Washington D.C. – U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) yesterday was one of the Republicans of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs in a hearing on measures that can be taken by the United States can undertake to ensure maximum pressure is put upon Iran as well as the networks of financial institutions that support terrorist groups such as Hamas.
The Committee hearing was held after Hamas the attack on October 7 on Israel.
As a substitute for Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) senator Britt with her introduction speech talked about the repercussions of the atrocities committed in Israel which she witnessed for herself during her visit to this region of the Middle East this past weekend and the need to US officials in the U.S. to take strong actions as soon as is feasible to counter the Iranian regime’s capacity to help terrorist groups.
Senator Britt’s complete opening statement is below.
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
on behalf of the Ranking Member Scott and all of my Republican co-workers, I am pleased to welcome Senator Butler to the Committee as the latest participant in this Committee.
October 7th is a day that will live forever in the shadows of. It’s been more than 3 weeks now in the past since Hamas terrorists walked into Israel to strike our great partner and best friend. There is no doubt that this was pure evil.
I’ve just returned from a visit in Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Egypt over the weekend. I traveled with a bipartisan group colleagues to communicate in a loud and clear voice to the world at large – to show that the United States of America stands with Israel.
The scene we witnessed firsthand was truly unbelievable. The terrorists who committed these atrocities wore Go Pro cameras as they committed the atrocities. You can see infants were killed and children were killed in the presence the parents. Parents killed before their children. Young women raped. Whole families were burned to ashes. Sisters and daughters, brothers and brothers, were kidnapped and sent into Gaza as hostages or human shields.
Over 1,400 innocents were killed in Israel the same day, and over 200 people were held hostage. It is reported that the State Department reports that at minimum 10 Americans remain hostages, and that at the least 33 U.S. citizens were killed on the 7th of October. While we are here we know who committed these crimes of terror and terror: Hamas. We also know who finances the group and who is the one who trains them: it’s Iran. Iranian regime.
This is the reason you’re in this room today. This Committee is responsible for the nation’s national security economic tools, which includes sanctions. We must employ every tool we have to ensure that those responsible for the attacks and those who financially facilitated them, are not in a position to repeat the act. The Committee is also charged with monitoring to ensure that each administration abides by the laws that protect our national security and also the safety of allies.
This includes making that the Administration to account when the Administration decides to ignore or omit these tools. That’s why I’d be happy to support Scott’s request to the Ranking Member to have Treasury Secretary Yellen be present before this Committee in the earliest time possible.
There is no doubt that Iran is in a way assisting Hamas. Keep in mind, “Evil cannot exist if those who are good are not afraid.” Iran is the most powerful state supporter of terrorism, providing thousands of million of dollars in order to groups like Hamas and Hezbollah and also weapons, training for military, and weapons.
Despite years of Iranian backing for atrocities of similar nature and crimes, which have killed Americans and killed Americans, the Biden Administration has opted to keep the appeasement policies that failed that were implemented during Obama’s administration. Obama Administration. We are all aware that money can be manipulated. Contrary to what the administration claims when you transfer the sum of $6 billion for Iran this frees up about $6 billion in funds to put elsewhere like supporting the terrorists who are proxy forces in Gaza. The administration must permanently limit the funds. Since they were not willing to allow them to be released at all I am urging my fellow colleagues to vote in favor of Scott’s Ranking Member’s Revoke Iranian Funding Act, which I was the original co-sponsor of. This would be the best way to deal with it.
The administration took action last week to punish several Hamas financiers and operatives however it was a bit too little and too late to prevent what occurred on the 7th of October. How many years has the administration been aware about these terror financiers but failed to take action?
We need answers from the Secretary Yellen.
The executive branch has the tools required to effectively sanction terrorists who are state sponsors and terrorist organizations. However, this Administration should make use of the tools available in its toolbox and implement the sanctions. We must get back to an Maximum Pressure approach toward Iran and impose the most brutal comprehensive sanctions regime to is able to squeeze Iran economically dry.
I’d like to also address another aspect of this issue in our own country and in a literal sense. On campuses of colleges and in major cities across the country, as this has been the case recently in our capital city – and even inside the halls Congress there have been antisemitic demonstrations that justify and even exaggerating acts of Hamas terrorists. It is a form of propagandism and is completely unacceptable.
I had no idea of our country, the United States of America, at this point we’d have to fight to define evil as the evil. Hamas’s actions Hamas are not to be celebrated or celebrated by anyone American. They’re not just in opposition to the values that define our country, but also to every fiber of our being.
Remember that it is true that the State of Israel was created after the Holocaust in order that Jewish people would never need to go back into hiding. However, that’s the situation we’re witnessing now.
HTML0 We, the Americans We have vowed to the world since World War II: “Never again.”
Since the 7th of October, that promise has come under attack both in Israel and at home. We are morally bound to keep our word and to ensure that we do so under our watch”Never Again” is a reference to ‘Never Again’. .’
I’ll conclude by saying that I’ve had the privilege of sitting on the floor with family members whose beloved family members are held captive at least twice, in Israel as well as here in the United States. There are pictures of precious Abigail who is three years old who Hamas employs as an human shield. If you know her story, and the stories of the remaining hostages it will break your heart.
We must do more.
This Committee is able to ensure that this doesn’t happen again. This Committee has the ability to demonstrate that America can still distinguish what is good from evil.
I am looking forward to hearing today’s witnesses to find solutions that enable to the United States: to stand side-by-side with Israel and demonstrate unshakeable American force to ward off further violent aggression and to hold accountable the people who perpetrated the terrorist attacks and those who backed them.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.”
In response to questions Senator Britt described the Biden Administration’s “inadequate utilization of the tools it has available to limit the financial resources of Iran” which was identified in the State Department as the world’s biggest state sponsor of terror.
“We could crack down on the violations of sanctions and that’s exactly what’s occurring,” said Danielle Pletka as Outstanding Senior Fellow of American Enterprise Institute. American Enterprise Institute.
She then emphasized that, based on the experts’ witness testimony, it’s evident that Iran along with other actors from around the world continue to evade the current American restrictions on financial transactions, despite the Administration not using its full enforcement capabilities. The Iranian regime then uses the proceeds from illicit transactions, including the sale of oil, in order to finance several terrorist organizations like Hamas as well as Hezbollah. Since the time that President Biden began his presidency, Iran has profited nearly $80 billion from sales of oil. To put this in perspective, during the final year of the Trump Administration Iran’s oil sales fell to $7.9 billion.
