Urging the Biden administration to rescind the release of $6,000,000,000 in frozen Iranian funds and to lawfully enforce the Taylor Force Act.

Bill: 118-hres-776
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17]
Introduced: 2023-10-11
Policy area: International Affairs
Latest action: action_date: 2023-10-25
text: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-10-11
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">This resolution condemns the release of $6 billion in sanctioned Iranian funds and urges the immediate rescission of the waiver that allowed for the transfer of such assets. It also condemns potential violations of the Taylor Force Act, which prohibits U.S. foreign assistance from directly benefiting the Palestinian Authority except for certain humanitarian purposes. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;" />

tv_txt: IV 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 776 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES October 11, 2023 Mr. Lawler (for himself, Mr. Zinke , Mr. Bilirakis , Ms. Malliotakis , Mr. Posey , Mr. Feenstra , Mr. Smith of New Jersey , Mr. Langworthy , and Ms. Greene of Georgia ) submitted the following resolution October 25, 2023 Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Urging the Biden administration to rescind the release of $6,000,000,000 in frozen Iranian funds and to lawfully enforce the Taylor Force Act.

Whereas, on October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists carried out a brutal attack on Israel in which they launched thousands of missiles, slaughtered innocent civilians, including children and the elderly, and took over 100 hostages into the Gaza Strip; Whereas Hamas is a United States-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization with strong ties to Iran; Whereas Iran has long provided financial support, weapons training, and other support to Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command; Whereas there have been reports of Iranian involvement in the planning and execution of the October 7th Hamas terrorist attack against Israel; Whereas, on September 11, 2023, the Biden administration notified Congress about an agreement to release $6,000,000,000 in sanctioned Iranian funds and give clemency to 5 Iranian criminals in exchange for the release of 5 American hostages; Whereas the Biden administration’s negotiations with the terrorist Iranian regime incentivizes hostage taking and delegitimizes United States sanctions; Whereas the Biden administration has defended this ill-thought-out agreement by arguing that the $6,000,000,000 does not include any taxpayer dollars and are merely Iranian funds that will go toward humanitarian aid; Whereas at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on September 14, 2023, experts confirmed the clear concept that money is fungible, and releasing frozen dollars to Iran will free up other money to be spent on other activities, such as Iran’s support for terrorist groups like Hamas; Whereas, in direct contradiction of the Biden administration’s talking points, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stated This money belongs to the Iranian people, the Iranian Government, so the Islamic Republic of Iran will decide what to do with this money , according to his translator; Whereas, on March 23, 2018, President Donald Trump signed into law the Taylor Force Act ( 22 U.S.C. 2346 ), which prohibits United States assistance from directly benefitting the Palestinian Authority until the Palestinian Authority halts payments from their Martyr’s Fund to individuals who commit acts of terrorism against Israel; Whereas the Taylor Force Act also urges United States officials to highlight this pay-to-slay policy at United Nations meetings and to urge other countries to halt payments to the Palestinian Authority; Whereas the Palestinian Authority continues to operate the Martyr’s Fund and subsidize terrorism; Whereas, despite the passage and continued standing of the Taylor Force Act, the Biden administration increased aid to Palestinians, refrains from highlighting the existence of the Martyr’s Fund at the United Nations, and encourages other countries to provide assistance to the Palestinian Authority; Whereas, while the fault of the attack lays on Hamas and its terrorist allies, the Biden administration’s continued appeasement of terrorist regimes and soft-on-terrorism policies have emboldened these barbarians; and Whereas, in light of Israel’s war, it is critical that the United States supports our ally by halting all funding to Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, Iran, and their terrorist allies complicit in the attack: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1) condemns the Biden administration’s release of $6,000,000,000 in sanctioned Iranian funds to Iran and urges the immediate rescission of the waiver that allowed for the transfer of these assets; (2) condemns the Biden administration’s violations of the Taylor Force Act and urges the law be carried out in full; and (3) supports our ally Israel in its war against terror.