Iran Counterterrorism Act of 2023

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, at the Rules Committee yesterday, the sponsor of this bill, Mrs. Kim, said that we would need to pass this bill in order to send a strong message to Iran that its unprecedented attack over the weekend was unacceptable.

I agree that the attack was unacceptable. It is wholly unclear how this bill, in any way, sends any such message. The bill would do nothing to deter another act by Iran. Instead, it would make it harder for the President to respond to emergency situations, including humanitarian crises.

Under current law, a President has the authority to waive sanctions only if they determine that such a waiver is vital to the national security of the United States and submits a report to Congress providing justification for the waiver. The authority also limits a President to a waiver period of 180 days, and they must comply with the same requirements in order to renew the waiver.

This is an authority that has been in place for decades and has been used effectively by Republican and Democratic Presidents to protect our national security. It is designed to allow the President to be nimble in response to situations that threaten our national security.

This bill would hamstring this limited waiver authority by prohibiting the President from moving forward with a waiver until a waiting period of up to 70 days have passed.

Let me repeat: It would prohibit the President from moving forward with a waiver until a waiting period of up to 70 days has passed.

During this waiting period, American hostages could be languishing in a foreign prison, victims of a major catastrophe could be suffering, or tensions between American allies and adversaries could be escalating to result in a war.

While any number of major threats to our national security are unfolding, this bill would impose an unreasonable waiting period during which the President would be required to jump through hoops as Congress holds hearings, receives briefings, and requests further information. This is an untenable way to handle emergency situations.

Further, by hamstringing our ability to respond quickly, this bill could very well create a rift between us and our allies abroad who are relying on us to support them in critical moments.

Let's be clear: The current law already provides for transparency on any waivers by requiring reports to Congress explaining the rationale for any waivers. Congress already has every right to do robust oversight by holding hearings, receiving briefings, and requesting further information to better understand the justification for any waivers. We don't need this bill to allow us to do that.

The difference in this bill is that the President is subjected to a long waiting period, during which untold damage could be inflicted on the United States, our relationships with our allies, and our standing on the international stage.

After decades of a shadow war between Israel and Iran, and months of combat between Israel and Hamas that has resulted in thousands of civilian casualties, this weekend's attack by Iran has brought us even closer to the precipice of an all-out war in the region.

This is not the time to be tying the hands of our President to respond to emergencies, and this is not the time to be risking a rift in our international relationships with allies.

Moreover, limiting our ability to facilitate the funding to provide humanitarian relief for people in need, as this bill would do, is simply shameful. It degrades basic American values supporting the life and dignity of all people.

At the Rules Committee hearing yesterday, the bill's sponsor also claimed that the Biden administration had weakened sanctions on Iran and that this bill was designed to make it harder for the President to do so in the future, but the Biden administration's Iran sanctions program is the most extensive set of comprehensive sanctions against any country.

In fact, the Biden administration has ramped up pressure on Iran since the Trump administration by imposing sanctions on hundreds of additional individuals and entities for activity related to Iran, including the illicit sale of Iranian oil.

The Biden administration also successfully seized a tanker carrying Iranian oil, which was ``the first-ever criminal resolution involving a company that violated sanctions by facilitating the illicit sale and transport of Iranian oil,'' according to the Department of Justice.

In fact, some of the examples that Republicans have cited for sanctions waivers that Biden has implemented were merely renewals of waivers that were initiated under the Trump administration. National security interest waivers, including those that facilitate humanitarian exceptions to sanctions, have long had bipartisan support, including under the Trump administration.

This is just another example of the double standard that Republicans use to fuel their political talking points. They are desperately trying to find a way to blame the Biden administration for Iran's latest attack when there is simply no real basis to make that connection.

