Blake Moore: “As always, I appreciate the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa) and his thoughtful, but yet frustratingly common…”

“As always, I appreciate the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa) and his thoughtful, but yet frustratingly common voice on energy policy. I thank my colleagues for being here tonight and taking the time to speak on some of these priorities the House Republicans are focused on as we look forward to the 119th Congress, Mr. Speaker. As I mentioned earlier, House Republicans are pushing legislation to reform the United States tax code, to protect American hostages abroad, and support our domestic energy industry. Currently, there are approximately 46 Americans wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad, and our tax code does not provide any relief beyond 1 year for detainees. The Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act works to support Americans by preventing the IRS from charging late fees and penalties to U.S. citizens wrongfully detained abroad. This bill also revokes the tax-exempt status of U.S. nonprofit organizations that provide financial or material support to terrorist groups like Hamas. This is the most commonsense legislation that we are going to see in the lameduck period, and I am hopeful to see this through the legislative process entirely as it passes the House. Americans should not be penalized for being held hostage by adversaries abroad, and this bill is a necessary step toward ensuring detainees and hostages are able to focus on safely returning home and reuniting with their families.…”