Michael McCaul

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa).

Mr. McCAUL. Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim), the chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs' Subcommittee on Indo-Pacific.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Chairman I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter).

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Chairman, I am ready to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 559) declaring it is the policy of the United States that a nuclear Islamic Republic of Iran is not acceptable.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, Iran is a destabilizing force in the region that poses a threat to our allies and to our national security interests. That is why I introduced this resolution with a bipartisan group of cosponsors to make a clear, simple, and vital statement that it is the official policy of the United States that a nuclear Iran is unacceptable and that we will use all means necessary to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. This resolution is short and to the point. There is no hedging or equivocation. If we project weakness, it will only embolden Iran. In recent years, Iran has pushed its nuclear provocations to the brink, enriching uranium to 60 percent and openly violating both the JCPOA and its nonproliferation treaty obligations, and even kicking out one-third of inspectors from the IAEA. Iran is the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism. The Iranian regime has funded Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups to the tune of $100 million per year. Five hundred Hamas fighters reportedly trained in Iran in September before the October 7 invasion and terrorist attack. What is Hamas doing right now? It is waging a barbaric war against our friend and ally, Israel, and now Iran's proxies are engaged in nearly daily attacks on our soldiers--on U.S. troops--in the Middle East who remain in the region to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS. Put simply, we need to restore deterrence against Iran. We need to use every tool at our disposal to keep Iran from having a nuclear weapon. It is critical that this body votes together to send a clear and loud message that Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon under any circumstances. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Brad Schneider from Illinois, for joining me in introducing this resolution. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for this resolution today, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Self), who is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the right to close. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, we have seen repeatedly through history that weakness invites aggression. We certainly saw that in World War II with Hitler's aggression. Our adversaries, Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea are increasingly working together to upend the global balance of power. They are enabling each other's aggression against the United States and our allies. This body has a responsibility to project strength and protect the American people. We will speak with one voice as we deliver a clear message that Iran's nuclear escalation must stop, that a nuclear Iran is simply unacceptable, and that the United States will never permit a nuclear Iran to exist. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for this important resolution, which is an important voice of the United States of America through its Representatives, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 340) to impose sanctions with respect to foreign support for terrorist organizations, including Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, as amended.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill), a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, on October 7, over 2,000 Hamas terrorists invaded Israel and brutally murdered over 1,400 people. The images from these gruesome attacks will haunt us all for eternity. There were beheadings, families were burned alive, and women were raped and slaughtered, one of whom was dragged through the streets of Gaza. I was in one of the kibbutzim right on the border of Gaza last year meeting with members of the community. I saw their daycare center and the children who were there. That very same kibbutz, Mr. Speaker, was overrun by 70 Hamas terrorists. Many of the residents whom I met were slaughtered, but most viciously, the babies and the children I visited in the daycare center were slaughtered, shot to death, beheaded, and burned alive. Reports are that a pregnant woman was forced to watch as they cut her baby out of her womb, killing her child before they killed her. On December 7, 1941, in response to the bombing at Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt said it was ``a date which will live in infamy.'' So, too, will October 7, 2023. The United States must stand resolute and use every tool at our disposal to support our friend and ally, Israel. Israel has been pulled into a war with the Iran-backed terrorist Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic jihad, who have launched more than 8,000 rockets at Israel since this war started. We know that Iran has historically provided around $100 million a year in support to Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic jihad, and other Palestinian terrorist groups. Hamas also generates hundreds of millions of dollars every year from its secret international investment portfolio. These accounts help fund Hamas' terrorist infrastructure. They pay for its elaborate 500-mile tunnel network--500 miles of tunnel--and for the rockets being fired into Israel. This bill takes aim at Iran's support for Hamas and makes it clear that banks cannot facilitate the toxic relationship between the largest state sponsor of terror and its proxies. Unfortunately, the media seems to have forgotten that for years Hamas has profited off innocent people, prioritizing rocket production over supporting the basic needs of their own people, exacerbating suffering. I thank my colleague, Mr. Mast, who also served in the IDF with distinction, for introducing this important piece of legislation. We need every tool at our disposal to restrict Hamas and other Palestinian terrorists' access to financing and hold the countries enabling them to account. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Washington, DC, February 9, 2023. Hon. Patrick McHenry, Chairman, Committee on Financial Services, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman McHenry: Thank you for consulting with the Foreign Affairs Committee and agreeing to be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 340, the Hamas International Financing Prevention Act, so that the measure may proceed expeditiously to the House floor. I agree that your forgoing further action on this measure does not in any way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of your committee, or prejudice its jurisdictional prerogatives on this measure or similar legislation in the future. I would support your effort to seek appointment of an appropriate number of conferees from your committee to any House-Senate conference on this legislation. I will seek to place our letters on H.R. 340 into the Congressional Record during floor consideration. I appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and look forward to continuing to work together as this measure moves through the legislative process. Sincerely, Michael T. McCaul, Chairman.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mast), the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability and the author of this bill.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mast).

