Sen. Scott to Support Supplemental Funding Bill

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement in support of the supplemental funding package being considered by the Senate this week:

“This is an essential step in standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our ally Israel and providing meaningful action as they defend their people from Iran and its terrorist proxies.

“While far from perfect, I support this national security package because it will help keep Americans and our allies safe. The effort of Congress to support our allies should be applauded, but President Biden’s foreign policies have been an utter failure. When it comes to Israel, the President has chosen to pander to his radical base. This not only undermines our allies, it emboldens Iran and sends a dangerous signal as Xi stares across the Taiwan Strait and Putin decimates Ukrainian towns with eyes elsewhere. Meanwhile, Biden refuses to hold Iran accountable, clearly denounce antisemitism, and restore stability and safety at home and abroad. It is time for a change. 

“Of critical importance to Americans here at home is my FEND Off Fentanyl Act, which is included and will target the financial assets of the criminal groups in China and Mexico poisoning our communities and profiting off the backs of Americans suffering from addiction. The supplemental also holds the Biden administration accountable for their appeasement of Iran by including a critical reporting requirement from my Revoke Iranian Funding Act that will ensure Congress has the information on Iran sanctions it needs to provide oversight of the Biden administration and take action against the Iranian regime.”

BACKGROUND

In the 118th Congress, Senator Scott has been a leader in pushing for a tougher U.S. posture toward Iran and its proxies, unequivocally supporting our great ally, Israel, and condemning the disturbing rise in antisemitism in the United States and abroad by: 

• Penning a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) calling on the Senate to fulfill its constitutional duty by holding a trial to consider the impeachment of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
• Supporting a resolution denouncing the Biden administration’s open border; policies, which have fueled the largest border invasion in American history;
• Introducing a resolution reiterating Israel’s right to self-defense and condemning recent statements from U.S. lawmakers, which interfere in Israel’s sovereign electoral process;
• Leading a group of Republican senators in calling on the Biden administration to censure Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors meeting following a report showing Iran’s nuclear enrichment activity tripled by the end of last year;
• Championing S. Res. 417, a resolution expressing solidarity with Israel in the wake of the October 7th attack, which passed the Senate with near unanimous support;
• Voting in support of the FY24 NDAA, which included numerous provisions to increase U.S. security cooperation with Israel;
• Meeting with victims of Hamas and members of victims’ families, hearing first-hand about the brutality inflicted by Hamas on innocent civilians, including innocent children;
• Supporting the Israel Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2023, which would provide $14.3 billion of aid to Israel;
• Introducing the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which directs the Department of Education to use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism when investigating antisemitic acts on campus;
• Introducing the Stop Antisemitism on College Campuses Act to defund colleges and universities that enable violent antisemitism on their campuses;
• Authoring the Stop Support for Hamas Act with Senator Ricketts to cut U.S. funding for UNRWA and prevent bilateral U.S. assistance from winding up in the hands of Hamas terrorists;
• Introducing the Preventing Terrorism at the U.N. Act to restrict U.S. funding to the United Nations until UNRWA is abolished; and
• Voting against and condemning Senator Bernie Sanders’ anti-Israel resolution.

In his capacity as Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over economic sanctions, Senator Scott has led the charge in pushing back on the Biden administration’s disturbing pattern of sanctions non-enforcement and sanctions relief to Iran, which have made funds more accessible for the Iranian regime and its terror proxies to attack U.S. servicemembers and our allies. His efforts include:

• Pushing for passage of his Solidify Iran Sanctions Act, which passed the House by a vote of 407-16. This timely, commonsense bill would extend sanctions on funding for Iran’s energy and weapons sectors and curtail the regime’s ability to develop its nuclear program and finance destabilizing activities;
• Calling on the Treasury Department to block Iran’s access to funds and demanding an accounting of all international high-value Iranian assets around the world that are currently blocked by U.S. sanctions;
• Leading efforts to hold the Biden administration accountable following the authorization of yet another Iran sanctions waiver;
• Immediately following the Biden administration’s August decision to release $6 billion to Iran, leading his colleagues in demanding answers from the administration;
• After the October 7th attack, being the first leader of the Senate Banking Committee to demand accountability from the Biden administration on the release of the $6 billion, and calling for Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to testify and for the Senate to investigate the matter; and
• Introducing the Revoke Iranian Funding Act to permanently freeze the $6 billion released by the Biden administration to Iran and direct the Treasury Secretary to provide an accounting of all high-value Iranian assets around the world that are currently blocked by U.S. sanctions as well as identify all Iran-related waivers and sanctions relaxation policies.

As the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Scott wrote and introduced the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, which directs the Department of Treasury to use the U.S. economic national security tools to choke off the profits of the Chinese precursor manufacturers and the Mexican cartels that push fentanyl across the border. The bill was debated and unanimously passed out of the Senate Banking Committee on June 21, 2023, during the committee’s first legislative markup since 2019, and has 68 Senate cosponsors. Multiple national groups, including law enforcement associations and anti-opioid abuse organizations, also voiced support for the bill.