intended and let's put our faith in americans, jurors that will court -- that are going to be picked today. we always need to relax and praise that the american system of justice will eventually have it stay and all people are equal under the law. and john, i calling here regularly. i hope people will take politics out of this and just judge our country based on the rule of law as the founders intended and appreciate that our country works. host: is it the legal system

which seemed to have a lot of faith in that works, the political system in the country works? the speaker pro tempore: madam secretary. the secretary: the messenger: i have been directed by the senate to inform the house that the senate has agreed to house joint resolution 98. providing for congressional disapproval of the rules submitted by the national labor relations board relating to standard for determining joint employer status. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered or votes objected to under clause 6 of rule 20. the house will resume proceedings on postponed found j. missouri seeks? >> i move to suspend the rules

and pass h.r.6408 to amend the internal revenue code of 1986 to terminate the tax exempt status of terrorist supporting organizations as amended. suzy: the clerk will report the title of the bill. christine: union calendar 270, h.r.6408, a bill to amend the internal revenue code of 1986 to terminate the tax exempt status of terrorist supporting organizations. suzy: pursuant to the rule, j. missouri, mr. smith, and mr. snyder will be recognized for 20 minutes. mr. smith: i ask unanimous consent all members have "top five webgems" all members have five days to submit comments on the bill under consideration. i yield as much time as i may consume. mr. smith: i rise in support of h.r.64 4 4 he -- h.r. 6408.

this common sense bill revokeses the tax exempt status of entities that have been found to be provideing material support to terrorist organizations within the past three years. this legislation is more important than ever, giving iran's attacks on israel this weekend. it's thanks to the strong alliance that exists between the u.s. and israel that our ally was able to defend itself. however, this legislation speaks to the broader efforts america must undertake to ensure our support for israel and to counteract the forces of violence and terrorism that threaten our ally and our own homeland. there are multiple fronts in there are multiple fronts in

this will addresses perhaps one that doesn't get as much attention as it should. as part of our efforts, the ways and means committee has been examining the behavior of u.s. based organizations that enjoy generous tax exemptions and other benefits you said our tax code. that investigation included a hearing in november of last year following the horrific attacks on israel by hamas terrorists. during that hearing, one witness, a terrorism financing expert remarks on how this legislation would serve as a valuable tool to not just the treasury department but the department of justice and the f.b.i. to identify and disrupt terrorism related activities on u.s. soil. we must continue to look into the actions of certain tax exempt groups that are suspected of financing the activities of

known terrorist organizations like hamas. one example is the holy land foundation. this tax exempt organization funnels over $12 million in donations from americans to fund hamas before it was shut down by the u.s. government in the early 2000's. we also suspect that there are other groups that are operating in the united states that are providing material support to known terrorist organizations, including hamas. it should go without saying that america's tax code should not be used to support or finance violent terrorism around the world. however, we have to be vigilant in the face of groups that seek to exploit the generosity of the american people and american taxpayers. we should ensure they cannot funnel resources to those that target civilians and harm our citizens and our allies.

i call on all my colleagues to support this legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from illinois is recognized. mr. snyder: thank you. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. snyder: i'm proud to support this legislation and proud to support it. mr. schneider: i'm proud to bring it with i had colleague, david kustoff from tennessee. this weekend iran launched a unprecedented attack into israel firing cruise and ballistic missiles as well as suicide attack drones. thankfully, a coalition of israeli, u.s., jordanian, french, and oral lies coordinated a remarkable defense, defeating 99% of the

missiles and drones before they were able to reach their intended targets. this achievement reflects the power of alliances. alliances we've worked incredibly hard to build and must work to always maintain. iran on the other hand, is aligned with groups such as hezbollah, hamas, palestinian islamic jihad in gaza and the houthi in yemen and militias in iraq and syria. iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism, backing a broad group of terrorists in the region and across the world. just last week, a court in argentina concluded it was iran that planned the fatal attack against a jewish community center in 1994, 30 years ago, and the court delayed it a crime against humanitiy. the alliances we create must be able to stand up to the horrific alliances that iran is trying to build and why this legislation

is so important. as the attacks of october 7th highlighted, we must be doing everything we can to assist allies like israel, to disempower the enemies who seek to do not just our allies harm in the case of hamas, to destroy the jewish state and kill the jewish people, but to also attack the united states. and this was made even clearer this weekend when iran launched its multifaceted assault on israel. that's why speaker johnson must bring the senate passed legislation providing for israeli security assistance as well as funding to help our allies in ukraine and taiwan. we have to have the senate bill come to the floor so it can immediately go to the president's desk for signature to help our allies facing this threat. the senate passed it in a deeply bipartisan vote and i have no doubt it would have the votes to pass in the house if the speaker would bring it to the floor.

