Standing Against Houthi Aggression Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. CLYDE. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman McCaul for his leadership on this bill, as well. It is greatly appreciated.

Mr. Speaker, I am grateful that we are considering my bill, H.R. 6046, the Standing Against Houthi Aggression Act, today.

This legislation would reimpose the foreign terrorist organization designation on the Iran-backed Houthis, as well as reinstate additional sanctions against the group.

The Houthis have long been a source of terror and violence, not only to Yemen, but to the whole region. Yet, for incalculable reasons, the Biden administration refuses to call them what they are. They are terrorists.

President Donald Trump rightfully classified the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization in January of 2021 after a series of heinous attacks against civilians. However, in a shocking and politically motivated retraction, the Biden administration reversed President Trump's decision just 1 month later, further empowering the Iran-backed Houthis in their acts of terror.

The Houthis have carried out a series of ongoing attacks in recent months, including ballistic-missile and unmanned-aerial-vehicle attacks against international shipping vessels in the Red Sea. The attacks began last year when Houthi forces landed a helicopter on a cargo vessel and seized the crew. Since then, there have been more than 40 attacks on commercial ships by the Houthi rebels.

We express our deep gratitude to the brave men and women of the USS Carney who have taken defensive measures against the Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles on multiple occasions to safeguard the waters of the Gulf of Aden.

Tragically, two Navy SEALs were recently lost at sea and later declared deceased after a U.S. operation to intervene and seize Iranian weapons being transported to the Houthis. American blood has been spilled because of the Houthi terrorists.

Additionally, over this past weekend, the Houthis joined Iran's assault on our greatest ally in the Middle East, Israel. While the Israeli Iron Dome and the United States Central Command thankfully intercepted 99 percent of the projectiles, the Houthis' growing aggression represents an existential danger in the region.

In response to these ongoing attacks, the Biden administration felt pressured, and so they recognized that they had to do something. Therefore, they designated the Houthi movement as a specially designated global terrorist group in January, but this lower-tier designation is simply not enough. It comes nowhere close to matching the force of a foreign terrorist organization designation.

President Trump designated the Houthis as both, and they should be both designations. The foreign terrorist organization designation, as provided in this bill, goes much farther, allowing for special criminal penalties for materiel support, like military supplies; immigration restrictions; and the ability for victims to seek damages. H.R. 6046 would require that the Houthis receive the foreign terrorist organization designation within 90 days after the enactment of this bill.

The Houthis' intentions are abundantly clear, but by passing my bill, we make our intentions perfectly clear, that the United States does not bargain with, nor capitulate to terrorist regimes.

Mr. Speaker, as the sponsor of this legislation, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support H.R. 6046, the Standing Against Houthi Aggression Act, to forcefully show that there will be consequences for the Houthis' egregious acts of terror.

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