Gottheimer Hails Passage of Taylor Force Act to End the Funding of Terror

Bipartisan legislation targets Palestinian “pay to slay” system

WASHINGTON — Yesterday, Congressman Josh Gottheimer spoke on the House Floor, urging passage of H.R.1164, the Taylor Force Act. Gottheimer is a member of the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance, and a cosponsor of the bipartisan legislation.

The Taylor Force Act would eliminate U.S. foreign aid that directly benefits the Palestinian Authority (PA) until it ends the practice of rewarding official payments to terrorists for killing innocent civilians, including American citizens like U.S. Army veteran Taylor Force.

“For years, the Palestinian Authority has paid off terrorists and their families, rewarding deadlier acts of terrorism with even more money. I am proud the House passed this bipartisan legislation that is targeted to achieve maximum leverage over the Palestinian Authority to end the funding of terror,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “This legislation stands in stark contrast to a partisan, one-sided, offensive, and harmful bill recently introduced in Congress, under the guise of promoting human rights, that would cut aid to Israel for cracking down on terrorism. Israel has the right and an obligation to defend itself and its civilians, who have been the targeted victims of brutal attacks and murders while going about their daily lives.

“The United States must use every tool at our disposal to counter violence and terrorist groups,  including Hamas, Hezbollah, and ISIS. The Palestinian Authority may well continue down the path of more hatred, violence, and terror, without regard for the damage inflicted, or for their role in diminishing the prospects for peace. But so long as they pay citizens to murder civilians, then they will do so without benefiting from the support of United States taxpayers.”

Video from his floor remarks can be found HERE. Yesterday, H.R. 1164 passed with unanimous support on the House floor.

Last month, the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed Representative Josh Gottheimer and Brian Mast’s Palestinian International Terrorism Support Prevention Act. In May, Congressman Gottheimer co-signed the bipartisan Tenney-Suozzi letter urging Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to directly address these payment issues with PA President Abbas during his visit to Washington D.C.

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