Joe Wilson

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I thank our colleague from New York (Mr. D'Esposito) for introducing this important bipartisan resolution to condemn anti- Semitic speech. Hamas' horrific and murderous attack on Israel on October 7 massacred over 1,200 innocent people. Hamas terrorists committed brutal sexual assaults. They took over 250 people hostage and held them in wretched conditions. October 7 was the deadliest day for people of Jewish faith since the Holocaust. Since that awful day 6 months ago, we have seen a shocking rise in anti-Semitic attacks, symbolism, and speech, including a resurgence of the slogan ``from the river to the sea.'' This phrase, ``from the river to the sea,'' comes directly from the terrorist organization's covenant. Hamas is clear about their ultimate goal: the destruction of the State of Israel and the death of Jews around the world. Article 7 of the August 18, 1988, Hamas Covenant calls for chasing every Jew behind trees and rocks until the last Jew is found behind a rock and is killed. We must be clear. This rallying cry, and others like it, have no place in a peaceful and tolerant society. ``From the river to the sea'' refers to the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. This language calls for entirely destroying the State of Israel and replacing it with the Palestinian state. Slogans like this are clearly anti-Semitic and hateful. They inherently support the destruction of Israel and denying Jews their right of self-determination of any kind. Promoting violence against Israel and Jews is anti-Semitism, and we have the responsibility in Congress to condemn such language. With this resolution, we are condemning this hate speech and standing with our valued ally, Israel. We understand the chant of Tehran gruesomely in English, ``Death to Israel, death to America.'' Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 883) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the slogan, ``from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free'' is antisemitic and its use must be condemned.

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time for the purpose of closing.

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. D'Esposito), chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology and the author of this resolution.

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I am grateful for the leadership of Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and the ranking member, Greg Meeks. Those of us in South Carolina are always happy to point out his South Carolina heritage as he now ably represents Queens, but we remember his heritage of Rock Hill, and we appreciate his success. This legislation is so important to strike back against Iran's decades-long strategy of taking innocent Americans hostage to the House floor today. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the No Paydays for Hostage-Takers Act. For 45 years, the outrageous regime in Tehran has kidnapped American hostages. It is a cruel, yet consistent, part of this bloodthirsty regime's character. Iran utilizes hostage-taking as a negotiating tactic and a funding mechanism. In doing so, Iran repeatedly victimizes innocent Americans and their families who endure years of false accusations, wretched conditions, and separation. No one deserves this treatment. Iranian Americans are very successful and appreciated in America, and all Americans equally appreciate the oppressed people of Iran. Unfortunately, both the Obama and Biden administrations have made the catastrophic mistake of cutting financial deals with Iran in order to free hostages. Make no mistake, Mr. Speaker, Iran sees dollar signs whenever it sees American passports. It knows it can take innocent Americans, hold them in prison for years, and see a windfall at the end. This is the same tactic of war criminal Putin, kidnapping Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. In 2016, the Obama administration ignorantly capitulated a $1.7 billion ransom to Iran, including a $400 million payment in pallets of cash at the same time that Iran released four U.S. hostages. At the time, many warned that if the United States Government would pay for hostages, then Iran would keep taking them and demand a higher and higher price. Sure enough, in the next 7 years, Iran continued to hold and collect more American hostages. These people suffered away from their families and were deprived of their liberty for years until last summer, the Biden administration cut a deal to secure their freedom by granting loan access to $6 billion in sanctioned funds used to murder Iranians and to murder Americans, such as the three Army Reservists from Georgia killed on January 28 of this year. Some might claim that these funds are only for humanitarian goods. First, this naively puts too much trust in a regime skilled at sanctions evasion and other forms of illicit finance. Second, money is fungible, and this deal freed up $6 billion in funds for the regime to finance its military program, terrorist proxies, nuclear activities, and repression. Right now, Iran is incentivized to keep taking hostages. They keep benefiting. That is why today we are considering my bipartisan bill to ensure that Iran never again profits from taking American hostages. This bill imposes sanctions on Iranian officials identified as being responsible for or complicit in taking American citizens hostage. It also greatly limits the travel of Iranian diplomats at the U.N. They should not be allowed to come here and gallivant around the New York metropolitan area while innocent Americans languish in Iranian prisons. It also requires a detailed report to give Congress full visibility on how Iran is using the $6 billion so that the American people's elected Representatives can conduct thorough oversight of these funds. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in voting for this important bill to protect Americans from Iran's brutal hostage-taking, and I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, DC, March 20, 2024. Hon. Michael McCaul, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman McCaul: I write regarding H.R. 5826, the No Paydays for Hostage-Takers Act. Provisions of this bill fall within the Judiciary Committee's Rule X jurisdiction, and I appreciate that you consulted with us on those provisions. The Judiciary Committee agrees that it shall be discharged from further consideration of the bill so that it may proceed expeditiously to the House floor. The Committee takes this action with the understanding that forgoing further consideration of this measure does not in any way alter the Committee's jurisdiction or waive any future jurisdictional claim over these provisions or their subject matter. We also reserve the right to seek appointment of an appropriate number of conferees in the event of a conference with the Senate involving this measure or similar legislation. I ask that you please include this letter in your committee's report to accompany this legislation or insert this letter in the Congressional Record during consideration of H.R. 5826 on the House floor. I appreciate the cooperative manner in which our committees have worked on this matter, and I look forward to working collaboratively in the future on matters of shared jurisdiction. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, Jim Jordan, Chairman.