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Schneider for his strong, passionate support, as well as Ms. Manning and the author, Mr. Mast. Mr. Speaker, I think the gentleman makes a great argument. Hamas stands between the expansion of the Abraham Accords and the destruction of the Abraham Accords. They are the ones standing between peace in the Middle East and war, a war that they provoked, a war that was barbaric against our friend and ally, Israel. It is impossible to overstate just how violent and horrific the terrorist attacks in Israel were. I have seen it. Don't tell me it didn't happen because it is real. We can't underestimate the determination of Hamas itself. Their covenant explicitly states: ``Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.'' I don't think it can be any more clear about their intent. Hamas has told us who they are and what they plan to do. We need to act here in Congress, and we need to act now. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. McCAUL

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to extend debate for each side by 10 minutes, and I also ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, October 7, Israelis awoke to rockets raining down on them from Gaza, and gunmen broke down their doors and invaded their homes. Hamas terrorists killed babies and toddlers. They killed elderly grandmothers and grandfathers. They killed moms and dads. They killed teenage kids in their homes. No one was spared from their brutality. Following World War II, my father's war, I never believed the world would bear witness to the slaughter of the Jewish people as we have seen at the bloody hands of Hamas. October 7 was the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Additionally, Hamas is holding 220 hostages, including Americans. This is a flyer with a picture of a mother and son taken hostage by Hamas, #bringthemhomenow. They are using them as human shields and threatening to execute them. They must all be released unconditionally now. This is one of the darkest moments in the history of the State of Israel. I was in one of the kibbutzim right on the border of Gaza last year, meeting with members of the community. I saw their daycare center. That very same kibbutz was overrun by 70 Hamas terrorists. Many of the residents I met were slaughtered. Most viciously, the babies and the children I visited in the daycare center were slaughtered, shot to death, beheaded, and burned alive. When the press says it didn't happen, they are just wrong. It did because I have seen the pictures of the burned babies and the decapitated children and the blood that you see here in the babies' cribs. For God's sake, what is going on in this world today? In one of the most horrific stories to emerge, a pregnant woman had her baby cut out in front of her very eyes as they murdered her baby before her and before they shot her in the head. Simply put, Mr. Speaker, they are monsters. At a music festival to celebrate peace, chaos, gunfire, and explosions ripped through the air, piercing hundreds of bodies with bullets and shrapnel. While the attendees attempted to flee the area, gunmen surrounded them from every direction. In total, 260 attendees assembled in peace to enjoy music were massacred. Among others, atrocities we have heard reported include children with their hands bound, shot in the back of the head execution style; women who were raped and slaughtered, one of whom was dragged through the streets of Gaza; families, including babies and young children, burned alive in their homes in front of their parents; the beheading of Israeli soldiers; and parents gunned down as they shielded their children before the onslaught of gunfire. This is sheer terror. It is evil. It cannot stand in this world. We are witnessing in real time Hamas carrying out their covenant that outlines their goal of eradicating Israel through jihad. In fact, their covenant states: ``Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.'' They specifically discuss jihad, noting: ``The day that enemies usurp part of Muslim land, jihad becomes the individual duty of every Muslim. In face of the Jews' usurpation . . . , it is compulsory that the banner of jihad be raised.'' Mr. Speaker, it was indeed raised on October 7. To be completely clear, despite repeated efforts by Israel to secure peace, the ``Hamas Covenant'' states: Peace ``initiatives, and so- called peaceful solutions and international conferences, are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement. . . . There is no solution for the Palestinian problem except by jihad.'' This declaration calling on the annihilation of the Jewish state must be confronted with zero equivocation. That is why I worked with my good friend, Ranking Member Meeks, to introduce this bipartisan resolution. It condemns in the strongest possible terms the atrocities of Hamas and reiterates Israel's right to defend herself, along with America's unwavering support for the State of Israel. All roads lead back to Iran. Their fingerprints are all over this attack. They have consistently funded Hamas and other Palestinian groups to the tune of $100 million per year. This resolution condemns Hamas and Iran for its support of terrorist groups such as Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic jihad while also calling for all sanctions on Iran to be fully enforced. I urge my colleagues to support this important resolution. It will send a clear message across the world that terrorists and their sponsors will be held to account for their atrocities, their crimes against humanity, their crimes of genocide. On December 7, 1941, in response to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt said it was ``a date which will live in infamy.'' So, too, will October 7, 2023, live in infamy. Mr. Speaker, I urge support, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations.

Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner), the vice chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.