we cannot dither or wait, the iranian attacks over the weekend demonstrate the serious urgency with which we must act. and anything less than the passage of the senate pass a bill will be grossly insufficient. as members of the house ways and means committee, it's our job to be good stewards of the tax code and ensure its faithful enforcement and empower the treasury department to go after tax cheats. as my colleague mentioned, we must look into active groups like the holy land foundation and others who are potentially supporting -- providing material support for terrorist groups. we must do everything we can to cut off from financing groups like hamas and other terrorist organizations and errant nonprofit organizations that have been prosecuted for funneling money to hamas and others. these organizations must be held accountable for providing material support to terrorist organizations and as this legislation makes clear, these organizations must never, never be allowed to enjoy the

privilege of tax exempt status. financiers who exploit tax exempt status to hide their they tearous work behind nonprofit organizations must be held accountable and plays a important role in our work to finance terrorist organizations like hamas. this bill ensures treasury has the tools necessary to do exactly that while also providing thoughtful safeguards to protect due process and why i'm proud to be able to bring this bill to the floor today and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from missouri is recognized. mr. smith: i yield as much time as he may consume to mr. kustoff. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. kustoff: i want to thank the gentleman for his leadership and support. h.r.6408 is a important bipartisan piece of legislation that will revoke the tax exempt

status for any organization that provides financial support or resources to designated terrorist groups such as hamas or hezbollah. and i do want to thank my colleague, representative brad schneider, for joining me in introducing what i think is a very important bill. there's no doubt, mr. speaker, that since hamas' barbaric attack on israel, we've seen a dramatic rise in anti-semitism and frankly, anti-israel motivated attacks here at home and around the world. in fact, we saw it here in the united states today. israel's recent attack on our ally israel was a stark reminder of why we must confront iran and its terrorist proxy groups. these same groups have also increased attacks on american troops in the region. acts of terror anywhere in the world, they will not be

tolerated. now, a crucial pillar in the global fight against terrorism is dismantling the financial networks of terrorist organizations without access to resources and funding, terrorist organizations are seriously restricted in their ability to carry out attacks in the very first place. recent reports indicate that there are u.s. based nonprofits that are suspected of providing support and funding to terrorist groups. that's an amazing statement to make. but many of these organizations, they have special 501-c tax exempt status which allows their donors to claim a tax deduction, to put it plainly, domestic financiers of terrorism are currently being subsidized by u.s. taxpayer dollars. let me be very clear, mr. speaker, no american should receive a tax benefit for

funding terrorism. right now, our ability to crack down on tax exempt organizations that support terrorism is frankly inadequate. doing so under current law requires a time consuming bureaucratic process that sometimes has prevented federal authorities from acting. and that's why we introduced this crucial legislation that we'll be voting on hopefully later today. this legislation will authorize the united states treasury to revoke the tax exempt status of any organization deemed to provide material support or resources to a designated terrorist group within the past three years. material support. it includes financing, services, training, any tangible or intangible aid that helps terrorist groups advance their objectives.

under no circumstances should organizations that support terrorism be allowed to receive preferential treatment under the united states tax code. this bill, mr. speaker, is a crucial step towards dismantling the financial networks of terrorist organizations across the globe, including hamas, hezbollah, and the islamic revolutionary guard corps. i urge all my colleagues, mr. speaker, to support this important bipartisan piece of legislation that will bring us one step closer to eradicateing terrorism around the world. with that, mr. speaker, i thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from missouri. mr. smith: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized.

mr. larson: i want to first mr. larson: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to commend brad and david for their incredible work and also point out that it's not often when you bring out a piece of legislation that you author that you get an opportunity to have your mother in the audience and observe. that legislation is about to be voted on. as it was in the committee. and i commend chairman smith. this is an important piece of legislation and, as david was just saying, no one should ever receive a tax benefit for aiding and abetting terrorists. it's just absurd. but sometimes it takes commonsense, practical individuals to stand up and make sure that we get this right and i commend both of these gentlemen for their outstanding work. i also want to thank mr.

schneider for bringing this up. what we experienced on saturday was incredible. but demonstrates when nations stick together in common bond as allies against terrorism and terrorist attacks, good things can transpire and happen. the attack on israel on saturday, to have been thwarted in the way that it was by both israel, the united states and our allies, the world was taking notice. but as mr. schneider pointed out, the world ises a taking

notice -- the world is also taking notice this weekend on what's transpiring in the ukraine. imagine during this same time, 130 drones, 80 missiles, 700 bombs, just in the last week alone, were directed at the people of ukraine. the supplemental the president asked for back in october, the senate passed the supplemental bill more than two months ago. that bill is sitting in this chamber waiting for congress, the house of representatives, to stand up on behalf of the ukrainian people, on behalf of our allies. the world is watching while the

house of representatives dithers. people's lives are at stake. this is nothing short of a catastrophic tragedy for the people of ukraine as they must watch aghast as the house of representatives sits and does not take action to come to their aid and relief. it's long overdue, as this legislation does, for us to act in a bipartisan basis -- on a bipartisan basis. there is no question, america, that if this bill, the supplemental bill, is brought to the floor, that's been passed by

the senate, that sits here waiting for our approval, will pass overwhelmingly and bipartisanly. stop holding the supplemental back. bring it forward. provide the people of the ukraine the relief they need. provide the humanitarian relief for the palestinians. make sure that israel and taiwan get the fortification and support that they need from the american government. that is our responsibility. i don't know how people can go home and look in the mirror knowing, knowing that a valued ally of ours has put so much on the line and is standing up to putin, standing up to a

dictator, standing up to a tyrant who's using the same formula as adolf hitler. rise up, congress. do your job. thank you, brad. thank you, david, for your bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from missouri is recognized. mr. smith: we're prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from illinois is recognized. mr. schneider: mr. speaker, i have no further speakers at this time and i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. schneider: thank you, mr. speaker. and i want to thank my friend, john larson, for his passionate words, his urgent plea to pass the essential national security legislation that will bring aid to our allies, our allies in ukraine, in israel and in taiwan.

