Stop Terrorist Operational Resources and Money Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the issue of terrorism financing, especially with regard to the terrorist group ISIS, known by some as ISIL, or other terminology referring to ISIS itself.

Just days ago, we marked the 15th anniversary since the terrorist attack on our country on September 11, 2001. At the time, the United States had a fundamentally different understanding of terrorist groups, their ideologies, and their operations.

In the years since, our national security apparatus has grown and adapted, responding to evolving threats and prioritizing the fight against terrorism and violent extremism.

For example, prior to 9/11, the Department of the Treasury was not as significant in our fight against terrorism as it is today. An act of Congress established the Treasury Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence in 2004. Since then, this office has grown into an essential component of our counterterrorism work. They are charged with the task of cutting off the financial resources that terrorist groups need to survive.

The terrorist group ISIS presents challenges, a whole new set of challenges. Similar to Hezbollah, ISIS is part terrorist group, part army, and part criminal syndicate fueled by a hateful ideology and controlling communities in Syria and Iraq. We know that ISIS has sacked banks and still profits from the illicit sale of oil, antiquities, and other items through the black market while extorting the civilians under their control. ISIS uses this funding to conduct terror attacks and control territory in both Syria and Iraq. They use it to buy more weapons, ammunition, and components for improvised explosive devices known as IEDs. They use it to pay salaries for fighters and develop propaganda materials to spread their hateful ideology.

In August of 2014, I joined with Senator Rubio, urging the administration to prioritize stopping ISIS's financial support. Soon after, the President announced his comprehensive strategy to degrade and defeat ISIS.

Already, we have seen that the United States and coalition efforts, including airstrikes on oil trucks and cash storage sites, have had a meaningful impact on ISIS's finances. For example, in recent months, ISIS has had to reduce the salaries they pay their fighters. Our airstrikes have also taken key ISIS leaders, including their finance minister, off the battlefield.

Just yesterday, Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken reported significant progress on rolling back ISIS's control of territory. In April, Maj. Gen. Peter Gersten, Deputy Commander of the Combined Joint Task Force, Operation Inherent Resolve, said: ``ISIS's ability to finance their war through oil refineries has been destroyed.'' That is what it says right here. Their ``ability to finance their war through oil refineries has been destroyed.'' This is a very significant step, since ISIS was heavily reliant on this source of income.

The President also recently signed into law my bill, the Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act, which helped ensure that the United States is not a market for antiquities looted from Syria. This is important because a report by the CultureUnderThreat Task Force stated that ISIS may try to increase--increase--its antiquities trafficking activity as other revenue streams, such as oil sales, are cut off.

ISIS is rewriting the rule book on how terrorist groups work. Despite the loss of territory in both Syria and Iraq, it continues to cultivate its affiliates in northern and western Africa, Central Asia, and other parts of the Middle East. It continues to sow the seeds of terror in neighboring countries such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, further afield in Europe, Africa, and, of course, here in the United States. ISIS has figured out how to operate outside of the international financial system, lessening the impact of our banking sanctions that we have relied upon before. We may be able to defeat ISIS, but the problem of terrorist financing will stay with us.

I took a trip in February to Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, which confirmed this assessment. That is why I believe we need a more robust, permanent, international architecture for countering terrorist financial networks.

In June, I introduced the Stop Terrorist Operational Resources and Money Act--the so-called STORM Act--with Senator Johnny Isakson, and this is but a first step. This bill provides a strong set of tools to compel greater cooperation from partner nations.

The STORM Act authorizes a new designation by the President called ``Jurisdiction of Terrorism Financing Concern,'' which can be triggered either by a lack of political will by a country or a lack of capacity to take on this problem. Some countries have the capacity to make meaningful progress but lack the political will to do so. I believe we should levy tough penalties that make countries reconsider their willful ignorance or tacit acceptance of terrorist financiers carrying their country's passports or operating in their territory. The penalties under the STORM Act include suspension of security or development assistance, blocking of arms sales, and blocking loans from the IMF or the World Bank.

With some countries the challenge is a basic lack of capacity. The United States is well equipped to provide technical assistance and capacity building. We have done this before on the issue of nuclear nonproliferation. The STORM Act authorizes the administration to do the same with countering terrorism financing.

Lastly, the STORM Act authorizes sanctions against financial institutions that do business with ISIS. This sends a signal that banks need to be vigilant in ensuring that they do not facilitate ISIS's financial operations.

In the years since 9/11, terrorist groups have become ever more sophisticated in the way they finance their operations. We have to respond in kind, and it is right to expect all our partners to do the same.

The bipartisan STORM Act sends a very clear message. If you fail to pull your weight when it comes to terrorism financing and cutting it off, there will be consequences. If you want to improve your record, the United States is here to help you.

I urge my colleagues to support the STORM Act as an element of our fight against ISIS and a step toward building a more robust, international architecture to stop terrorism financing in the long run.

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