Chris Van Hollen: “As a cosponsor of H. Res. 834, I rise to thank Representatives Kelly and Deutch for bringing this important resolution…”

“As a cosponsor of H. Res. 834, I rise to thank Representatives Kelly and Deutch for bringing this important resolution to the floor today and to encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting the measure. H. Res. 834 urges the governments of Europe and the European Union to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. According to John Brennan, the deputy national security advisor, Europe's failure to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist group makes it more difficult to defend the citizens of the European Union and the United States because Hezbollah is able to openly raise funds in some European countries and because EU countries are unable to prosecute Hezbollah members suspected of plotting terrorist attacks. Hezbollah has been implicated in multiple acts of terrorism over the past 30 years, including the bombings in Lebanon in 1983 of the United States Embassy, the United States Marine barracks, and the French Army barracks, the airline hijackings and the kidnapping of European, American, and other Western hostages in the 1980s and 1990s. Before al Qaeda's attack on the U.S. on September 11, 2001, Hezbollah was responsible for killing more Americans in terrorist attacks than any other terrorist group. Today, Hezbollah is training militants in Yemen and Syria and continues to provide financial and material support to the regime of Bashar al Assad.…”