in joint taxes and status under the tax code is indeed a privilege. as good stewards of the u.s. tax code, it is our duty to ensure the treasury department has the tools it needs to enforce this section. at a time of great threat to our allies and in particular to israel, from hamas, hezbollah and iran, we must exercise all powers at our disposal to constrain funding for these terrorist organizations. including combating errant nonprofit organizations based here in the united states who are providing support, material support for these groups overseas. i again want to thank my colleague, representative kustoff, for his partnership and work on this legislation. i want to thank ranking member neal and chairman smith for your leadership. and i urge all of my colleagues to not only support this legislation, but also, as we have said, to support the essential security funding that came from the senate. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield

back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. tthe gentleman from missouri is recognized. mr. smith: i yield myself the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. smith: thank you, mr. speaker. the united states must use every tool in our tool box to combat organizations that threaten america and our allies like israel. that includes going after the flow of money and resources from u.s.-based so-called charitable organizations to the terrorist groups that murder civilians around the world. we cannot turn a blind eye to entities that support terrorism and known terrorist groups while exploiting our tax code to cover their tracks and pursue their malicious goals. it is unacceptable for any organization to receive taxpayer support while they are funneling millions of dollars to hamas, an organization responsible for the

horrific attacks against the people of israel on october 7. we must do more to ensure such groups are not able to operate under the cover of our tax code. i urge all my colleagues to vote yes on this measure and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields rchlt the question is, -- yields. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 6408, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative -- mr. smith: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri seek recognition? mr. smith: on that i demand the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina seek recognition?

mr. mchenry: i move to suspend the bill. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 272. h.r. 5923. a bill to impose restrictions on correspondent and payable through accounts in the united states with respect to chinese financial institutions that conduct transactions involving the purchase of petroleum or petroleum products from iran. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from north carolina, mr. mcmenry, and -- mr. mchenry, and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. gottheimer, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from north carolina. mr. mchenry: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. mchenry: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mchenry: mr. speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 5923, the

iran-china energy sanctions act, sponsored by mr. lawler. currently, iran is subject to a comprehensive set of sanctions. we know there are loopholes. under current law, the president is required to blacklist foreign financial institutions that undertake significant transactions with sanctioned iranian banks. however, we know that these significant transactions are leaving much of the country's energy trade untouched. last year iran's oil exports rose by 50%, reaching a five-year high. most of these exports went to china. mr. lawler's bill makes clear that any petroleum-related transaction between iran and china, no matter how small, will put chinese banks at risk of being sanctioned. closing this loophole is essential to ensuring china's financial institutions began to finally crack down on this illicit oil trade. additionally, i'm pleased to see this legislation includes a

proposal offered by mr. foster of illinois. when we reported this legislation in november, mr. foster and mr. lawler discussed the inclusion of tougher sanctions to target iran's sales of unmanned aerial vehicles or u.a.v.'s. this is now included in the text we are considering today. news of this weekend's actions by iran against our most sacred ally in the world, israel, is a good example of why we need this law. and this bill. iran's become a major supplier of u.a.v. technologies to russia and other rogue regimes. we see this in ukraine, we saw that in the targeting of israel this weekend. and providing the ayatollahs with funds by these u.a.v. sales that can be recycled for terrorism purposes, the soorn we put an end to these export, the better. i want to thank mr. lawler for his leadership on authoring this bill and i urge my colleagues on

both sides of the aisle to support it and with that i will now yield to the gentleman from new york, mr. lawler, for as much time as he may consume. mr. lawler: thank you, mr. chairman. and thank you for your leadership in getting this bill to the floor and i want to thank my colleague from new jersey, mr. gottheimer, my co-lead on this bill. i rise in support of this legislation, h.r. 5923, the iran-china energy sanctions act. iran is exporting around 1.5 million barrels of petroleum per day. its highest level in four years. around 80% of these exports go to china. providing teheran with revenues that keep their coughers -- coffers filled and enables iran's sponsorship of terrorism abroad, including backing hamas, hezbollah and the houthis. make no mistaker the october 7 attack on israel would not have been possible without iranian support. and this weekend's brazen

assault on israel demonstrates iran's intentions have not wavered, they want to eradicate the state of israel from the face of the earth. .... my bill targets independent oil refiners which have been driving china's purchases of iranian crude. unlike refiners who have retreat fled markets, tpots deal in limited quawptties and are harder to sanction. however they're not beyond our reach. we do wield secondary sanctions. this is where the bill comes. in while these tpots may not have economic ties to the u.s. that would make them wary of sangs, chinese and other foreign financial institutions that work with tpots do deal with the u.s. financial system.

