No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. SELF. Madam Chair, I rise today in support of Chairman McCaul's bill to ensure no funding for Iranian terrorism. While I am stunned by what I heard from my colleague across the aisle, I will try to bring clarity to this.

In August, President Biden surrendered access to $6 billion to Iran-- make no mistake about it--for five hostages. Once again, he demonstrated weakness to our adversaries. In doing so, he signaled to Hamas that his administration is willing to reward hostage taking.

The policy of the United States for years was no negotiations with terrorists or with hostage takers. We knew at that time that precedent was powerful. Now, weak precedent is dangerous.

In October, Hamas official Ali Baraka said of the $6 billion deal: ``The U.S. conducts prisoner swaps. Only recently, it did one with Iran. Why wouldn't it conduct a prisoner swap with us?''

Now, Hamas is holding the West hostage, the entire West hostage, as they fortify their defenses while Israeli hostages are traded for Palestinian prisoners, including terrorists.

There is only one language that is understood by our adversaries, and that is strength.

Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this bill and send a message that we will not fund the radical jihadist agenda.

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Mr. SELF. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

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Mr. SELF. Mr. Chair, this bill already contains behavior-based termination criteria for the sanctions described. Our sanctions on Iran should not disappear on an arbitrary date. Our sanctions need to remain in place until Iran stops threatening the United States, as already described in the bill.

Iran has been a state sponsor of terrorism for over 40 years under, I might add, the same terrorist administration in Iran. If we put a 5- year sunset on this bill, Iran and its terrorist proxies will think they can just wait us out.

After October 7, it became clear that we need to take every possible measure available to deter Iran and its proxies. The best way to project American strength is to make it absolutely clear that our sanctions will remain in place until Iran no longer poses a threat to the United States.

Therefore, I oppose this amendment to add an arbitrary sunset, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. SELF. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Clyde).

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Mr. SELF. Mr. Chair, may I inquire as to the time remaining.

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Mr. SELF. Mr. Chair, deterrence is based on strength and the willingness to use it.

In my time in the Middle East, I understood that our adversaries there, including Iran and its proxies, understand only strength. If we put an arbitrary sunset clause in this bill, it will be demonstrating weakness and not strength.

Mr. Chair, I oppose this amendment. I encourage my colleagues to vote against it, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. SELF. Mr. Chair, I move that the Committee do now rise.

The motion was agreed to.

Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Self) having assumed the chair, Mr. Clyde, Acting Chair of the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, reported that that Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5961) to freeze certain Iranian funds involved in the 2023 hostage deal between the United States and Iran, and for other purposes, had come to no resolution thereon.

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