetting systems. They fail to screen travelers against key law enforcement databases or do little to stop passport fraud. Make no mistake, these weaknesses overseas put us in danger here at home. 

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Our task force issued more than 50 recommendations to close security loopholes, and this legislation today by Mr. Zeldin implements several of them. It will help our allies put in place effective 

counterterrorism tools to more quickly ramp up screening of foreign 

travelers. It will also reduce U.S. Government waste, overlap, and 

duplication. For example, the bill requires agencies for the first 

time ever to coordinate and streamline their numerous assistance 

programs and to focus resources on the highest-risk countries. 

I want to commend John Katko, who led the Task Force on Combating Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel, and then also Mr. 

Zeldin from New York for his hard work on this bill. I would like 

to thank this committee, also, again, for their close collaboration 

with my committee. 

We have a lot more work to do, but I believe this is a very important step in keeping terrorists and foreign fighters from getting 

into the United States and from threatening Americans. 

And, with that, I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Any other members seeking recognition? 

Judge Poe. 

Mr. POE. I want to thank the chairman. 

As chairman of the Terrorism Subcommittee, Ranking Member 

Keating and I have had numerous hearings on the problem of foreign fighters traveling to Iraq and Syria to fight for ISIS and then 

going back to home countries. They are coming into Syria by the 

tens of thousands. It is a pace so high that just as many new fighters are coming in as our strikes are killing. These fighters are dangerous because, unlike local fighters, they easily launch attacks 

back in their home countries, primarily the West. We know there 

are dozens of Americans fighting in Iraq and Syria right now. 

I do want to thank the chairman and ranking member for passing out of this committee and on the House floor the Foreign Terrorist Organization Passport Revocation Act, which helps stop the 

flow of foreign fighters back here into the U.S. by revoking their 

passports. And hopefully the Senate will take this bill up soon. 

I support the Counterterrorism Screening Assistance Act because 

the foreign-fighter problem is not a problem we can solve by ourselves. We need our partners to have a strong border security. We 

should not be giving any foreign aid to countries who do not take 

this threat seriously. 

And I will yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Mr. Rohrabacher was seeking recognition. 

Mr. ROHRABACHER. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

First of all, I would like to thank you and Ranking Member 

Engel for the great leadership that you are providing to our country at this pivotal moment in our history when our people are in 

danger. And you and Mr. Engel have shown the bipartisan spirit 

that I think could give confidence to our people that their elected 

Representatives are united to defeat this threat that would murder 

our children if they had the chance. 

I would also like to congratulate Chairman McCaul for the energetic leadership that he is providing on that half of this operation 

to protect our people. 

But I would like to add one note here on this bill and to our approach. I was somewhat shocked to find out that lie-detector tests 

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are playing such a small role in trying to help us accomplish our 

mission. 

And all I can say is that I may have an amendment that I would 

provide on the floor, if it is considered a legally acceptable amendment, that would in some way require us—I mean, when we are 

talking about screening for terrorism, at the very least anybody 

coming here should have to go through, like, a 5-minute lie-detector 

test. We have new lie-detector technologies that are very simple 

and don’t have to have, you know, three or four people there—you 

have one person—and we can tell if someone is lying to us. 

No one—no one—should come into this country, who has any potential of being involved with terrorism, without taking a lie-detector test. That could have stopped—for example, in San Bernardino, 

all we needed to do was ask that lady who was getting her visa 

to come in, just ask, ‘‘Would you be inclined to commit an act of 

violence against Americans?’’ And if the answer is yes, of course we 

are not going to let that person in. Right now, we do not have that 

screening. 

So, Mr. Chairman, both Mr. Chairmans, I hope that we can work 

together so that within a very short period of time people who are 

coming from these terrorist countries, in particular, but perhaps on 

a global scale—is there any reason why, when they are asking for 

a visa, we can’t just ask two or three questions on a very cheap 

lie-detector machine? Because they are now available. So that 

would be my goal. I am looking forward to working with both of 

you to see if we can implement that. 

By the way, just to note, this was Ken Calvert’s idea. And when 

he said that to me, I just said, ‘‘That is terrific,’’ and that is why 

I am running with it. 

So thank you. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Rohrabacher. 

Any other members seeking recognition? 

Hearing none, the question occurs on agreeing to the bill en bloc. 

All those in favor, say aye. 

All those opposed, no. 

In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it, and the en bloc 

items are agreed to. 