my bill expands the definition to say that any deal they have with iran institutions will lead to closure of their corresponding accounts in our country. these secondary sanctions complement the ship act, a bill i sponsored that would impose sangs on ports and refineries that take in petro yum from iran. the house passed the ship act in october and has been waiting for senate democrats to take up the bill ever since. it is critical that the senate bring this bill and the ship act up for votes. enough is enough. we cannot let iran continue nits efforts to destroy israel, establish regional dominance and destabilize the entire free world. in addressing -- and addressing their oil trade revenues is perhaps the best way to accomplish this. this commonsense, bipartisan piece of legislation would do just that. and would significantly reduce iran's ability to project power

in the region, fund terrorist groups and attack our closest ally, israel. both on its own, or through its proxies. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from north carolina. mr. mchenry: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. gottheimer: i rise in support of my bipartisan bill, the iran-china sanctions act to hold wo two members of the ax coifs evil, the governments of iran and china, accountable for their nefarious activities. i'm proud to lead this legislation with my fellow problem solvers caucus member, mr. lawler. and toiment thank the chairman as well who always does an amazing job on the committee. china is a major sponsor of iran's knew clear program.

despite sanctions china has tripled its iranian oil import over the last two years. they are bringing in $150 trillion per day in revenue. by importing millions of barrels a day, china keeps the iranian regime in by and provides crucial funds for tehran's agenda report last year indicated that china is considering supplying iran with ammonium -- ammonia, a key chemical compound used to propel ballistic missiles. three days after an unprecedented attack, ballistic and cruise missiles at our key democratic ally israel this should sound major alarms. if this was not concerning enough, china disregards iran's backing of terror groups including jihad and hamas. last month they met with hamas after they killed more than

1,200 innocent babies, women and the elderly including americans, and said nothing about the barbaric attack on october 7. unlike china, we cannot and should not stand by in the face of terrorism. we must vehemently oppose terrorism sponsors in all forms. that is a why i'm also supporting h.r. 6408 which would terminate the tax exempt status of those who cheer on and provide support for iran and its proxies. hamas relies on support from the iranian regime, the leading state sponsor of terror. as iran deepens its ties to china we're reminded they cannot be trusted. they have killed hundreds of americans and atakd our bases and allies in the region. all of this is why we must pass the bipartisan iran-china energy sanctions act to cut off sources of funding to iran this bipartisan legislation which unanimously passed the house financial services committee expands sanctions to cover

chinese financial institutions that purchase petroleum products from iran. the bill also requires an annual determination as to whether chinese financial institutions have engaged in sanctionable conduct. we must continue to support -- we must continue to sanction those involved in the import of iranian oil including financial institutions. this bill will do just. that the iran-china energy sanctions cant urgently need to cut off and deny resources to the world's state sponsor of terrorism. china can no longer remain iran's top customer. i'll continue to make sure we do everything in our power to protect the u.s. and its allies from iran. i hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will join us to support this commonsense, bipartisan legislation. i now yield three minutes to the gentleman from illinois my friend and great leader, mr. foster. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. foster: thank you, representative gottheimer, as well as chair mchenry and representatives lawler and to my

republican and democratic colleagues who have made this bill come to the floor. i rise in support of h.r. 5923, thy ran-china energy sanctions act. thanks to representative lawler's bipartisan efforts this legislation now includes an amendment i proposed during the financial services committee consideration of this bill which would empower the administration tay go after iran's production of unmanned aerial vehicles or drones that are now being used against our allies abroad. it is essential for us to work aggressively to cut off the flow of money that iran, a known sponsor of terrorist groups like hamas, hezbollah and the houthi is using to spread violence and discorrupt commerce around the world. just last weekend, iran sent more than 300 drones to attack israel. it is iranian drones that allows russia to continue its intensive bombing against ukraine.

we know iran is building drones and sharing its technology and exper tees with its proxy -- proxies in the middle east. drones are changing the tactics used on the modern battlefield. they can be deployed in large numbers as they were in israel last weekend in an attempt to overwhelm air defenses and strike critical infrastructure far from the front lines. small and commercially available drones are also being used and converted to carrying munitions capable of inflicting significant damage at relatively low cost. this legislation will crack down on the financing that make ice ran's support of our adversaries possible. specifically the language that i drafted will empower the treasury to sanction any finance rnl institution involved in the purchase of iranian drones, parts, or related systems. we have seen the damage that drones are doing in israel and ukraine. and expanding this legislation to go after iran's drone production is an important step to support our allieses abroad.

i support this legislation and encourage my colleagues to vote yes. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. gottheimer: i have no further speakers, i'm prepared to close if the gentleman from north carolina is prepared to close. mr. mchenry: i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the imrelt is recognized. mr. gottheimer: i yield myself the balance of me time i want to close by saying we must always continue to fight against iran's growing influence and do everything in our power protect the united states and its allies from iran especially after what we saw this weekend. it only reinforces what iran is capable of either directly or through its proxies, the islamic jihad, the houthi, there are so many areas where iran continues to not just attack our key allies including israel but also the united states of america. i hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will join us to support this commonsense, bipartisan legislation. again i want to thank my

