Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2024

Floor Speech

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Ms. TENNEY. Mr. Chair, I rise today to introduce my amendment to reduce the salary of Special Envoy to Iran Robert Malley to $1.

While President Biden has made a series of bad political appointments, Rob Malley, the special envoy, may be one of the worst. Before even joining the administration, Rob Malley had a history of legitimizing organizations like Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group. He has blamed Israel for Palestinian terrorist attacks, and has helped negotiate the disastrous 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Despite his history, the Biden administration appointed Mr. Malley to be the Special Envoy to Iran. Not only did Mr. Malley tarnish the great work of previous envoys like Brian Hook and Elliott Abrams, but Malley was working to circumvent U.S. law by striking a deal with Iran without first disclosing the contents of this deal to Congress.

The Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, otherwise known as INARA, requires deals with Iran must be disclosed to Congress, whether in writing or not. However, Mr. Malley worked for years and, according to some reports, reached an oral agreement with Iran, yet still nothing has been disclosed to Congress.

In June, Envoy Malley was placed on unpaid leave due to an investigation into mishandling of classified information, which case has been referred to the FBI for criminal investigation and prosecution. Was Malley handing over State secrets to Iran? We still don't know, and the administration is refusing again to update Congress.

Most concerningly, a recent bombshell report revealed that three top aides to Malley were part of an Iranian Government network. That is right, the Special Envoy to Iran's self-appointed top aides were potentially compromised Iranian assets. This is beyond incompetent. This could be criminal. It could be treasonous, and it is the very definition of harming U.S. national security.

While Mr. Malley is currently on unpaid leave pending an investigation, he cannot be allowed to return to his post. For that reason, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Unfortunately, my co-lead on this, Mr. Ogles from Tennessee, is not able to be here.

Mr. Chair, this amendment is simple. The American people should not be forced to support a top-level government official who surrounded himself with foreign assets from a designated sponsor of terrorism.

If you care about U.S. national security, you should support this amendment. If you oppose a corrupt nuclear deal with Iran and oppose the despotic Iranian mullahs, you should support this amendment.

If you oppose state sponsors of terrorism having premier access to the U.S. Government, then you should support this amendment.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to defund Rob Malley's salary and make it clear that this House stands against compromised foreign assets.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
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Ms. TENNEY. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of my amendment to prohibit any Federal funds to be used to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel out of Jerusalem.

In October 1995, Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act. This bill passed this Chamber by a vote of 374-27 and passed the Senate by a vote of 93-5. That is overwhelming.

Members spanning the political spectrum from Speaker Gingrich to Senator John Kerry voted for this bill requiring the President to move the U.S. Embassy to its rightful capital in Jerusalem.

However, Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama waived this provision every 6 months, often claiming that such a move would jeopardize the peace process between the Israelis and the Palestinians. This did nothing to support the peace process, as Palestinian terrorism continued to target Israeli citizens.

Finally, in 2018, President Trump fully implemented this law and moved our U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, the undisputed capital of the State of Israel.

While some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle expressed opposition to this move, it would be ludicrous to have our Embassy outside the capital of one of our greatest allies.

The fact of the matter is that we cannot go back. We cannot allow the Biden administration to move the Embassy out of Jerusalem again.

This amendment should not be controversial. Again, this was originally passed in 1995 on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis.

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Ms. TENNEY. Mr. Chair, at this time, when Israel faces some of its greatest threats such as Iran and Palestinian terrorism, we must stand resolute with our greatest ally in the Middle East, Israel.

Any attempts to relocate the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem would delegitimize Israel's sovereignty and would be counterproductive to encouraging peace negotiations.

Any theoretical negotiation with the Palestinians must revolve around the fact that Jerusalem is the undisputed capital of Israel and has been since ancient times.

Some of my colleagues have argued that this amendment is unnecessary since President Biden does not intend to move the Embassy. If that is the case, then my colleagues should have no problem voting for this amendment.

Mr. Chair, I urge all of my colleagues to stand with Israel, our greatest ally in the Middle East, and support this amendment.

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

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Ms. TENNEY. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

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