Without objection, this legislation, H.R. 4314, is ordered favorably reported, as amended. Staff is directed to make any technical 

and conforming changes. And the Chair is authorized to seek 

House consideration under suspension of the rules. 

All right. Moving on to the next bill, this is H.R. 3662, the Iran 

Terror Finance Transparency Act. Without objection, the bill is considered read and open for amendment at any point. 

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Chairman ROYCE. And I would recognize myself to speak here. 

First, I want to recognize Congressman Russell for his work on 

this legislation. 

Since the Obama administration completed the Iran nuclear 

deal, Iran has taken a series of steps that I think were unanticipated by most of us. It has accelerated its missile program; it has 

violated the U.N. sanctions in doing so. It has taken an additional 

American hostage. It has stepped up the slaughter that is going on 

in Syria. Recently, we watched on television the torching of the 

Saudi Embassy, with the authorities arriving there too late after 

that. And we saw the launch of a rocket within 1,500 yards of our 

carrier, the Truman, in the Gulf. 

So the situation is such that these violations of U.N. sanctions 

are coming at the same time when, in a few weeks, Iran is going 

to receive out of escrow tens of billions in sanctions relief. So the 

question here is one of pushback, given the violation of U.N. sanctions. 

Indeed, reported sanctions on Iran’s missile network were just 

shelved. There was an intention—Congress had been notified or the 

indication was that this condition was going to be taken, and then 

a decision was made, after pushback from Iran, not to go forward. 

So, as members will recall from Secretary Kerry’s testimony before us, it was not supposed to be this way. The administration told 

us while pursuing a nuclear deal that it would not let up the pressure on Iran’s ballistic missile program, nor would it let up the 

pressure on terrorism that was supported by Iran. And that is the 

point here of this legislation. And it is an attempt here to hold Iran 

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Before sanctions on a particular person or institution can be lifted, the President must certify that they have not done business in 

a way that supported Iran’s ballistic missile or conventional weapons programs—after all, it is supposed to be 5 years on the conventional and 8 years on the ballistic missiles before Iran is able to 

go forward, according to the U.N. sanctions on that—nor that that 

individual has done business with a terrorist organization—you 

know, for example, the Quds Force, which Soleimani is responsible, 

literally, for assassinations outside of Iran. That is his job description. And so connection with that, those individuals should still be 

on that list. 

Unfortunately, we now understand that some of those set for 

sanctions relief—and we will take an example of one of their banks. 

Iran’s Bank Melli will be given a pass for backing ballistic missile 

development and also, by the way, backing terrorism. And when 

the Treasury Department sanctioned Bank Melli back in 2007, it 

noted that the institution had provided banking services first to the 

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and then to the Quds Force. 

And, as we all know, the IRGC has committed acts of terrorism, 

gross human rights violations, and has done the missile tests that 

we saw very recently, in violation of the U.N. sanctions. 

Bank Sepah, one of Iran’s largest banks, will be another prime 

winner of sanctions relief in the coming days. And when that bank 

was designated, again, January 2007, Treasury Under Secretary 

Stuart Levey at the time noted, ‘‘Bank Sepah is the financial 

lynchpin of Iran’s missile procurement network, and it has actively 

assisted Iran’s pursuit of missiles capable of carrying,’’ in his 

words, ‘‘weapons of mass destruction.’’

With Iran’s ballistic missile program accelerating, including a 

December rocket launch, again, that came within 1,500 yards of 

our carrier, is anyone comfortable giving what Treasury called the 

‘‘financial lynchpin’’ here a jackpot? 

To be clear, those Iranian banks and individuals not supporting 

terrorism, not supporting ICBMs, they can be delisted. That is the 

agreement. They should be delisted. But not so for those threatening our national security. That is what this legislation does. 

And it is the policy the administration explained to this committee as the way that the agreement was structured, the way that 

our conduct was supposed to be structured going forward that, 

frankly, this legislation attempts to implement here. 

So I now recognize the ranking member for his remarks on the 

bill. 

Mr. ENGEL. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

As I have said many, many times, I am so proud of this committee and its members on both sides of the aisle. We are really 

an exception to the typical partisan fighting the American people 

so often unfortunately associate with Congress. And under your 

leadership, Mr. Chairman, we have taken up bill after bill with bipartisan backing; we have carried out oversight on key national security objectives; we haven’t wasted our times on political targets, 

as so many other committees have done; and we have embodied the 

spirit that politics should end at the water’s edge. I have used that 

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foundly value our personal friendship and our excellent working relationship. 