colleague, mr. lawler, for his leadership, and chairman mchenry for his, and with that, i yield. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from north % mr. mchenry: i think this is an important bill that's timely. quilt timely. we reported this bill out in november when we could have had more restrictive action against the iranian regime than is currently in place by this administration. more -- and a more aggressive stance against folks that -- regimes that want to do harm globally. this is an important bill that's bipartisan out of the house financial services committee. i want to commend mr. gottheimer and mr. lawler for their work here as well as mr. foster's important addition to the bill. it's a bipartisan product that is quite timely for us to put further restrictions on the iranian regime. with that, i ask the support from my colleague and ask for a yes vote and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman yields. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 5923 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative the rules are suspended -- for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina seek recognition? mr. mchenry: i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and reman standing until counted. a sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina seek recognition? mr. mchenry: i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 5921, the no u.s. financing for iran act of 2023, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of

the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 271, h.r. 5921 a bill to prohibit the secretary of the tissuery from authorizing certain transactions by financial institutions in connection with iran to prevent the international monetary fund from providing assistance to iran, to codify limits on export-import banking for iran and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina, mr. mchenry, and the gentleman from missouri, mr. cleaver, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from north carolina. mr. mchenry: i ask madam speaker consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on this bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. mchenry: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mchenry: i rise in support of the no aid for iran act sponsored by mr. huizenga.

he's an important leader on the house financial services committee, an important leader in the in this congress. i yield him such time as he may consume to explain the bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. huizenga: thank you, mr. speaker, and thank you, mr. chairman. our friend and ally was just attacked by iran. the world's leading state sponsor of terror. when the committee on financial services held a hearing on my bill last november following the atrocities of october 7, i remarked at that time it was timely. well, today is timely as well. we are at yet another inflection point. iran's direct attack on israel this weekend demonstrates that the u.s. must hold iran accountable. one significant way to do this is by cutting off iran's access to the funding it uses to finance terrorism. h.r. 5921 does exactly what it says. it stops iran from being able to use the u.s. financial system

while ensuring that institutions under our committee's jurisdiction keep their distance from the government in tehran. as we all know, iran remains one of the most heavily sanctioned countries in the world. however, many of those sanctions that are put in place are used -- are imposed through executive orders. it is time that we codify them in law. 5921 does three main things. first, it prohibits treasury from issuing licenses that allow u.s. financial institutions to enable trade with iran. that is what's happening right now, mr. speaker. treasury is issuing licenses for that business activity. it's clear that we must take all necessary steps to protect the integrity of the u.s. financial institutions by prohibiting these licenses that allow tehran to trade oil and gas and other goods and facilitate, therefore, its support of terrorism. second, this bill further cuts

off financing for iran from the world's lend over last report. the international monetary fund. the i.m.f. while iran is not currently seeking assistance from the fund, it certainly could as an i.m.f. member country. my bill makes clear that the united states as the i.m.f.'s largest shareholder would oppose any such request. this prohibit would actually further extend to the i.m.f. special drawing rights program which, get this, mr. speaker, which in 2021 iran utilized, just three years ago, to access approximately $5 billion. so we have seen the i.m.f. already be used by the ayatollahs in iran to finance terrorism. and lastly, my bill extends to existing prohibition against the export-import bank financing projects in iran and that benefit iran's leaders.

mr. speaker, i want to note one exception that we have included in this bill before us today and it's a very important one. i know it's an important one to some of my colleagues and i thank my friend from missouri -- i think my friend from missouri is one of those folks. . to go after the leaders of the country. while my bill is targeted, it tightens our grip on the iranian leaders while permitting licenses to allow for humanitarian aid to continue to flow to the iranian people. this is as clear as day in the text of the bill. and, mr. speaker, let's not forget that in january, an iranian-backed proxy militia group conducted a lethal drone attack on a u.s. base in jordan. the attack resulted in the deaths of three american service members and injured over 40 others. this was a direct attack on our

troops. this occurred as the administration continues to ignore calls from our committee to provide transparency surrounding the most recent sanction waivers granted over the last year. by allowing sanction waivers to continue, the administration is maintaining a financial lifeline to the iranian regime, even as it continues to support terrorism organizations around the world and now iran directly attacked our ally, israel. so, mr. speaker, when our fellow americans deposit their earnings in a u.s. bank or entrust the government with their tax dollars, they do so assuming the money will not be used in ways that undermine the security of our nation. we cannot say that today, that is in fact the case. these are commonsense but long overdue prohibitions in my bill here today and let's hold the iranian regime accountable with this bipartisan bill. it will make sure that our u.s. financial system is safe, it will prohibit the world bank and the i.m.f. from being able to

finance anything dealing with iran and i urge swift passage of the no u.s. financing for iran act and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from north carolina is recognized. >> reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from missouri is recognized. >> i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cleaver: let me preface my comments by saying in harmony with mr. huizenga that i too find what happened over the weekend with iran sending over 300 missiles into israel is obscene, just as hamas, what hamas did on october 7 in israel, which was brutal and inhumane, i do rise now in opposition to h.r. 5921, sponsored by congressman

huizenga. this bill would cause, i believe, significant harm to our national security and harm america's small businesses trying to sell their products overseas. and what is clearly a very rushed attempt to give the impression that house republicans know how to govern, they have brought this bill to the floor. five months after democrats overwhelmingly rejected it. rather than actually taking action to respond to iran's attack on israel. instead house republicans would rather deny assistance to every developing country in the world and hold financing for small businesses at the export-import bank -- halt financing for small businesses at the export-import bank this. -- bank. this would prevent the special drawing rights which are essentially the currency of the i.m.f. the last increase approved by secretary yellen in 2021

