Bill Huizenga

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, to quote the great American President, Ronald Reagan: ``There you go again.'' Attack the President-elect, and try to throw out red herrings. The bill that we have before us has two simple titles, the Iran Financing Prohibition--and I will read section 101: ``The Secretary of the Treasury may not authorize a transaction by a U.S. financial institution.'' Section 102, Revocation of Prior Authorizations: ``If the Secretary of the Treasury authorized any transaction described under section 101 before the date of the enactment of this title, such authorization is hereby revoked.'' We are halfway through. Section 2, Title II, No Ex-Im Assistance for Terrorism. It simply says that there is a prohibition--on section 202: ``Prohibition on Export-Import Bank Financing that would Benefit Iran.'' That means direct financing. That would be subhead A. Indirect Financing, meaning you can't have a third party get that lending from the Export-Import Bank, by the way, a U.S. taxpayer-funded bank. So that is subhead B. And C is Cancellation of Approved Financing, if they have done that already. This bill is not that complicated, and this bill does not cite any particular company. It does not limit any company from selling aircraft to Iran, no matter how big of a mistake that might be. It simply says--as I might add, Secretary Jack Lew, Secretary of the Treasury, said in April of this year: There will be no U.S. financial institution financing this deal. And we have added that second section, that second title that says: There will be no use of the U.S. taxpayer- financed Export-Import Bank. That is all this bill says. So you have heard attacks on the President-elect. You have heard attacks on the Export-Import Bank and whether this is going to be good or bad for U.S. employers and employees. The simple fact is, Mr. Speaker, that this bill, H.R. 5711, says: We are not going to allow U.S. financial institutions, and U.S. financial institutions only, to be used to finance these deals; and we are not going to allow the Export-Import Bank of the United States to be used, either directly or indirectly, to finance that deal. Iran can go put this deal together with other banks in Asia, Europe, anywhere else in the world that they can find it, but not here in the United States and not using taxpayer dollars. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Dold), a distinguished Member, friend, and former member of the House Financial Services Committee.

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the balance of my time?

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Poliquin), a distinguished member of the House Financial Services Committee.

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Washington, who has been a big proponent of the Export-Import Bank and a particular company that he was alluding to and talking about, knows, though, that this bill would apply to any aircraft that the Treasury authorizes for Iran. That includes the 17 Airbus planes for Iran Air. And he brought up, actually, offshore profits. Well, according to Bloomberg, Boeing has $800 million--$800 million in profits stashed offshore; and the reports are that Boeing is pursuing these deals with the Japanese bank already, not a U.S. bank. And apparently the company is less worried about this bill and that financing than my friend from Washington is. So this is simply about saying that Iran does not have direct access to the U.S. financial system. I don't understand why my friends and colleagues on the other side of the aisle are so freaked out by that. This is simply about making sure that our banking system is not going to finance this deal indirectly or directly and that the use of the Export-Import Bank would be prohibited. This amendment says it is a sunset to this bill upon Presidential certification that Iran has ceased support of international terrorism-- a goal we all have. So if the President can support that and certify that, then this falls away. So we do not say that this deal is not allowed. We simply say that U.S. financial institutions cannot be used for this and that we cannot and will not use the Export-Import Bank--a U.S. taxpayer-funded entity--to do this. At the end of the day, in April of this past year, Secretary Jack Lew told us that there will be no access; and either he misled the United States citizens and this body at that time or they changed their mind. They haven't told us which, but neither one is acceptable. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Will the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Schweikert), a member of the House Committee on Financial Services.

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I would like to inquire as to the balance of the time remaining on both sides.

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. That is actually not true. Airbus is subject to this as well because of the significant number of parts and material in the jets that they produce. So they would be subject to this as well as Boeing.

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to submit extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill), who is a member of the Financial Services Committee and a former Treasury official.

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. When our fellow Americans deposit their earnings in a U.S. bank or entrust the government with their tax dollars, they do so assuming that their money will not be used in ways which undermine the security of our very Nation and, frankly, of the world. The legislation we are debating tonight is a package of bills that is designed to prevent the Obama administration from further undermining the trust of the American people and the security of our Nation, as well as the security of our allies. Under President Obama's nuclear deal with Iran, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the JCPOA, the administration agreed to authorize the export of civilian aircraft to Iran. What the JCPOA did not include was authorization for the U.S. financing of those sales. As Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said in April in a Council on Foreign Relations speech: ``Iran, complied with the nuclear agreement. Therefore, the nuclear sanctions are lifted. I think that that is a process that is becoming more and more clear. And we'll keep our part of the bargain there. But the U.S. financial system is not open to Iran and that is not something that is going to change.'' Again, that was Secretary Jack Lew in April of this past year. Mr. Speaker, something changed. In September, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control issued licenses to Airbus and to Boeing that permitted the sale of up to 97 airplanes to Iran Air, the country's flagship, state-owned carrier. These licenses didn't stop there, however. By going beyond the scope of the JCPOA, they also authorized U.S. financial institutions to ``engage in all transactions necessary to provide financing or other financial services'' related to the Iran Air orders. My bill, H.R. 5711, would prohibit the Secretary of the Treasury from authorizing U.S. financing through American banks in connection with the export of commercial aircraft to Iran just as the administration claimed was U.S. policy to begin with. This bill would keep Americans' deposits away from a country that the President's own State Department calls ``the world's foremost state sponsor of terrorism'' and which the Treasury has designated as ``a jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern.'' Let me repeat that. The State Department, itself, says this is the world's foremost state sponsor of terrorism, and the Treasury Department has designated a jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern. How many more red flags need to go up? Under this bill, Americans would not have to fear that their savings are being channeled to Iran Air, which was sanctioned by the Treasury in 2011 for ferrying soldiers and weapons of war to Syria--the site of a 5-year conflict that has claimed a half a million lives and has displaced millions more. This is the same Iran Air that a U.N. report concluded had shared ballistic military technology with North Korea and is the same Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps whose deputy commander called for an end to Israel, making note of more than 100,000 missiles that were ready ``for the annihilation--the wiping out--and the collapse of the Zionist regime.'' Additionally, research by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies shows that Iran Air's support of the Assad regime continues to this very day. Why should U.S. banks and their customers be implicated in Iranian atrocities? I would submit that there is no reasonable answer to this, which is why this commonsense prohibition, when offered as an amendment to this year's Financial Services appropriations bill, was passed by this very body--the House of Representatives--by a voice vote. However, this bill goes even further, Mr. Speaker. Not only will H.R. 5711 protect Americans' bank accounts, it will prevent their tax dollars from being used through the Export-Import Bank to subsidize aircraft sales to Iran. It would be through direct transactions or third-party leasing, which is becoming more and more common. This codifies and strengthens an existing Ex-Im prohibition that is renewed in annual appropriations bills. For that reason, this measure enjoyed the support of Ex-Im supporters and critics alike when it came before the Financial Services Committee. H.R. 5711 combines the text of two bills that were reported by the Committee on Financial Services; one of them sponsored by me and the other by Congressman Roskam of Illinois. Both pieces of legislation were cosponsored by our Democrat colleague, Congressman Sherman of California, who has devoted years to Iran policy, both as a member of the Financial Services Committee and of the Foreign Affairs Committee. I thank Representative Sherman and Representative Roskam for working with me on this very important legislation package; and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this important bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Roskam), a leader on this issue who is the author of H.R. 5715.

