On the recordOctober 25, 2017
For 30 years, Hezbollah has remained Iran's proxy and Iran remains Hezbollah's primary source of financial support--a cozy relationship. In April 2015, its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, boasted that, even under sanctions, Iran still funds Hezbollah's terror. He anticipated that ``a rich and powerful Iran, which will be open to the world'' will be able to do even more. The Iran nuclear agreement has made it possible for Iran to provide Hezbollah with a windfall. But Tehran is not Hezbollah's only source of income. Since its inception, Hezbollah has developed a broad criminal network involved in a range of illicit activities, from drug trafficking to cigarette smuggling, to money laundering to counterfeiting. These global terrorists double as global criminals. This is why we must employ a combination of law enforcement, financial, criminal, civil, and regulatory tools to deter, disrupt, and publicly illuminate the global illicit Hezbollah network. {time} 1600 I want to thank Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel for closely collaborating and developing this critical legislation, as well as Senator Rubio and Senator Shaheen in the Senate that have taken the lead on this effort in the Senate. I look forward to continuing to work with them to get this critical legislation signed into law. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
