Chris Smith: “I want to thank Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Eliot Engel for, again, working so well together to bring this…”

“I want to thank Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Eliot Engel for, again, working so well together to bring this legislation to the floor; and Lee Zeldin, one of the principal cosponsors of the bill; and Doug Lamborn, of course, the prime author of this legislation. I, too, am proud to be a cosponsor. This is a very important bill that will serve as a measure of justice for the memory of U.S. Army Officer Taylor Force and many others who have been victimized over the years by Palestinian terrorism subsidized by the Palestinian Authority. It is well past time for us to apply real pressure to the Palestinian Authority for continuing incitement for anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, and anti-American violence. This bill takes aim at the PA's ongoing financial incentivizing of murder. Mr. Speaker, when you pay someone to kill somebody else and pay their family to kill somebody else, that is a crime. So this just ought to be seen as a step in trying to say we mean business. Those who authorize those payments ought to be held liable for these crimes. Although 2 years ago Congress deducted the PA's compensatory payments to terrorists and their families from U.S. assistance, there has been no change in the PA's twisted and perverted policy. By conditioning most U.S.…”