Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act of 2015

Floor Speech

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Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Royce for the wonderfully bipartisan way in which he leads our committee, and I especially want to thank the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Meadows) for his incredible leadership on this important topic.

Madam Speaker, I rise in full support of this bill, to broaden sanctions against Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.

The Iranian proxy, Hezbollah, has been responsible for propping up the murderous Assad regime in Syria. Hezbollah continues to be a major threat to our closest friend and ally, the Democratic Jewish State of Israel. Hezbollah and its patron Iran continue to seek ways to attack and undermine U.S. national security interests, especially with its increased presence in our own area, in the Western Hemisphere, and its increasing role in global narcotics trafficking.

Madam Speaker, one way we have of countering Hezbollah's illicit activities is by cutting off its major source of funding and support. Once the administration gives Iran a signing bonus of $50 billion and lifts the sanctions against the regime, when this bad and dangerously weak nuclear deal gets signed, you can be sure, Madam Speaker, that the spigots will open and that money will flow directly to Hezbollah. So we must make sure that the administration fully and vigorously enforces these sanctions against Hezbollah and doesn't find any loophole or waive any of the provisions.

After seeing the administration's willingness to work with the Iranian regime and the Cuban regime, I might add, it wouldn't surprise me to see the administration take steps to follow the European Union and split Hezbollah into a military and political wing to try to avoid these sanctions and appease the Iranian regime.

We all know, Madam Speaker, that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization and that there is no split among the terror group whatsoever. You cannot differentiate between its supposed wings. It is all one terrorist organization. That is why I strongly support this bill, and I call upon the President to do more to counter this threat from Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah.

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