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot), who is the chairman of the Small Business Committee, but also a previous chair of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa.

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, at this point my amendment adds a short title and clarifies the nature of prohibited Iranian transactions. The amendment also provides for a sunset of the bill's provision upon presidential certification that Iran has ceased support of international terrorism. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Rothfus), a member of the House Committee on Financial Services.

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Williams), who is also a member of the House Financial Services Committee.

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 921, I call up the bill (H.R. 5711) to prohibit the Secretary of the Treasury from authorizing certain transactions by a U.S. financial institution in connection with the export or re-export of a commercial passenger aircraft to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the question of adopting a motion to recommit on H.R. 5711 be subject to postponement as though under clause 8 of rule XX.

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, this is going to be from the heart. My family is originally from Flint, on my mom's side. I have had very many fond memories growing up as a child going and visiting aunts and uncles and cousins. I have recently visited those who have been affected, and it is tragic. Mr. Chairman, the simple fact is that if these were folks that had been affected by the breach of a dam or by a nuclear plant meltdown, we would not be turning our backs on them; we would be taking care of them. We should be doing the exact same thing with the folks in Flint. These folks have experienced failure of government at all levels for decades: local, State, and the Federal Government. That has been well acknowledged. But what we have not talked about is how we are going to then care for those citizens. Let's fix the management issues, but, more importantly, let's care for our fellow citizens and make sure that those children, especially, are going to have the same opportunity as every other child in Michigan and the United States.

Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Chair, I am offering this amendment because Great Lakes ports and harbors are facing a crisis. I want to thank the chairman of the committee for his willingness to work on this situation, not just in this bill but in previous bills as well. The Great Lakes navigation system is a critical international waterway that extends from the western end of Lake Superior to the Gulf of St. Lawrence Seaway on the Atlantic Ocean, a distance of over 2,400 miles. The U.S. portion of the system includes 140 harbors and over 600 miles of maintained navigation channels. This system can handle 200 million tons of cargo that generate and sustain around 130,000 good- paying jobs and an $18 billion support to our economy in the eight Great Lakes States and around the country. However, 16 million cubic yards of sediment clogged these ports and waterways in the Great Lakes. It is estimated that it would cost nearly $200 million to make them fully functional. In addition, the critical Soo Locks, joining Lake Superior and Lake Huron, require $115 million to complete maintenance rehabilitation while Great Lakes breakwaters and jetties need $250 million for repairs. We must act before the crisis in the Great Lakes grows even worse. Just 2 years ago, the House overwhelmingly passed the Water Resources Reform and Development Act 412-4, and it was later signed into law. WRRDA 2014 included a provision that temporarily set aside 10 percent of Army Corps priority funding for the Great Lakes navigation system. Consistent with the spirit of WRRDA 2014, my amendment provides the 140 federally maintained commercial and recreational Great Lakes ports and harbors with access to dependable funding by ensuring that the set- aside does not expire. These Federal harbor channels, like Pentwater, White Lake, Ludington, Muskegon, Holland, and Grand Haven in my district, are the lifeblood of these communities. The Federal Government must meet its obligation to communities across the Great Lakes region. These ports and harbors are engines of economic growth that create jobs for American workers, farmers, and manufacturers. As the chairman knows, it would be my preference to ensure that ports and harbors across our Nation are properly maintained by using the harbor maintenance trust fund for its intended purpose: harbor maintenance. By working together since 2011, we have made significant progress. In fiscal year 2011, only 47 percent of the harbor maintenance tax that was paid into the HMTF was used to dredge and maintain our harbors because this trust fund was raided, frankly, to pay for unrelated projects. Because of the progress we have made, the harbor maintenance trust fund will retain 76 percent of the revenues that are intended for water infrastructure improvements and harbor dredging under this year's Appropriations Committee-passed funding bill. This is a huge win for coastal communities in all of these different States and, frankly, for our entire Nation. I look forward to building on the success in the future and would like to thank the chairman for working with us. I reserve the balance of my time.