Urging the European Union to Designate Hizballah in its Entirety As A Terrorist Organization

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I have spoken about Iran, Hamas, and the various bills on the floor today seeking to bring peace and prosperity to the region. That is why I am proud to lead H. Res. 599, urging the European Union to designate Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization.

I thank our former colleague and the current president of the American Jewish Committee, Ted Deutch, for his groundbreaking work on this issue.

Like Hamas, Hezbollah is an Iran-backed terrorist organization committed to the destruction of Israel and of peace throughout the region, and the U.S. has done the right thing by recognizing it as such.

Our good friends in Europe often make a distinction between the organization's political and military wings, seeing the former as a partner they can try to work with. Looking at how Lebanon has been on the verge of becoming a failed state, we cannot underestimate the pernicious role played by Hezbollah.

Hezbollah bombed our Embassy in Beirut in April 1983, killing 63 people. Then, in October of the same year, attacked a Marine Corps barracks, killing 241 Americans.

Their nefarious behavior has never stopped. They murdered Israeli tourists in Bulgaria in 2012 and tried to do so again in Cyprus in 2013. Two years later, they got caught in Cyprus with 8 tons of ammonium nitrate.

That year, Congress passed the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act of 2015, which I was proud to help lead and follow up on in 2018.

Despite our best efforts to counter it, the resolution describes in detail Hezbollah's nefarious activities in Belgium, France, and Germany and throughout the European Union.

I have always said that the world is at its best when America leads. We have led in countering Hezbollah, and now we must urge our European allies to join us as we look at Hezbollah's skirmishing with Israel and loudly supporting Hamas and threatening a war on a second front at a most perilous time.

I hope and trust our European partners will take this as a wake-up call. Hezbollah is a terrorist organization in its entirety and must be designated as such in its entirety.

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Mr. SCHNEIDER. Manning), my good friend and the vice ranking member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 599 is critical for making sure our friends and allies in Europe join us in pushing back against Hezbollah and making sure it no longer can pose a threat to Lebanon, Israel, and the people of the region.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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