Hamas and Other Palestinian Terrorist Groups International Financing Prevention Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 340. I unequivocally condemn Hamas' attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of over 1,400 innocent people and the kidnapping of hundreds of hostages, including American citizens.

The United States has rightly designated Hamas as a terrorist organization since 1997, and I have fully supported sanctions on Hamas when they have come before the House in the past. However, there is a distinction between Hamas and the innocent Palestinians it holds captive in Gaza, and we must legislate with that understanding. Our efforts to hold Hamas accountable must not come at the expense of those innocent civilians.

As originally written, this bill included a broad humanitarian exemption that would have protected the provision of food, medicine, and other lifesaving supplies into Gaza. The State Department and the Treasury both supported that exemption, which aligned with the Biden administration's goals to weaken Hamas without causing undue civilian suffering and deaths.

Unfortunately, the primary sponsor of H.R. 340 offered an amendment during committee markup that removed that exemption, replacing it with a case-by-case waiver that will impede the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

At times here, we need to speculate about the motivations behind specific legislation and legislative decisions. In this case, however, it is part of the committee record. The bill's sponsor said that he believes ``any assistance should be slowed down'' and argued that no one can distinguish between innocent Palestinians and Hamas.

The situation in Gaza is incredibly dire and becoming more so by the day, which is why President Biden has worked to secure the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza and requested funding to support those efforts. The decision to intentionally remove this provision was a choice to hurt people in Gaza who are not responsible for this conflict.

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Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Mr. Speaker, if the humanitarian exemption that was originally in this bill was restored, I would fully support H.R. 340, but I cannot in good faith support a bill that amounts to intentional collective punishment against the people of Gaza, nearly half of whom are children. For this reason, I urge the House to vote ``no.''

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