WASHINGTON, D.C. — The House of Representatives passed Reps. David Kustoff (R-TN) and Claudia Tenney's (R-NY) bill, H.R. 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, by a vote of 219-184.
This bipartisan legislation will revoke the tax-exempt status of U.S. nonprofits found to have provided material support to designated terrorist groups and will waive certain Internal Revenue Service (IRS) late fees and penalties for Americans held unlawfully abroad.
Congressman Kustoff spoke on the House Floor in favor of H.R. 9495. Click here to watch his remarks or read them as prepared below.
I rise today in strong support of H.R. 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act. I am proud this is a bipartisan bill that will make much needed improvements to our tax code.
I want to thank my colleagues, Representatives Claudia Tenney from New York, Brad Schneider from Illinois, and Dina Titus from Nevada for joining me in introducing this legislation.
I’d also like to thank Chairman Jason Smith for his strong support and leadership with this bill.
Today, right now, there are American citizens being held captive by terrorist groups and foreign adversaries.
Under current law, Americans who have been detained illegally abroad may be subject to certain tax penalties and IRS fees.
It is our responsibility to bring these Americans home and fix this unacceptable flaw in the federal tax code.
The last thing these Americans should have to deal with is more government red tape and bureaucracy.
H.R. 9495 also works to prevent abuse in our tax code.
Since the horrific attack on Israel by Hamas, the Ways and Means Committee has investigated the terror groups and bad actors that threaten the U.S. and our allies.
One finding, which should enrage all of us, is that there are tax-exempt nonprofits operating in the United States despite being suspected of providing support to terrorist groups, such as Hamas.
Most recently, a “journalist” working for a publication called The Palestine Chronicle – which is part of a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization based in the U.S. – was discovered holding Israeli hostages in his Gaza home. This is unacceptable.
The financing of terrorism and extremism should not have preferential treatment under the U.S. tax code. I think this should be a no-brainer.
This legislation will revoke the tax-exempt status of any organization found to have provided material support or resources to a designated terrorist group within the past three years.
I do want to note that this part of the bill was originally considered on the House Floor on April 15, 2024, under H.R. 6408.
The language in H.R. 6408 affecting these tax-exempt groups is the same language in the legislation we are considering today. It passed by a vote of 382-11, which I think in the current political atmosphere is pretty remarkable.
I also appreciate that there are a number of people speaking against this bill today who voted in favor of H.R. 6408 on April 15th. Obviously, a vote of 382-11 shows the resounding support of this body.
If there are any due process concerns, which we have been hearing about this morning, they existed in that bill on April 15th, and yet, only 11 people voted no.
I was glad to see this commonsense legislation unanimously pass out of the Ways and Means Committee. Chairman Smith in his remarks termed it as commonsense and that's exactly what it is.
For all these reasons, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this important legislation today.
Background:
H.R. 9495 was introduced in the House of Representatives on September 9, 2024, by Reps. Kustoff, Tenney, Brad Schneider (D-IL), and Dina Titus (D-NV). It unanimously passed the House Ways and Means Committee on September 11, 2024.
Click here for the full text of the bill.
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This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://kustoff.house.gov/media/press-releases/kustoff-bill-stop-terror-financing-and-tax-penalties-american-hostages-act-0