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5826) to require a report on sanctions under the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 288) urging the European Union to expeditiously designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization under Common Position 931, and for other purposes.

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, we must continue to do all we can to address the threat posed by Iran. The IRGC has for decades played a direct role in threatening the European Union and its citizens. Given its increasing reach, most recently with its murderous support of war criminal Putin's invasion of Ukraine, it is imperative that no stone is left unturned. We must work together to cut off Iran's ability to fuel terrorism on a global scale, and that must include designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization. Madam Speaker, I thank, in particular, Congresswoman Claudia Tenney for developing this resolution and her extraordinary efforts in a bipartisan manner to do research on the IRGC that should be very informative to the American people and be a message to even the people of Iran how the oppression of the people of Iran actually has consequences, sadly, around the world. Congresswoman Tenney effectively promotes the safety and security of American and European families. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this resolution calling on the European Union to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Tenney), a member of the Ways and Means Committee and the author of this resolution.

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3033) to repeal the sunset provision of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996, and for other purposes.

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, for 27 years, this law, the Iran Sanctions Act, enacted in 1996, has been the foundation of our pressure campaign to compel Iran to abandon its ballistic missile development and support for terrorism. In the intervening years, these sanctions have been expanded as the threat posed by the Iranian nuclear program and other malign activities become increasingly obvious and pressing. What we saw this weekend is that these sanctions are more necessary than ever. Iran, for the first time ever, has launched a direct attack on Israel, firing over 300 missiles and drones directly at Israel. Thankfully, 99 percent of these weapons were intercepted by Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Jordan. Iran has the largest ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East. It is not amassing these weapons for show. It is amassing these weapons to use them, just as they gruesomely did this weekend. At the same time, Iran is pressing forward with its provocative nuclear program, expanding its stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium and refusing to cooperate in the dispute with the IAEA. Iranian terrorist puppets are showing the world the destructive capabilities they have gained from years of Iranian support. Hamas launched its October 7 massacre that murdered over 1,200 innocent people in Israel, Hezbollah in Lebanon launched nearly daily attacks on Israel's northern border, and the Houthis in Yemen are lobbing missiles and UAVs at ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Additionally, Iran is selling these dangerous weapons to war criminal Putin to fuel his murderous war against the people of Ukraine. The threat Iran poses to the United States and our allies is growing more and more entrenched. We need a policy response that is durable and shows that we are committed day in and day out to choking off any financial support to the Iranian malign activities. Today, that is why the House is considering the Solidify Iran Sanctions Act, which would eliminate the upcoming 2026 sunset from the Iran Sanctions Act. We need to send Iran a clear and simple message: You cannot just wait out the sanctions. The sanctions will not expire on some arbitrary date. The only way to make the U.S. sanctions go away is to stop sanctionable conduct and not be a threat to the United States and our allies, period. The fact that we are considering this bill under suspension of the rules is hugely important. It shows that eliminating this sunset is not controversial. Republicans and Democrats agree that we need durable, long-term pressure on Iran. This bill passed out of the Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously, and I am grateful that it is being considered on the floor today. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, DC, July 17, 2023. Hon. Michael McCaul, Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman McCaul: I write regarding H.R. 3033, the Solidify Iran Sanctions Act of 2023. Provisions of this bill fall within the Judiciary Committee's Rule X jurisdiction, and I appreciate that you consulted with us on those provisions. The Judiciary Committee agrees that it shall be discharged from further consideration of the bill so that it may proceed expeditiously to the House floor. The Committee takes this action with the understanding that forgoing further consideration of this measure does not in any way alter the Committee's jurisdiction or waive any future jurisdictional claim over these provisions or their subject matter. We also reserve the right to seek appointment of an appropriate number of conferees in the event of a conference with the Senate involving this measure or similar legislation. I ask that you please include this letter in your committee's report to accompany this legislation or insert this letter in the Congressional Record during consideration of H.R. 3033 on the House floor. I appreciate the cooperative manner in which our committees have worked on this matter, and I look forward to working collaboratively in the future on matters of shared jurisdiction. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, Jim Jordan, Chairman.

