Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government and Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Ander Crenshaw (R-FL) said on Tuesday that Iran must be held accountable for its record of terrorism against Americans, its neighbors and its people.
Crenshaw’s response came in support of the Iran Terror Finance Transparency Act, H.R. 3662, which provides for enhanced Congressional oversight over U.S. economic and trade sanctions, particularly over Iranian terrorism financiers.
“When it comes to the president’s Iran nuclear deal, the United States has never been in the driver’s seat,” Crenshaw said. “It was a bad deal at the start and never took our demands into consideration. That’s why I’ve opposed it every step of the way. We cannot and will not risk offering relief to groups who have records of conducting terrorism. My strong vote of support for the Iran Terror Finance Transparency Act helps put teeth into the oversight process when it comes to U.S. economic and trade sanctions. Iran must be held accountable for its record of terrorism against Americans, its neighbors, and its own people.”
The legislation, which passed the House yesterday in a bipartisan vote of 246-181, would block the president from offering individuals or banks sanctions relief without first certifying that the entity has not conducted a significant transaction with a terrorist organization, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or in support of either Iran’s ballistic missile or weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs.
It also prohibits the administration’s lifting of Iran’s designation as a “Jurisdiction of Primary Money Laundering Concern” unless the government of Iran is certified as no longer supporting terrorism, pursuing WMDs and their delivery systems, or engaging in illicit financial activities.