Washington, DC— Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006.  The goal of this bill is to prevent U.S. taxpayer funds from going to support Hamas.  I support this goal.  Hamas is a terrorist organization that has called for the destruction of Israel and its replacement with an Islamist state.  Hamas has employed the bombing and murder of Israeli civilians to this end.

 No American government should provide any support—financial or otherwise—that benefits a terror group.  I voted to uphold this principle in February, when the House passed S. Con. Res. 79, which stated that no United States assistance should be provided to the Palestinian Authority if any political party holding a majority of parliamentary seats within the Palestinian Authority maintains a position calling for the destruction of Israel.

 Unfortunately, unlike S. Con. Res. 79, H.R. 4681 contained additional language that would grant the President authority to unilaterally withhold our dues to the United Nations.  Withholding of UN dues is a scorched-earth policy that, while sometimes effective in the short term, causes real long term damage to American influence and interests.  At a time when the United States is trying to employ diplomacy to persuade the world to isolate Hamas, I feel it would be dangerously counterproductive to antagonize that same audience.  For this reason, I voted “present” on H.R. 4681.  I will continue to support policies which I believe are most likely to encourage peace for Israel and her neighbors, and oppose those that advocate and employ violence.