U.S. Representative Jim Banks (R-IN) is leading the charge in Congress to reinstate punishing sanctions and penalties against Iran's terror-sponsoring regime amid leniency from the Biden administration that has allowed Tehran to reignite its funding of dangerous terrorist organizations around the world.
Introduced on Monday with the backing of more than 80 of Banks' House colleagues and co-led by Republican Study Committee Chairman Kevin Hern (R-OK) and RSC National Security Task Force Chairman Joe Wilson (R-SC), the Maximum Pressure Act would codify the Trump administration's "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran and prevent the Biden administration from unilaterally acting in ways that have so far seen $6 billion worth of Iranian funds unfrozen and sanctions against Tehran's missile program expire.
Touting the legislation as the toughest sanctions ever proposed against Iran, Banks and his colleagues promise their bill would gut Iran's terror-funding ability, sanction its leader, and force the Biden administration to sanction Iranian oil sales that have continued to provide billions of dollars in pure profit for the bloodthirsty regime. The law would also prevent President Biden from lifting sanctions placed on Iran and give Congress more power to stop Biden from giving additional funds to Iran or pursuing a return to the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
In addition to the punishing sanctions which caused Iran's terrorist proxies to go looking, proverbial hat-in-hand, for funding from other sources in the Arab world, the Maximum Pressure Act also includes a formal declaration that Iran is ultimately responsible for the horrific October 7 attack against Israel carried out by Iran-backed Hamas terrorists and, as such, a return to the "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran is the fitting punishment.
The act would also take the $6 billion worth of unfrozen Iranian funds and divert it into the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund, remove any limits on bounties for the capture of terrorists who perpetrated the October 7 attack on Israel, expand sanctions on Iran's ballistic missile program and its weapons sales to include Iranian-made kamikaze drones, and require the Treasury Department to blacklist all banks in Iran that have so far evaded sanctions.
The Maximum Pressure Act would also require a report on Tehran's intelligence and influence activities in the United States, including the Iran Experts Initiative, to gather more information on whether Iranian agents have managed to gain employment with the federal government as well as a report to understand whether relaxing sanctions on Iran has allowed the regime to spend more funds supporting its terrorist proxies — including what the financial benefit to those terrorist groups due to sanctions relief has been.
"The October 7th attack on Israel, just weeks after the Biden administration released $6 billion to the Iranian regime, was a tragic reminder that weakness begets war," emphasized Rep. Banks in a statement. "This administration’s failed strategy of appeasement has left the world a much more dangerous place than it was before Joe Biden took office. We must restore the policies of the Trump administration, which forged peace through strength, and this legislation is a major step in the right direction," Banks added.
I introduced the Maximum Pressure Act to write the Trump admin’s successful maximum pressure campaign on Iran into law. The Biden administration’s failed policies have only emboldened Iran and facilitated chaos in the Middle East! pic.twitter.com/UcTIMgKN2P
— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) October 30, 2023
Rep. Kevin Hern also noted the effectiveness of the Trump-era "maximum pressure" campaign, highlighting how it "held the Iranian regime and their proxies in check" before "Biden abandoned that campaign" with devastating results including Hamas' attack on Israel and recent attacks on U.S. troops in the Middle East by Iranian militias. "The Maximum Pressure campaign is one of the RSC's flagship foreign policy bills and would build on President Trump's policy by codifying it into law and strengthening it significantly," Hern underscored before pledging to "strongly" advocate for the bill to be "marked up immediately and passed on the floor."
Noting the urgency of undermining Iran's ability to continue funding terrorists around the world, Rep. Joe Wilson said that the "threat emanating from the Iranian regime has never been more dire as we have witnessed mass murder is Israel, including of Americans, by Iran's terrorist puppet Hamas and attacks on U.S. forces by other Iran terrorist proxies. This administration has utterly failed to enforce sanctions and this is the consequence," Wilson added. "I am grateful for the leadership of the Republican Study Committee to apply maximum pressure on the murderous regime that seeks death and destruction around the world."
The full bill as introduced by Rep. Banks can be viewed here.
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