I must say, though, that I have to oppose this bill. This bill is 

an exception, I think, to bipartisanship, in that no Democrats were 

consulted in terms of the drafting of the bill. I know the bill is wellintended, but it isn’t done the way things should be done, where 

we put our heads together in a bipartisan fashion, we come up with 

a bill, and we go back and forth and eliminate some things, add 

some things, and move forward in a bipartisan way. 

This measure really has no chance of becoming law. And what 

bothers me—you know, yesterday, we had a vote on the Affordable 

Care Act to repeal it 62 times. Now this is the second time we have 

tried to overturn the JCPOA agreement. 

Everyone in this room knows how I feel about Iran. I thought we 

were wrong to allow Iran to continue enriching during the talks. 

I voted against the nuclear deal, and I continue to believe that the 

agreement is deeply flawed. I see Iran for what it is: The world’s 

leading state sponsor of terrorism and a destabilizing force across 

the Middle East. 

But Congress had an opportunity to vote on the deal, and we 

lost. There weren’t enough votes to override a veto or even send a 

resolution of disapproval to the President, and the agreement has 

now gone into effect. I believe it doesn’t serve any purpose to have 

bills like this that are designed to kill the deal. 

I don’t want to vote 62 or 63 times on killing the Iran agreement. 

We already had had one several months ago, and this is now the 

second one, and I am afraid we are following the same path that 

we are following with the Affordable Care Act. Congress has spoken, and it is done. 

And I think that we have to work together on bipartisan legislation that will hold Iran’s feet to the fire on its nuclear program and 

hold the regime accountable for its support of terrorism and other 

nefarious activities and also to help our ally Israel with her legitimate security needs. 

So I don’t think it serves any purpose to take up a partisan bill 

like this that is designed to kill the deal. We know it is not going 

to go anywhere. We know that if it passes both Houses the President will veto it. 

I would rather put our heads together, as we have done so many 

times in the past 3 years, to work together to have a bipartisan bill 

that achieves what we all want on both sides of the aisle. We want 

to hold Iran’s feet to the fire. We want to make sure that they are 

sanctioned again for other things than the nuclear capabilities, 

that they are sanctioned for their support of terrorism, and that we 

have to continue to hold their feet to the fire. 

I was disappointed that the administration this week mentioned 

that it was going to impose some sanctions on Iran and then 

seemed to pull it back. We have to hold Iran’s feet to the fire. 

But the only way we can effectively do that is in a bipartisan 

way. So we have been working; my staff has been working. We are 

trying to come up with legislation. We have gone a long way. And 

I would hope that, ultimately, we can introduce this legislation 

with you, Mr. Chairman, with me, working together in one bill, 

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with other members of this committee working together with one 

bill. 

I would like to do what we did in this committee, where we have 

repeated so many times—and it almost sounds unbelievable. If people had listened to Chairman Royce and myself back in 2013 when 

this committee unanimously, with not one negative vote, passed an 

additional Iran sanctions bill, which we were proud of, and then it 

passed on the floor with 400 ‘‘yes’’ votes. That is the kind of bipartisan bill I would like to see us do now to hold Iran’s feet to the 

fire. 

So there is no shortage of good ideas as to how to achieve these 

goals, and we can do this. So I am going to oppose this bill. I hope 

that we can, again, get together and come up with a bill that does 

what this bill does. But a bill like this, which has sponsors only 

from one of the political parties—all the sponsors are Republicans. 

And to be fair to Mr. Russell, he did ask me about going on the 

bill, but Democrats had no part in drafting the bill, no part in formulating the bill. And if we are going to have something that 

moves forward and makes sense, we have to do it in a bipartisan 

way. And, unfortunately, I don’t believe this is the way to go about 

it. 

So I am going to oppose it. I hope we can pick up the pieces because, again, the President will surely veto this if it pass both 

houses. And I am hoping to come up with a bill that the administration can understand that we in the Congress feel very strongly 

about holding Iran’s feet to the fire. 

Mr. Chairman, everything you said, I agree. Everything you 

mentioned, I agree. Everything you talked about, with the threat 

to Iran, I agree. I just don’t believe this is the way to go about 

doing it. 

Thank you. I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Engel. We have mainly produced bipartisan legislation on this committee. That is my preference. It is the preference of the ranking member, I know. 