successfully was used by countries around the world to respond to the pandemic and bolstering their balance sheets. sub-saharan african countries were able to exchange their s.d.r.'s for u.s. dollars at no cost to u.s. taxpayers. republican claims that iran would be able to use its allocation of s.d.r.'s for terrorist financing, but the u.s. has effectively blocked iran from doing that. iran cannot convert s.d.r.'s to dollars because no country, no country would want to be sanctioned for doing so. you don't have to believe what i'm saying. iran's s.d.r.'s remain untouched decades after first receiving them. it has used not one single dollar in this century. rather than offer legislation like ranking member waters' bill

that would target the ghost fleet that iran uses to evade u.s. oil sanctions and which passed the committee by a wide bipartisan vote, house republicans are using iran's attack to target a source of funding for developing countries that they have long loathed. what's more, by undermining the ability of the i.m.f. to increase its s.d.r.'s, we're only handing a victory to china. which longs to see i.m.f., the world bank and the other u.s.-led international institutions fail. the second significant concern is that h.r. 5921 would halt all ex-im financing, including small businesses in the u.s. because it would require ex-im to go back and re-evaluate every single transaction to look for terrorist financing. ex-im already has done this, but the republicans want to make it look as if they are doing something by making ex-im do it

again. but at great cost to our economy, and i don't need to remind this house that the last time republicans were in charge they suretied the ex-im bank for five months. and it was only after democrats successfully used a discharge petition that it was reopened. later in 2019, democrats passed the longest re-authorization of the ex-im export bank. nevertheless, republicans are using this crisis to once again undermine an agency that they want to cut. mr. speaker, h.r. 5921 will do nothing to deter or punish iran for its first direct assault on israel. but instead will harm our national standing at the i.m.f. the livelihood of countless small businesses that rely on ex-im financing to sell their products overseas and our national security. i urge all members to reject

this bill. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from north carolina is recognized. mr. mchenry: i'm prepared to close. i have no further speakers. so i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from missouri is recognized. mr. cleaver: mr. speaker, i yield myself the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cleaver: by offering h.r. 5921 today and in this fashion, house republicans are trying to hide the fact that they are capable of -- not capable of governing this chamber. rather than offer legislation that with a respond to iran -- that would respond to iran's attack in israel or the ongoing humanitarian disaster in gaza or the devastating war raged by russia's putin on the people of ukraine, house republicans are instead trying to undermine the international monetary fund and the export-import bank. this bank will only harm u.s. businesses, our friends and

allies around the world and our international standing. but i'm afraid that seems to be the point. i'd also note that republicans are bringing this bill up under a process that is reserved for bills that are actually bipartisan. most democrats in the committee rejected this bill and i expect the same will happen today. colleagues, please vote no on h.r. 5921. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from north carolina is recognized. mr. mchenry: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mchenry: let me first start by expressing to the speaker that this was a bipartisan bill reported out of committee. all the republicans on the committee voted for it, and seven democrats voted for this bill coming out of committee. it's a bipartisan bill. now, the standards of bipartisanship, i don't know what the judgment is now for a

democrat who voted against the bill in committee to say that his fellow democrats aren't democrats for voting for this bill. i don't think that's what the gentleman was indicating but the standard of bipartisanship, we've met it here. we have seven democrats who voted for this bill out of committee. when we reported it out of committee in a dinner time, we -- different time, we reported d this out of committee before thanksgiving, november 14. in light of what just happened over the weekend, we think that some of our committee members and likewise, some democrats on the floor, might see this bill a little differently than maybe they voted in november. after this massive attack by the reigning regime -- iranian regime against israel. maybe they're going to look differently at this and it's a sad thing that a bipartisan bill like this doesn't get the support from democrat leadership. or some on the other side of the aisle. what this bill does is narrow

down what iran can get from international support. we still allow for us to provide the people of iran, not the regime, the people of iran humanitarian assistance. what mr. huizenga's bill does is require the treasury secretary to oppose with their voting power at the i.m.f. and their statements and their words saying to the i.m.f., do not support the iranian regime, and don't allow any unconditional opportunity for iran to access the i.m.f. that's simply what we're doing here. now, that doesn't end the iranian regime's ability to get international dollars and international funds to support their war-making capacity or their terrorism activity. but it's an important statement that we should make as a congress, in light of what happened over the weekend, that

times are different. so i want to commend mr. huizenga for the important work that the gentleman from michigan has done to craft this bill. it was a good bill in november that achieved bipartisan support out of committee. it's even a better bill now that my colleagues can see the malev lens of this iranian regime and their commitment to war making and terror. with that i urge adoption of this bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 5921, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative -- mr. cleaver: request -- the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina seek recognition? mr. mchenry: i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are

ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina seek recognition? mr. mchenry: mr. speaker, i -- i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 6 24r5, the holding iranian leaders accountable act, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk low report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 27. h.r. 6245. a bill to require the secretary of the treasury to report on financial institutions' involvement with officials of the iranian government and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from north carolina, mr. mchenry, and the gentleman from missouri, mr. cleaver, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from north carolina, mr. mchenry. mr. mchenry: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material

on this bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. mchenry: and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mchenry: mr. speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 6245, the holding iranian leaders accountable act, sponsored by the gentleman from arkansas, mr. mr. hill is the subcommittee chair as well as vice chair on the house financial services. he holds posts on the foreign affairs committee as well as the intelligence committee, well positioned to make policy here and construct bipartisan legislation as he has done. and with that, i yield him such time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman is recognized. mr. hill: i thank the speaker and i thank, of course, the chairman of our committee, mr. mchenry from north carolina, for affording the time. mr. speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 6245, the holding iranian leaders accountable act. this legislation would make public detailed information about the assets held by senior iranian government officials and require the u.s. treasury to brief congress about how the

money was acquired and used and the total amounts. the secretary would also identify and seek closure of u.s. and foreign bank accounts connected with these assets. by combining publicly available information with u.s. intelligence, this legislation can provide a valuable window into the corrupt business practices of iran's top kleptocrats and limit their financial holdings which can be used to support and sponsor terrorism. chief among them is ayatollah khomeini who, according to reuters, controls a massive financial empire of real estate, corporate stakes and other assets that total nearly $100 billion. that's right, mr. speaker. the that's right, mr. speaker, the ayatollah, in iran, a man of

faith, in his religion is worth $100 billion. while roughly 60% of the iranian people live in poverty, mr. speaker. so it's important to show ordinary iranians and the rest of the world about the theft and corruption of iran's leaders. the iranian regime has been funding terrorism against the united states for far too long. we have court cases in new york, mr. speaker, of assassination attempts in this country by iranian actors. hamas, so long in the news here because of what's happened in gaza, hamas, for example is a creature of iranian money and training. and the recent barbaric terrorist attacks against israeli demonstrate the need to expose this financial tie. in syria, iran is the primary financier of hamas and the iranian revolutionary guard units fighting alongside russia

to prop up assad's murderous regime. iran-backed militias in iraq have claim responsibility for recent do drone attacks in syria and along the border in. yemen, iran is the primary back ore they have houthis who have routinely launched long-range missiles at israel and have atakd u.s. naval and air forces in the region. these proxies, mr. speaker, seek to destabilize the middle east by creating chaos and hiding mind hostages and civilians. here at home we need strong bipartisan leadership to protect our nation, defend our allies. i'm proud to say it passed the

house financial services committee 49-0 in november. unanimously. and a similar version of the bill passed be bipartisan support in a prior congress. i thank my good friend from california, congressman juan vargas, for his bipartisan support to expose the theocratic blood money and crack down on banks that maintain accounts with connection to those funds. i thank chairman mchenry for affording this bill to come to the house floor. i urge my colleagues to vote yes on h.r. 6245, and i yield back my time to the chair. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina. mr. mchenry: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from missouri. mr. cleaver: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cleaver: i rise to support h.r. 6245 sponsored by representative hill and representative vargas. the bill would require the president to report on the assets of certain iranian

government officials and terrorist leaders and requires the publication of those assets in a report. we've heard from treasury that to the extent that the office of foreign asset control which administers u.s. sangs has such information, it has already acted on it by imposing sanctions on these leaders and officials. nevertheless, i and my democratic colleagues on the financial services committee are comfortable combining these names and asset into one place and if they haven't sanctioned any persons on this list, additional sanctions should follow. democrats also press our republican colleagues to also include the names and assets of russian and belarusian elites, especially due to the growing collaboration of iran and russia. unfortunately, they were not supportive of that effort. while that is a missed opportunity, i hope flans will finally allow funding for

ukraine's war effort to come to the floor so the ukrainians can defeat putin. i urge my colleagues to support this bill and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from north carolina is recognized. mr. mchenry: i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri. mr. cleaver: i have no further speakers, i'm prepared to close if the gentleman has no further speakers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri is recognized. mr. cleaver: mr. speaker, i yield myself such -- the balance of the time. h.r. 6 245 -- 6245 would direct the president to make a report of iranian leaders and their assets to ensure the u.s. government is propsly sanctioning those officials. though this bill wouldn't do anything to protect israel from another attack nor would it support our allies like ukraine and taiwan who are earth being attacked or threatened by an authoritarian regime, it may

help identify targets for additional sanctions. i urge my colleagues to support the bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from north carolina is recognized. mr. mchenry: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mchenry: i want to commend the bipartisan vote out of the house financial services committee. i want to commend the author of this bill, mr. hill, for his work in building con ken us is and the important work we do as a nation state with our economic capacity to support friends and ally to support the rule of law, free speech rights, human rights, human dignity, economic freedom globally through our relationships, and standing against regimes that do not respect those rights. especially, most firmly opposing corrupt regimes and corrupt regimes that commit terrorist acts.

i think this is an important vote especially in light of the events of the weekend in the middle east and the attack by the iranian regime against the people of israel. i urge the adoption and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 6245 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended -- for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina seek recognition? mr. mchenry: i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remaned standing until counted. a sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on the question will be postponed.

