Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 5, I call up the bill (H.R. 23) to impose sanctions with respect to the International Criminal Court engaged in any effort to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any protected person of the United States and its allies, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act, a bill that I am proud to have worked on with my colleague and friend, Chip Roy, a bill that sanctions International Criminal Court officials and their families and anybody who is assisting them.
Why? It is because they are targeting America's allies, who are right now the front line of fighting to bring American hostages home from Gaza.
America is passing this law because, on November 21, 2024, the International Criminal Court's Pre-Trial Chamber issued warrants for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel's former Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant.
Let me explain that in a more detailed way. America is passing this law because a kangaroo court is seeking to arrest the Prime Minister of our great ally, Israel, who is not only responding to an enemy which conducted a genocide, killing as many men, women, and children as possible, even beheading some of them, on October 7, 2023, but an enemy who still holds 100 hostages, scores of bodies of those that they murdered, including 7 of my fellow Americans. Let me say that again. Israel is the tip of the spear in bringing the fight to an enemy who currently holds and has killed our fellow Americans.
Israel has conducted this war with as much restraint as war can allow. In the face of horror, they have shown humanity. We know that for Israel, any civilian dying is a tragedy, and we know that for Hamas and the Palestinians who support them, civilians dying is quite literally their strategy for victory.
Hamas' strategy uses hospitals and schools as bases for combat operations. It is not that some fighter accidentally walked into a hospital for 5 minutes carrying their machine gun. No, they build hospitals and schools into fortified launching points for attack. In clear violation of the laws of armed conflict, Hamas deliberately targets civilians.
What the ICC is doing with their arrest warrants is legitimizing the false accusations of Israeli war crimes in order to do something to stop the overwhelming success of Israeli military operations.
Mr. Speaker, I don't care if a person is a terrorist in a cave or if they are a lawyer in The Hague. If they are getting in the way of bringing home our Americans or bringing home our allies who are, as we speak in this very moment, bound, blindfolded, tortured, raped, enslaved, starved, facing execution, if you are getting in the way of bringing them home, then we will give you no quarter. We will certainly not allow you to be welcomed to American soil.
We are the people's House. Let me translate what was just said: It is not a priority for the people's House to do everything possible to get our people home, to include getting in the way of those who are getting in our way.
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Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, what the gentleman did say very clearly was that this legislation is not a priority, and this legislation is meant to get in the way of those who are getting in our way from getting our Americans home.
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Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Lawler), a patriot.
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Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining.
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Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I would remind everybody that every time my colleagues across the way rise, they rise to oppose legislation that would get in the way of those getting in our way of bringing Americans home. That is what they are standing against. That is what they are rising against.
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Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I remind my friends across the aisle that Americans are being held and tortured. Get with the American team, and get in the way of those that are getting in our way.
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Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman across the aisle is right. We need everybody working to get hostages home to get this resolved. That means not giving an iota of recognition to kangaroo courts, like the ICC, who are trying to prevent Israeli military success, who are conducting their brand of anti-Semitism against Israeli leaders, preventing Americans and our allies from being returned home.
Again, Israel is the tip of the spear in bringing American hostages home, and anybody who gets in their way is getting in our way.
THE SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bost). The gentleman from Florida has 10 minutes remaining. The gentleman from Massachusetts has 16\1/2\ minutes remaining.
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Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, since I have 10 minutes remaining, I am going to sit here in silence for 2 minutes and see if my colleague from Texas shows up.
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Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, that is a good lesson. Thanks. I will remain standing here.
Mr. Speaker, it appears we will have no more speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, the statement of the gentleman from the other side is as untrue now as it was when he gave the same speech a few months ago on this very floor.
I would say the message is clear to everybody: Don't get in America's way as we are trying to work with our allies to get our Americans home and our allies home.
Mr. Speaker, this bill sends an incredibly important message across the globe when we make this law: Do not get in the way of America or our allies trying to bring our people home. Do not get in our way. You will be given no quarter. Again, you will certainly not be welcomed to American soil.
This bill is even more urgent today than when it was first passed back in June of last year. In June, the ICC's prosecutor had only just requested warrants. The warrants had not yet been issued or approved. There was still time for the ICC to abandon this shameful effort. Instead, the ICC's attempt to obstruct Israel's right to defend itself has only prolonged the war and prevented the release of American hostages by boosting the morale of Hamas. If you are boosting the morale of Hamas, you are on the other team.
In November, the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber approved the arrest warrants. We have to pass this bill today to prevent this travesty from moving any further and to deter any more illegitimate actions by this kangaroo court to halt or stall the military success of our allies trying to bring hostages home, American, Israeli, and others.
Mr. Speaker, for that reason, I call on every single one of my colleagues to put America first by voting for this legislation today, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
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