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Madam Speaker, just 2 days ago, the world was sadly stunned by the Iranian unprecedented attack on the civilian population of Israel. The regime in Tehran is committed to threatening the United States and our ally Israel. Iran is not going to voluntarily stop sponsoring the puppets that they have of Hezbollah, the Houthis, or Hamas. They are not going to give up their missiles and drones out of the goodness of their hearts. They are most certainly not going to stop their nuclear program. They truly do believe and chant in their parliament, in English: ``Death to Israel. Death to America.'' The Iran threat is wide-ranging and multifaceted, and the Iran Sanctions Act is a foundation of tools to combat it. We know this threat isn't going away anytime soon, so let's stop fooling ourselves that a sunset makes any sense on these provisions. Madam Speaker, I am grateful to have the bipartisan support with Ranking Member Greg Meeks, working with Chairman Mike McCaul, and that we are here today. I urge my colleagues to join in bringing our statutes in line with the strategic reality on the ground. Madam Speaker, additionally, Representative Michelle Steel is to be appreciated. Even before the attacks took place, she brought this issue up to address the murderous conduct of the regime in Tehran. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Steel), a member of the Committee on Ways and Means and the author of this legislation.

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, since Biden came to office, the pocketbooks of American families have been assaulted. Upon his arrival, inflation was just 1.4 percent, but with Bidenflation of spend, borrow, and tax, inflation has reached a 40-year high, destroying jobs. Bidenflation is a tax on American citizens and a direct result of the reckless spending of Biden and far-left Democrats, costing households over $12,000 more a year just for the basics. Examples of such price increases include eggs, which are up by 49 percent; baby food, up 31 percent; electricity, up 29 percent; pet food, up 24 percent; and coffee, up 20 percent. House Republicans will continue to fight to reduce inflation and create jobs. In conclusion, God bless our troops who successfully protected America for 20 years as the global war on terrorism moves from the Afghanistan safe haven to America. We do not need new border laws. We need to enforce the current existing laws. Biden shamefully opens the borders for dictators as more 9/11 attacks across America are imminent, as warned by the FBI.

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, in a dangerous event yesterday in Michigan, anti-Israel activists shouted, ``death to America'' and ``death to Israel,'' repeating the Iranian regime chants. This event was in recognition of Al-Quds Day to advocate for the mass murder of the people of Israel. It reinforced that, 6 months ago, Iranian puppet Hamas invaded Israel, murdering over 1,200 Israeli civilians. Incredibly, in America, a rally speaker hatefully spouted: ``So when these fools ask us if Israel has the right to exist . . . the chant `death to Israel' has become the most logical chant.'' . . . When attacks come to America to disrupt elections, voting on election day must be in person, while including military ballots that are mailed in. In conclusion, God bless our troops who successfully protected America for 20 years as the global war on terrorism moves from the Afghanistan safe haven to America. We do not need new laws for the border. We need to enforce the existing laws. Biden shamefully has opened the borders for dictators as more 9/11 attacks across America are imminent, as warned by the FBI.

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, incredibly, March 22 The Washington Times lead front-page article by Ben Wolfgang was a remarkable journalistic achievement. It correctly warned of the ISIS-K terrorist attack on Russia, which gruesomely was correct that night with the murderous attack on the Moscow Crocus City Hall, killing over 140 innocent civilians. At a time of fake news and blatantly biased reporting by mainstream media, it is refreshing to know The Washington Times courageously stands for truth. The Washington Times President Christopher Dolan has launched the Threat Status newsletter with national security editor Guy Taylor to provide daily email updates. The March 22 article specifically cited an imminent terrorist attack in Russia, which war criminal Putin that day should have tried to prevent instead of his obsession with mass murder of Ukrainians. With Biden open borders and the warnings by the FBI, American families are sadly at a greater risk of attack today than ever. In the event of attacks to disrupt elections, all voting should be election day in person while accepting military absentee ballots. Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Coach Dawn Staley and the USC Gamecocks.