Republicans are also applying a double standard to Ukraine and Israel. They are jumping to support our ally Israel and punish Iran, but they have been holding up badly needed funding for Ukraine, thereby emboldening our shared enemy, Russia.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 6323 will do nothing to stop or even deter Iran from attacking Israel again, nor will it end the humanitarian disaster and war in Gaza or help any of our allies under attack by authoritarian regimes. This bill does nothing to help Ukraine or provide Taiwan with any assurance that we have their back. Instead, this bill will have America sitting on its hands while any number of threats to our own national security unfold.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject this bill and affirm that America will continue to be a beacon of hope for people around the world.

Mr. Speaker, if my GOP colleagues want to combat terrorism finance, the way to do that is not through convoluted congressional waiting periods and lengthy proposal processes, tying the President's hands. Rather, I have a solid, bipartisan bill to propose, one which passed our Financial Services Committee markup with a unanimous vote of 50-0. That bill, my bill, is the Stopping Illicit Oil Shipments Act of 2023, H.R. 6365.

The bill would target Iran's oil shipments and the Iranian ghost fleet, which is one of the biggest sources of funds for the terrorist Iranian regime. Iran and Russia both use this tactic to circumvent U.S. and allied sanctions. In fact, it is estimated that 2 million barrels of oil are transported daily on these ghost ships.

If Republicans were serious about countering Iran and Russia, they could have brought this bill to the floor with these other provisions, a bill that passed markup with the same bills considered this week.

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Ms. WATERS. Jackson Lee).

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished ranking member of the full Financial Services Committee for yielding, and I thank the chairman of the full committee as well for giving me the opportunity to raise concerns and to say that we all stand with our ally Israel and the horrors of waking up and being targeted by 300 drones and being absolutely struck by this terrorist attack.

I just came from a meeting with an Iranian-American diaspora organization working for a free democratic Iran who were stunned by Israel being attacked by 300 drones. This bill has consequences which I think are extremely important and worth looking at by our constituents and our community, which is what I wish to do.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, the Iran Counterterrorism Act would require the President to obtain a congressional resolution of approval before waiving certain sanctions on Iran. This would cause us to have greater deliberation with the President.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring concerns but to recognize that this is an important step that we need to digest and discuss in order to make the right decision to safeguard the people in the region but also the free, democracy-wanting people of Iran.

In September of this year, the Biden administration negotiated an exchange with Iran for the release of five American citizens detained by Iran. In exchange, the Biden administration agreed to not block the transfer of the Trump-approved $6 billion in Iranian assets that were the proceeds of Iranian oil purchased by South Korea.

Under the agreement, the funds would be transferred from a restricted account in South Korea to a restricted account in Qatar, where funds would be used exclusively for the purchase of humanitarian goods for Iranian citizens. The transfer did not authorize disbursement of funds, and the sanctioned Government of Iran has not and will not see a penny of that money.

Moreover, Treasury has stated that the U.S. and Qatar have agreed to effectively block the funds for the foreseeable future. Contrary to Republican claims, it is not accurate to tie this $6 billion to Hamas' attack on October 7 because that attack was being planned for multiple years, likely beginning under the Trump administration.

Mr. Speaker, last Sunday, we received notice that the majority would be moving several Financial Services bills the very next day. This has put Members and staff in the difficult position of assessing and understanding multiple complex bills in a matter of hours in order to cast an informed vote.

The justification for jamming these bills through so quickly is allegedly to respond to Iran's attack on Israel over the weekend. Instead of taking the time to work in a bipartisan manner on bills that would actually increase pressure on Iran, Republicans are politicizing this moment, pointing the finger at the Biden administration, and rushing to pass bills like this one that don't actually provide any real solutions.

In response to Iran's latest attacks, they are just desperately trying to prove that they are doing something instead of taking the time to do something meaningful that actually has a chance to pass the Senate also.

Democrats and Republicans agree that we should be doing everything possible to crack down on Iranian leaders and terrorists. Instead of debating legislation that will accomplish this shared goal, we are here debating legislation that will only make it harder for us to respond quickly to crises.

Put simply, this bill would endanger our own national security and degrade our international standing. For these reasons, I oppose this bill and urge my colleagues to do the same.

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