WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX), chairman of the House Rules Committee, today issued the following statement after voting in favor of the Iran Terror Finance Transparency Act, which ensures that the president would not be able to offer sanctions relief to Iran on issues relating to financial transactions with other terrorist organizations, prohibits the Obama administration from lifting Iran’s designation as a “Jurisdiction of Primary Money Laundering Concern,” provides more insight for Congress to review financial business being conducted in Iran and generally prevents the administration from lifting sanctions on bad actors involved in destabilizing activities in the region:
“I have said it before: Obama’s so-called deal with Iran is no deal at all, but rather a gift to a country that hates Americans and seeks our demise. While I maintain that the deal does almost nothing to stop Iran from building nuclear weapons, what is equally important is that this deal lacks elements that will allow the U.S. to appropriately sanction Iran for using money laundering and other illicit financial practices to support terrorism and gain access to the U.S.’ and other global financial systems.
“President Obama said that sanctions on Iran for ‘its support of terrorism, its human rights abuses [and] its ballistic missile program will continue to be fully enforced.’ But the fact is, no laws are currently in place to prevent this White House from lifting sanctions on those involved in these destructive practices. In fact, the deal prescribes a lifting of certain sanctions on individuals and entities that are engaged in these activities. This cannot stand.
“This measure, H.R. 3662, allows the Congress to review how the Treasury Department licenses U.S. companies to do business in Iran, prevents the president from lifting sanctions on an individual or bank until it is clear they have not conducted business with terrorist organizations and bad actors, prohibits the White House from lifting Iran’s designation as a “Jurisdiction of Primary Money Laundering Concern” and clarifies which terrorist organizations – such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad – are included in the list of terror organizations for the purposes of financial sanctions.
“The best tools we have against evil of this magnitude are economic sanctions. By refusing to take a hard line on financial transparency in this deal, President Obama endangered our homeland and made the world less safe. This measure is an important step towards ensuring our security and appropriately punishing terrorist groups whose goal it is to spread their evil and destruction across the globe.”
For more on the Iran Terror Finance Transparency Act, H.R. 3662, click here.
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