[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 776 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 776

       Urging the Biden administration to rescind the release of 
  $6,000,000,000 in frozen Iranian funds and to lawfully enforce the 
                           Taylor Force Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 11, 2023

Mr. Lawler (for himself, Mr. Zinke, Mr. Bilirakis, Ms. Malliotakis, Mr. 
 Posey, Mr. Feenstra, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Langworthy, and Ms. 
         Greene of Georgia) submitted the following resolution

                            October 25, 2023

              Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
       Urging the Biden administration to rescind the release of 
  $6,000,000,000 in frozen Iranian funds and to lawfully enforce the 
                           Taylor Force Act.

Whereas, on October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists carried out a brutal attack on 
        Israel in which they launched thousands of missiles, slaughtered 
        innocent civilians, including children and the elderly, and took over 
        100 hostages into the Gaza Strip;
Whereas Hamas is a United States-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization with 
        strong ties to Iran;
Whereas Iran has long provided financial support, weapons training, and other 
        support to Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups such as Palestinian 
        Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-
        General Command;
Whereas there have been reports of Iranian involvement in the planning and 
        execution of the October 7th Hamas terrorist attack against Israel;
Whereas, on September 11, 2023, the Biden administration notified Congress about 
        an agreement to release $6,000,000,000 in sanctioned Iranian funds and 
        give clemency to 5 Iranian criminals in exchange for the release of 5 
        American hostages;
Whereas the Biden administration's negotiations with the terrorist Iranian 
        regime incentivizes hostage taking and delegitimizes United States 
        sanctions;
Whereas the Biden administration has defended this ill-thought-out agreement by 
        arguing that the $6,000,000,000 does not include any taxpayer dollars 
        and are merely ``Iranian funds'' that will go toward humanitarian aid;
Whereas at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on September 14, 2023, 
        experts confirmed the clear concept that money is fungible, and 
        releasing frozen dollars to Iran will free up other money to be spent on 
        other activities, such as Iran's support for terrorist groups like 
        Hamas;
Whereas, in direct contradiction of the Biden administration's talking points, 
        Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stated ``This money belongs to the 
        Iranian people, the Iranian Government, so the Islamic Republic of Iran 
        will decide what to do with this money'', according to his translator;
Whereas, on March 23, 2018, President Donald Trump signed into law the Taylor 
        Force Act (22 U.S.C. 2346), which prohibits United States assistance 
        from directly benefitting the Palestinian Authority until the 
        Palestinian Authority halts payments from their Martyr's Fund to 
        individuals who commit acts of terrorism against Israel;
Whereas the Taylor Force Act also urges United States officials to highlight 
        this pay-to-slay policy at United Nations meetings and to urge other 
        countries to halt payments to the Palestinian Authority;
Whereas the Palestinian Authority continues to operate the Martyr's Fund and 
        subsidize terrorism;
Whereas, despite the passage and continued standing of the Taylor Force Act, the 
        Biden administration increased aid to Palestinians, refrains from 
        highlighting the existence of the Martyr's Fund at the United Nations, 
        and encourages other countries to provide assistance to the Palestinian 
        Authority;
Whereas, while the fault of the attack lays on Hamas and its terrorist allies, 
        the Biden administration's continued appeasement of terrorist regimes 
        and soft-on-terrorism policies have emboldened these barbarians; and
Whereas, in light of Israel's war, it is critical that the United States 
        supports our ally by halting all funding to Hamas, the Palestinian 
        Authority, Iran, and their terrorist allies complicit in the attack: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns the Biden administration's release of 
        $6,000,000,000 in sanctioned Iranian funds to Iran and urges 
        the immediate rescission of the waiver that allowed for the 
        transfer of these assets;
            (2) condemns the Biden administration's violations of the 
        Taylor Force Act and urges the law be carried out in full; and
            (3) supports our ally Israel in its war against terror.
                                 <all>