Crapo, Brown Applaud Passage of Hezbollah Sanctions Bill
Final bill will now go to the President’s desk for signature
WASHINGTON– The U.S. Senate passed the bipartisan Hezbollah InternationalFinancing Prevention Amendments Act (S. 1595), backed by Senate Banking Committee ChairmanMike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Ranking MemberSherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Senators Marco Rubio (R-Florida) and Jeanne Shaheen(D-New Hampshire), and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-California)and Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-New York). The bill now heads to thePresident to be signed into law.
AsChairman and Ranking Member of the Banking Committee, Crapo and Brown helped tousher the original Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act, co-authoredby Rubio and Shaheen, through the Committee by unanimous consent. The finalbill, which was negotiated with House counterparts, strengthens and expands thescope of economic and financial sanctions imposed by the original bill.
“Hezbollah,its agents and Iranian financial backers are experts in the art of concealingtheir nefarious dealings,” said Crapo. “This legislation, spearheaded bySenators Rubio, Shaheen and our House colleagues, builds on the legislationpassed in 2015, imposes additional sanctions on Hezbollah, and targets thoseforeign nations, government agencies and foreign companies or individuals whowould support its terrorist activities by knowingly providingarms, recruitment services and combat or financialsupport to its terrorist activities. It is long overdue, and constantvigilance must be maintained if we are ever to see an end to the evil thisterrorist group brings.”
“I’mpleased the Senate has approved and the President is expected to signbipartisan legislation to provide the administration with important new toolsto combat the terrorist group Hezbollah,” said Brown. “Congress mustcontinue to press efforts to disrupt Hezbollah’s financing while stronglysupporting our allies, including Israel, through closer security cooperation.This bill makes clear we must confront this threat by deploying a broad rangeof tools -- sanctions, law enforcement, financial, regulatory and others -- tocombat Hezbollah, its affiliates and supporters throughout the region.”
“Iranian-backedHezbollah terrorists are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans,and continue to pose grave threats to the United States and our allies, includingthe democratic state of Israel,” Rubio said. “This legislation willstrengthen international efforts to combat the financing and expansion of Hezbollah’sterrorist and missile threats, as well as its narcotics trafficking and othertransnational criminal activities, and build upon the successes of our 2015 lawthat targets Hezbollah, its proxies and its enablers. Ithank my colleagues in the Senate and House for their support of this importantbill, and I look forward to seeing the president sign it into law soon.”
“Hezbollahhas American blood on its hands and remains an ever-present threat to ournational security and that of our allies, especially Israel," saidShaheen. "This bipartisan legislation helps further close the space inwhich Hezbollah operates and ensures that our government is comprehensivelytargeting Hezbollah’s networks of support and holding its backers accountable.I look forward to the President signing this legislation into law so that theseenhanced measures can go into effect as soon as possible.”
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