Iran Counterterrorism Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Mrs. KIM of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Chairman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my bipartisan bill, H.R. 6323, the Iran Counterterrorism Act.

Israel is confronting a critical moment as it fights for its right to exist. Iran and its proxies continue to attack our greatest ally in the Middle East and the lone democracy in the region.

As a key financial supporter of Hamas, Iran has sought to indirectly wage war against our Israeli allies. This was demonstrated by Hamas' barbaric attack on October 7.

Now, Iran's hostility has become direct. Last weekend, Iran attacked Israel with drones and missiles launched from Iranian soil. This shows how the ayatollahs are seeking to open up another front as Israel fights for survival.

Iran's aggression underlines the need for greater congressional oversight when the executive branch waives U.S. sanctions on Tehran. That is the focus of H.R. 6323.

Under current law, the United States imposes secondary sanctions against foreign financial institutions that do business with blacklisted Iranians. However, using the law's waiver authority, President Biden eased some of these sanctions last September.

Just as Hamas was preparing its assault, the Biden administration greenlit the transfer of $6 billion in Iranian funds in exchange for the release of five American hostages. The waiver did nothing to deter Iran from its continued attempts to destroy Israel.

H.R. 6323 does not affect past waivers, but it will help ensure that waiver authority cannot be abused. This bill would require Iran to end its support for international terrorism before another waiver could be invoked.

If Iran continues to fund terror and the White House seeks a sanctions waiver, this legislation will give the Congress a period to review that action. It will also give Congress an opportunity to reject a misguided waiver. That is common sense.

This bill does not discriminate between Republican and Democratic administrations. Any President who wishes to facilitate Iran's access to the global financial system will have to notify Congress 30 days in advance, so contrary to the ranking member's assertion, this is a reasonable measure that puts on guardrails.

Right now, the President has to notify Congress 15 days before waiving the sanctions. With this bill, we are extending that to 30 days and 60 days if we are in an August recess.

The review period will allow Congress to examine the merits of the waiver and pass a joint resolution of disapproval under expedited procedures, which would prevent the waiver from taking effect. Alternatively, Congress can choose to support a waiver or not to act at all. In both of those cases, the waiver would go forward.

Some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle said yesterday that they will not be supporting because they don't trust Congress to act. I will emphasize that if there is inaction from Congress, the President will be able to proceed with that waiver.

Additionally, some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle say that this bill does nothing to counter Iran and its growing aggressiveness. Well, I have to disagree with those of my colleagues who say that. Certain actions by the administration have paved the way for Iran to not fear the consequences of its actions.

H.R. 6323 does not prejudge future waivers. It simply gives Members a say before Tehran can get its hands on any additional funds.

This congressional review process is taken from an existing law targeting Russia, the Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions Act, which passed the House in 2017 by a vote of 419-3. We can all agree that Tehran deserves as much scrutiny as Moscow.

I will finish with this. Nothing in H.R. 6323 affects existing sanctions exemptions for food, medicine, and medical devices. These are blanket exemptions that Congress has already built into the sanctions laws that we are discussing today, and nothing in this legislation would change that.

The Financial Services Committee passed this legislation in November in a bipartisan vote of 30-19. I am confident that it will receive support from Members on both sides of the aisle if it is considered on the House floor.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, Democrats and Republicans, to take action to confront Iran, stand with our greatest ally, Israel, and support H.R. 6323.

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