WASHINGTON – United States Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Tim Scott (R-SC), and 20 Republican colleagues introduced the Revoke Iranian Funding Act to rescind the general licenses that enabled the release of the $6 billion to Iran and prevent the Iranian regime from accessing and using the funds held in Qatar to finance terrorist attacks against Israel or any other nation.
“On the anniversary of America’s deadliest terrorist attack, Biden gave the leading state sponsor of terrorism access to six billion dollars,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Iran may not have told Hamas to do this, but they prepared Hamas to do it. That preparation required money. Stop giving Iran money.”
“The Biden administration’s decision to release $6 billion to Iran – the world’s leading state sponsor of terror – was a grave mistake that created a market for American hostages, emboldened our adversaries, and put a credit on the balance sheets of one of Hamas’s biggest backers,” said Senator Scott. “In the wake of Hamas’s horrific attacks on Israel, it has only become clearer that this rogue regime cannot be trusted as long they continue to support terrorist organizations. My bill is a comprehensive approach to wielding our economic sanctions tools against Iran by freezing the $6 billion and ensuring Congress has the information necessary to prevent Iran from accessing funds in the future. We must be unequivocal that the United States will not back down and waive sanctions on frozen Iranian funds held by other nations.”
In addition, the bill directs the Treasury Secretary to study all high-value Iranian assets around the world that are currently blocked by U.S. sanctions and provide that information to Congress, ensuring Congress has the information necessary to enact further targeted legislation, if necessary.
Cassidy and Scott were joined by U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID), John Cornyn (R-TX), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John Barrasso (R-WY), John Hoeven (R-ND), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Steve Daines (R-MT), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Braun (R-IN), Rick Scott (R-FL), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), JD Vance (R-OH), Katie Britt (R-AL), and Pete Ricketts (R-NE) in introducing this legislation.