Any additional members seek recognition? 

Judge Ted Poe. 

Mr. POE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I was one who voted against the Iranian deal. I thought it was 

a bad deal. But Mr. Engel is right; it is a deal that is made with 

America and Iran. 

But the situation is getting worse under the deal. The administration is bending over backwards and conceding even more than 

what is required in that deal. It may be hard to believe, but, as 

bad as the deal was, the administration is, it seems to me, making 

it worse. And I think Congress has an obligation to speak out because it is a national security issue. 

The President promised that the non-nuclear-related sanctions 

on Iran would still be in place. And after Iran violated a U.N. resolution restricting ballistic missiles, the Treasury Department told 

Congress it would levy new sanctions on Iran for these violations. 

But then the State Department came swooping in at the last 

minute and stopped those sanctions from being implemented. So it 

seems that the administration continues to give in to Iranian pressure. 

39

I support H.R. 3662 because it prohibits the President from lifting sanctions on those who are involved in terrorism. Iran is the 

world’s leader of state sponsors of terrorism. The nuclear deal was 

a bad deal, and we don’t need to make this deal worse by lifting 

sanctions in unrelated matters. 

And I will yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Other members seeking recognition? 

Mr. Sherman. 

Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Chairman, you have seen me on this committee for almost 20 years. I have always voted for every Iran sanctions bill—big ones and small ones, those that were the product of 

great drafting, those that were the product of mediocre drafting—

and I asked only why we couldn’t make the bill stronger. This committee should craft good legislation to impose additional sanctions 

on Iran. 

First, the question was, do sanctions work? Well, we just concluded a deal in which this House and this Government was incredibly divided. The only thing we agreed on was one thing, and 

that is sanctions worked. President Obama came to us and said, 

sanctions have worked, and he had secured for us a very good deal. 

Those on the other side said, sanctions are working, keep them in 

place, you will get a better deal. Those sound like diametrically opposed positions except they both indicate that Iranian sanctions 

worked. 

Secretary Kerry was here. President Obama talked to us in so 

many ways. And they said they left out of these negotiations missiles, terrorism, and then four—today it is five—American hostages 

because we could use sanctions to achieve those goals separately. 

That is why we ought to be adopting new sanctions. So the question is, do we do it through this bill at this time? 

Now, I think Mr. Russell has some good ideas. And if we do not 

pass this bill, we ought to incorporate the best of those in a bipartisan piece of legislation and thank him for his effort. 

This bill has some flaws. As the ranking member points out, it 

is the product of a uni-party rather than bipartisan process. We 

will do better if we work together. 

Second, it is my understanding that this bill focuses on the 400 

entities listed in the JCPOA, this Iran deal, that are supposed to 

have their sanctions lifted but does not deal with 300 others, 

roughly 300 others, that were not specifically listed. So we are 

using the power of Congress to go after those Iranian entities that 

our negotiators thought should be given a lifting of at least the nuclear sanctions, and we are not going after the perhaps even worse 

roughly 300 entities. 

In addition, we are asking the President to certify that entities 

have not engaged in various activities since the beginning of time. 

This bill would be more reasonable if it was crafted to say has not 

engaged in such activities for the last 10 years or the last 15 years. 

So I look forward to better Iran sanctions legislation. Although 

I will point out one thing about the timing of this bill. Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium has now been shipped out of the country, 

virtually all that they promised to ship out. 

So we have already gotten the good parts of this deal. If Mr. 

Machiavelli were advising us, he would say now is the precise time 

40

to pull out of the deal, since we have gotten the good parts delivered to us already. I don’t think that is the process America will 

take. I do not think that this is a—that this is like a spectacularly 

well-timed bait-and-switch program with the Iranians. 

So I look forward to a better process. I look forward to a better 

deal. I will reluctantly oppose this bill. And I think in the future 

we need sanctions designed, as the President promised we would 

have, to change Iran’s behavior in supporting terrorism, in seizing 

hostages, and in developing missiles in violation of U.N. sanctions. 

And let me say that if Iran never had a nuclear program but engaged in violating U.N. sanctions on missiles, seized American hostages, and killed tens of thousands of people in Yemen and Syria, 

we would be imposing sanctions. We shouldn’t fail to do so simply 

because a deal strictly designed to focus on their nuclear program 

was signed by the President but not endorsed by Congress. 

I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Do any other members seek recognition? 

