Royce, Engel Introduce Hezbollah Sanctions Bill

Statement

Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) and Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY) introduced H.R. 3329, a bipartisan bill to increase sanctions on the terrorist organization Hezbollah. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) introduced a companion bill in the Senate (S. 1595).

Chairman Royce on H.R. 3329: "As Iran's leading terrorist proxy, Hezbollah has been fomenting insecurity around the Middle East for decades. Most recently, it has carried out heinous acts of violence in Syria and is amassing more than 100,000 rockets along Israel's border. The U.S. cannot allow Hezbollah to threaten our ally Israel and undermine our interests in Syria. These sanctions will severely limit Hezbollah's financial network and transnational criminal activities, as well as crack down on its backers -- most importantly Iran."

Ranking Member Engel on H.R. 3329: "Hezbollah remains one of the biggest threats to America, our interests and our allies. With support from Iran and Syria, Hezbollah has become more lethal and more dangerous in the region. We are introducing the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act Amendments at a critical time. Battle-hardened Hezbollah fighters are coming home after fighting for the murderous Assad regime and more and more rockets are pointed at Israel's population centers. Congress must close any possible loophole that could allow foreign funding of Hezbollah. Acting swiftly--and in a bipartisan manner--will show Hezbollah's foreign sponsors that the United States will not sit by while Hezbollah grows stronger."

The Hizballah International Financing Prevention Amendments Act builds on Chairman Royce's 2015 Hezbollah sanctions law by:

Further restricting Hezbollah's ability to fundraise and recruit
Increasing pressure on banks that do business with Hezbollah
Cracking down on foreign states -- including Iran -- that support Hezbollah

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