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

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. OGLES. Mr. Chair, April 15, 2019, under the leadership of President Trump, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was designated a foreign terrorist organization.

That is important because the IRGC is guilty of killing and injuring thousands of Americans. They maintain the largest inventory of ballistic missiles in the region. They have developed a range of unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs. They support terrorists in Yemen like Hezbollah and Hamas, oftentimes in violation of international sanctions.

They wield considerable influence on the government of Iraq and frequently threaten the very existence of our ally and our partner, the State of Israel, like they did earlier this month.

The President of Iran just used the U.N. General Assembly as a backdrop for calling for the assassination of an American citizen or American citizens and cited the elimination of Soleimani, the former head of the IRGC, as justification.

Iran will employ all tools and capacities in order to bring justice, they said, to the perpetrator and all those who had a hand in Soleimani's killing.

These are the words of an enemy, and we should spend no funds in overturning that designation. This should be a bipartisan bill. It should have a vote.

Mr. Chair, I urge adoption of this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. OGLES. Mr. Chair, I support the chairman, and I want to put a finer point on it.

In front of the U.N. General Assembly, and I continue, they will ``not rest until that is done,'' that being death to Americans. ``The blood of the oppressed will not be forgotten, and the ropes of the guilty will bring them to justice.''

These folks intend to kill Americans. These folks intend to topple and attack our ally, which is Israel, and I will not stand for it.

I stand before you, Mr. Chair, and ask adoption of this amendment. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle--this should not be a partisan issue. We are talking about the lives of Americans.

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

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. OGLES. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source