Hearing none—Mr. Deutch. 

Mr. DEUTCH. Thank you. Thanks, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. Chairman, as you know, I deeply appreciate the commitment 

that you and the ranking member share to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. This committee has been vigilant in its 

oversight and has worked in a bipartisan fashion to move numerous pieces of legislation that have had significant impact on Iran’s 

nuclear activities. 

But, unfortunately, today’s legislation doesn’t advance our shared 

goal of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons or halting 

Iran’s dangerous and destabilizing regional activities. 

I opposed the nuclear deal, and, in doing so, I laid out my express concern that sanctions relief would only further Iran’s 

unyielding support for terrorism and its regional belligerence. And 

those concerns haven’t changed. Iran’s bellicosity continues. In the 

last 3 months, Iran has launched two ballistic missile tests in blatant violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, and it has done 

so with impunity from the international community. 

And if the U.N. Security Council fails to punish Iran for its violations, the United States must act. In fact, Representative Kennedy 

and I wrote to the President more than a month ago, asking him 

to take appropriate action to punish Iran for these missile tests. 

And based on this week’s public statements from the White House, 

I am confident the administration will do so. 

I also expressed directly to the administration the need to ensure 

that any entity that is subject to sanctions removal under the nuclear deal be carefully investigated and resanctioned if they are 

found to be engaging in support for terrorism or human rights 

abuses. 

This bill, unfortunately, doesn’t give us the tools to do that. Instead, it halts the removal of sanctions on those specific 400 entities named for sanctions relief in the JCPOA until the President 

can certify that these entities have never engaged in activities related to terrorism or the development of weapons of mass destruction. 

This standard will result only in the administration devoting significant time and resources to a certification that can never be met, 

41

while preventing the implementation of the JCPOA. I believe that 

we should instead be ensuring that the Treasury Department has 

the resources it needs to build rock-solid cases against those entities that must be redesignated for terrorism and human rights 

abuses. 

Let’s devote the necessary resources to sanctioning individuals 

and entities who support terrorism and violate human rights, rather than spreading them out in a way that is going to make that 

more difficult. Going forward, we should be giving this and future 

administrations all the resources needed to ensure that those subject to sanctions under U.S. law pay the price for bad behavior. 

I have also, Mr. Chairman, repeatedly made the case for economic sanctions against Iran and its terror allies. As one of the 

original sponsors of the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act, which was signed into law by President Obama last 

month, we aimed to cut off Iran’s terror proxy from the international financial system. 

This bill purports to prevent banks from financing Iran’s terror 

agenda by amending one of the most important economic sanctions 

laws on the books, the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010. 

I was proud to be a member of this committee when we passed 

CISADA, and, under that legislation, banks facilitating transactions that supported Iran’s efforts to acquire WMDs, finance terror, launder money, support the IRGC, et cetera, will be denied access to U.S. financial markets. In fact, section 104 of that bill specifically refers to entities that provide support for organizations 

designated as foreign terrorist organizations under section 219(a) of 

the Immigration and Nationality Act. 

The bill before us today adds the Iranian terror proxies 

Hezbollah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to CISADA. Now, 

of course, we want to stop banks from facilitating transactions to 

these terrorism organizations, but, unfortunately, some of our European friends distinguish between the military and political wings 

of terrorist groups. They shouldn’t, and I have spoken out against 

this artificial distinction. But whether we agree with that policy or 

not—and I have taken numerous actions over the years to convince 

our European friends that there is no distinction between a political wing and a military wing of a terror group—they are following 

EU law. And because of this discrepancy, by naming these specific 

groups in CISADA, as this bill does, it would have the potential to 

cut off European banks from the U.S. financial system. 

And even as we continue to urge them to recognize that a terrorist group is a terrorist group, we also ought to be working with 

our allies to craft the toughest sanctions to crack down on Iran’s 

dangerous activities, and let’s not lose that necessary focus on Iran. 

Finally, whether you supported the nuclear deal or not—and, 

again, I didn’t—it is going forward. So instead of looking for partisan ways to try to stop the deal, we should be looking for bipartisan ways to try to ensure that it is enforced with vigor and with 

the most stringent verification and compliance and, if a violation 

occurs, that we have the tools and the teeth behind those tools to 

enact punishing new sanctions, hopefully with the support of our 

international partners, but, if not, then certainly with the full 

42

weight of the United States Government, and, finally, to be certain 

that sanctions arising from terrorism and human rights abuses 

that were never a part of the nuclear deal are fully enforced. 