for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina seek recognition? mr. mchenry: i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 6015 thierk ran sanctions accountability act of 2023 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 6015, a bill to require the president to prevent the abuse of financial sanctions by iran and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina, mr. mchenry, and the gentleman from missouri, mr. cleaver, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from north carolina. mr. mchenry: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. mchenry: i also ask unanimous consent that the exchange of letters between the committees of jurisdiction be included in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. mchenry: i yield myself such time as i may consume.

i rise in support of h.r. 6015, the iran sanctions accountability act sponsored by the gentleman from missouri, mrf the national exphurt subcommittee on the financial services committee but could noy to articulate his support of the bill he's constructed. the united states sanction regime for iran is designed to deprive tehran of the resources it needs to pursue international terrorism. weapons of mass destruction. and other objects that undermine our national security and global stability. as with other sanctions regimes, our measures against iran include commonsense exemptions for humanitarian aid and humanitarian trade. to be clear, it is the country's dictatorship that we seek to punish, not the ordinary iranian folks forced to suffer under the ayatollahs. at the same time we must ensure that humanitarian trade

involving iran isn't misused for illicit purposes. there's bipartisan support here for that. for example, last september, the biden administration issued a waiver authorizing the transfer of $6 billion in frozen iranian funds. while the president offered assurances that proceeds could only be used for humanitarian purchases, members on both sides of the aisle have questioned whether this would actually be the case. these concerns are understandable and mr. luetkemeyer's legislation addresses that concern head on. under this bill, the president will be required to issue regulations ensuring that humanitarian funds are not diverted to support terrorism or weapons proliferations this may include an array of conditions including specific transaction limits, enhanced due diligence procedures and transparency requirements for iranian counterpartis.

additionally this bill would require these regulations to be evaluated, the president will have to report to congress on their effectiveness in preventing funds from facilitating iran's illicit activities. i applaud mr. luetkemeyer's thoughtful approach to this legislation which is based on the idea that well-designed sanctions rely on well-designed exemptions. this bill received unanimous support of the financial services committee. i look forward toits passage today and urge my colleagues to support h.r. 6015 and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from missouri, mr. cleaver. mr. cleaver: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. clear: i rise to support h.r. 6015, the iran sanctions accountability act of 2023, sponsored by representative luetkemeyer from the great state

of missouri, of which kansas city is a part and it also houses chiefs kingdom. mr. speaker, this bill would require the president to issue regulations that ensure the humanitarian waivers to economic and trade sanction on iran do not facilitate sanctions evasion. acts of international terrorism or the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. currently, in order for nongovernmental organizations, n.g.o.'s, and others who avail themselveses of the license and waiver process available under comprehensive sanctions regime, they mousse undertake extensive efforts to prevent the diversion of goods, services and funds to the targets of sanctions. humanitarian groups have shared details with the financial services committee about their stringent process for preventing sanction evasions and terror financing. these standards are imposed

internationally by -- internally by the n.g.o.'s themselves. for example, through their anti-corruption policies and also externally as seen in the u.s. government contracting requirements or the anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance measures imposed by their correspondent banking partners. this bill goes to -- goes a step further by requiring the office of foreign assets control, ofac to develop a set of formal rules by which humanitarian exceptions to sanctions will not facilitate directly or indirectly support sanctions evasion, act of international terrorism or the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. this bill also requires treasury to instruct the u.s. director at the world bank to formally oppose the provision of financial assistance to the government of iran.

i would note that the u.s. already opposes any financial assistance to the government of iran. notably, republicans are moving this bill at the same time that they are trying to jam through the house a much more toxic version of this bill tomorrow which is h.r. 6323. which would undermine the president's ability to provide waivers to spharntion humanitarian assistance. while mr. luetkemeyer's bill largely is redundant of existing u.s. policy, mrs. kim's bill tomorrow will harm our national interest and america's standing in the world. i urge my colleagues to support this bill and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from north carolina is recognized. mr. mchenry: i reserve, i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from missouri is recognized. mr. cleaver: mr. speaker, i yield myself the balance of he time. h.r. 6015 would require the president to ensure that

humanitarian exemptions involving u.s. sanctions in iran do not facilitate acts of international terrorism transaction which is -- with sanctioned persons or the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. this bill mandates that the president etc. tab lish clear rules for how such sanction waivers, sanctions waivers and licenses can be applied. unlike many of the other bills offered by my republican colleagues this one seems to -- is largely redundant of existing u.s. policy and affirms the long standing practice of the united states to offer humanitarian waivers to our comprehensive sanctions to ensure that innocent civilians are not the targets of our sanctions. again, i urge my colleagues to support this bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri yields back. the gentleman from north carolina is recognized. mr. mchenry: i yield myself such time as i may consume.

. i note this bill is passed out of the finance committee and i would expect similar support on the house floor, to make a strong statement, we want our sanctions to work and when we say we're going to do something as a country, we follow through on that commitment. i think this is a proper way to do that in light of the actions of the iranian regime over the weekend, and in particular we want to make sure all sanctions against the iranian regime are appropriate and appropriately designed and carried out well. with that i yield back my time and ask my colleagues to vote yes on this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 6015 as amended? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative --

mr. mchenry: i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until approximate 6:30 p.m. today

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