I hope, Mr. Chairman, this committee continues to live up to its 

reputation as the most bipartisan committee in Congress and that 

we work together to craft legislation that honors our most solemn 

duty: To protect the national security interests of this country. 

And I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Deutch. 

Mr. Trott. 

Mr. TROTT. I want to thank Representative Russell and Chairman Royce for scheduling this markup. 

This deal was a bad deal in September; it was a bad deal in October when we considered it. The deal is predicated on Iran becoming a productive member of the world community. We are about 2 

months into the deal, and, as has been duly noted by both sides 

of this committee, Iran’s behavior has gotten worse. 

It is also clear that the President—probably because if he took 

any action with respect to this deal he would be admitting failure 

and be admitting that he made a mistake—it is clear the President 

will not take action to enforce the terms of the deal. So we in Congress have to do something. 

I am supporting H.R. 3662 because we in Congress have to take 

advantage of every opportunity we can to remind the President and 

remind the world you cannot do a good deal with a bad guy. And 

so if Ranking Member Engel is correct and the President vetoes 

this bill, then I look forward to working on any and all bipartisan 

legislation that can protect us and the world from Iran. 

I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Mr. Connolly? 

Mr. CONNOLLY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

I simply want to add my voice to that of Mr. Engel, Mr. Deutch, 

Mr. Sherman. I also share concerns about Iranian behavior and 

want to find efficacious and bipartisan ways to address that. 

This is not one of those. This is an attempt to embarrass and to 

undermine. And that is not how we ought to be doing business in 

this committee, and it is not how the Congress, as a legislative entity, a branch of government, ought to be contributing to American 

foreign policy. 

Whatever happened to the Arthur Vandenberg standard that our 

differences end at the water’s edge? That was a good standard that 

helped create a much more stable foreign policy for decades. 

So we can yield to this temptation today and make a point, but 

at what expense? 

The gentleman indicated that the President will veto this bill 

and then he looks—then—he looks forward to working in a bipartisan basis to find solutions. How about now? How about, just once, 

resisting the temptation to engage in partisan activity, especially 

when it comes to foreign policy? 

That is not the standard we have set on this committee. I applaud the chairman and the ranking member for setting a much 

more civil and thoughtful standard on this committee. Unfortunately, this bill is an exception to that otherwise commendable approach to a very important subject. 

43

I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Connolly. 

Do any other members seek recognition to speak on the bill? 

Hearing no further requests for recognition on the underlying 

bill, are there any amendments? 

Hearing no further requests and seeing that a quorum is present, 

the Chair now moves that H.R. 3662 be favorably reported to the 

House. 

All those in favor, say aye. 

All those opposed, no. 

In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it, and H.R. 3662 is 

ordered favorably reported to the House. 

I have been notified that some of our members may wish to file 

additional minority or dissenting views regarding this bill as part 

of the committee report, as allowed by the House and committee 

rules. If at all possible, I would ask that you transmit any such 

views to the committee clerk by 4 p.m. on Friday. And I want to 

remind members that such views should be personally signed by 

the member in order to be included in the report. 

I now call up our third bill, last bill, H.R. 1797, the End Neglected Tropical Diseases Act. Without objection, it is considered 

read. It is open for amendment at any point. 

And also without objection, as members were notified yesterday, 

we will consider it en bloc with Smith Amendment 73, which was 

provided to your offices on Tuesday. 

[The information referred to follows:]

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Chairman ROYCE. And I will now recognize myself. 

This bill is the End Neglected Tropical Diseases Act. It will better target and coordinate our ongoing efforts to treat and control 

and eliminate neglected tropical diseases, which affect 1 billion 

people on this planet. It exacts a devastating human and economic 

toll. 

And these tropical diseases tend to prey on the world’s most vulnerable, on people living in extreme poverty in developing countries, but they also pose a public health threat here in the United 

States. As we speak, Hawaii is enduring an outbreak of dengue 

fever. And that was introduced through international travel. 

So the bill contains two titles. Title I falls under the jurisdiction 

of the Foreign Affairs Committee and is what we are considering 

today. And we look forward to working with the Energy and Commerce Committee on Title II. 

We really, all of us, I think, want to thank Mr. Smith for his 

work on this important bill. 

And I now recognize the ranking member to speak on the bill. 

Mr. ENGEL. Thank you again, Mr. Chairman. I want to also, as 

you just did, thank Mr. Chris Smith for offering the End Neglected 

Tropical Diseases Act. 

When we use this term, ‘‘neglected tropical diseases,’’ we are 

talking about infectious diseases that thrive in tropical and subtropical areas. They are spread not just by humans but through 

animals and also through infected soil or water. These diseases 

take a particularly high toll on poor populations in developing 

countries. 

Diseases like these stifle growth and progress even when we 

know how to treat them. That is why, a decade ago, President 

Bush launched the Neglected Tropical Diseases Program at 

USAID. The Obama administration carried this work forward, and, 

by 2014, this effort has led to 1 billion treatments worldwide. So, 

again, talk about bipartisan cooperation. 

Now we need to stay focused on this work. Mr. Smith’s bill would 

make sure our existing efforts to deal with these diseases are working to get treatments where they are needed most and as quickly 

as possible. It also supports continued research and development at 

USAID so that we can stay on the cutting edge of diagnostic methods and treatment options. 

Let me also note that the challenges posed by neglected tropical 

diseases intersect with our other global health priorities—priorities 

such as AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria relief. It is important not 

to focus our energies on one challenge at the expense of another 


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but instead recognize opportunities for collaboration across health 

and development programs. Only when programs work efficiently 

and in concert can they bring timely and complete relief to patients. 

So I believe we should all support this bill and build on our 

record of success in this area. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Engel. 

Mr. Smith. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for 

your strong support for this legislation, and Ranking Member 

Engel, for Joan Condon’s wonderful work, Catherine Barnao, and 

Greg Simpkins on my staff. 

This is a truly bipartisan piece of legislation attacking a terrible 

pandemic that has cost the lives of millions of people and made 

people extremely ill—the morbidity rate is very, very high—and 

susceptible to a great number of opportunistic diseases that hit 

when people carry worms and parasites. 

And the numbers are off the charts, in terms of people who have 

neglected tropical diseases. One-point-four billion people is the estimation by the World Health Organization, and about 2 billion people, mostly very poor, are at risk. 

Although we are finding that tropical diseases know no borders. 

And they have found their way big time, as you pointed out, in Hawaii with dengue fever, but a large number of other tropical diseases have made their way particularly into the southern parts of 

the United States—Chikungunya, as well as Ebola, although a 

very, very limited amount there, of course. 

These diseases need to be attacked in the greatest way possible. 

My subcommittee has had five hearings on tropical diseases. One 

of our star witnesses was Dr. Peter Hotez, who literally wrote the 

book, from Baylor, and has done wonderful work in terms of delineating the challenges as well as the huge gaps that remain. 

So, again, we are going to do everything we can with this legislation to try to be an all-of-Government effort—from CDC, HHS. 

And, as you pointed out, Title II of the bill has been referred to the 

Energy and Commerce Committee. And one of the provisions there 

is to establish a center or centers of excellence devoted to researching, preventing, and hopefully treating these NTDs, because they 

are taking the lives of so many people. 

So I thank you again, Mr. Chairman. 

Without objection, I would ask that my statement be made a part 

of the record. 

This is a bipartisan bill, as I pointed out. And I do want to thank 

Chaka Fattah, the chief Democrat cosponsor; Matt Salmon, who 

has done yeoman’s work on this issue and cares deeply about it; 

Mr. Johnson, Mr. Meadows, Rangel, and Walberg; my ranking 

member, who is also a cosponsor, for her support for it. 

And, again, we need to move this forward. And I think it will literally save many lives, not around the world only, but in this country as well. 

I yield back. 

Chairman ROYCE. Thank you, Mr. Smith. 

Any other members seeking recognition? 

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Hearing no further requests, are there any additional amendments? 

Hearing none, the question occurs on agreeing to H.R. 1797 en 

bloc. 

All those in favor, say aye. 

All those opposed, no. 

In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it, and the en bloc 

items are agreed to. And, without objection, 1797 is ordered favorably reported, as amended. And staff is directed to make any technical and conforming changes. 

So that concludes our business for today. And I want to thank 

Ranking Member Engel and I want to thank all of you on the committee and our staff for the work that went into today’s markup. 

The committee is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 10:57 a.m., the committee was adjourned.] 

(79)

A P P E N D I X 

MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD

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MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD BY THE HONORABLE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, 

A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY


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