Goodbye 117th Congress and Hello to the 118th House Members

By Julia Pitner

IN ITS CLOSING DAYS, the 117th Congress passed H.R. 2617, the Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2023, which was signed into law by President Biden on Dec. 29, 2022. Among the pieces of legislation that were not included in the Omnibus bill were H.R. 9691 “requiring investigation into all non-natural deaths of journalists in a foreign nation, who are U.S. citizens or working on behalf of a U.S.-based news media entity,” H.R. 9697 “prohibiting the use of U.S. funds to support the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen” and H.R.

5148/S. 2120, the U.S.—Israel Artificial Intelligence Center Act.

Staying true to the punish Iran stance, the Masih Alinejad Harassment and Unlawful Targeting Act of 2022 (aka the Masih Alinejad HUNT Act of 2022) was added to this omnibus appropriations bill. It is major Iran sanctions legislation with complex and farreaching implications that are unrelated to appropriations but hamstring the administration’s effort to reformulate the U.S. relationship with Iran, specifically the nuclear negotiations and other matters.

The original legislation was introduced by Sens. Patrick Toomey (R-PA), Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Jacklyn Rosen (D-NV) in 2021. After more than a year in circulation, it at- tracted only 10 cosponsors. Notably, parts of this bill were also offered multiple times, all unsuccessfully, as amendments to other major legislation. It was never discussed or marked up in any Senate committee, nor was it ever considered on the Senate floor. Yet, because it was appended to the FY23 Omnibus as a free-standing title, it is now the law (likely in large part due to the horrific actions of the Iranian government against Iranian protesters). Much like the DEFEND Act, which created a Middle East security architecture under the rubric of the Abraham Accords, this piece of policy legislation was added with no discussion or mark-ups in Senate committees, no hearings or floor votes and almost no debate.

Once the 118th House members were finally sworn in on Jan. 7, 2023, they quickly set the tone on Middle East issues, with several bills being introduced while members were being appointed to key committees. Iran and Palestine were the focus right out of the gate. On Jan. 9, H. Con. Res. 7 was introduced by Rep. Claudia Tenney (RNY) with 64 bipartisan cosponsors, “Commending the bravery, courage and resolve of the women and men of Iran demonstrating in more than 133 cities and risking their safety to speak out against the Iranian regime’s human rights abuses.” Passing the House by a vote of 420-1, the Senate introduced the concurrent S. Con. Res. 2 on Jan. 26, sponsored by Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and 39 bipartisan cosponsors, now in the Committee on Foreign Relations.

Focus On Palestine

The House members immediately focused their attention on U.N. organizations dealing with Palestine and Palestinians. Two days after being sworn in, Rep. Greggory Steube (R-FL), with 19 cosponsors, introduced H.R. 211, “To provide for the abolition of certain United Nations groups, and for other purposes.” The bill, introduced on Jan. 9, is the 2023 expanded version of the COI Elimination Act H.R. 7223, also introduced by Steube, which sought “abolition of the U.N. International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel.” Steube introduced the same bill in 2022, cosponsored by 101 Republicans and 18 Democrats.

Reps. Brian Mast (R-FL) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) introduced H.R. 340 on Jan. 12 with no cosponsors. The bill proposes “To impose sanctions with respect to foreign support for terrorist organizations, including Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.” It was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Financial Services. The bill would “sanction all financial backers of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or their affiliates. Any person, group, or government who supports Hamas is complicit, and the U.S. should not reward them with aid or access to our economy.”

The previous bill, cosponsored by Gottheimer (D-NJ), passed the House in the

Nominated to serve on the HFAC, along with lifetime pro-Israel PAC donations, as of Jan. 2023:

Sherman, Brad (D-CA)$640,750 Salazar, Maria (R-FL)$167,515 Mast, Brian (R-FL)$432,576 Costa, Jim (D-CA)*$285,226

Other signatories: Titus, Dina (D-NV)$129,911 Torres, Ritchie (D-NY)$349,067 Norcross, Don (D-NJ)$116,250 Peters, Scott (D-CA)$ 23,674 Gottheimer, Josh (D-NJ)$917,159 Golden, Jared (D-ME)$189,475 Fitzpatrick, Brian (R-PA)$294,527

*Leaving HFAC

Source: OpenSecrets previous Congress as a part of the FY23 National Defense Authorization Act, but was removed from the bill by the Senate.

H.R. 552 was introduced on Jan. 26 by Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX) and 13 cosponsors (all Republicans), “To prohibit United States contributions to the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and for other purposes,” aka the “No Tax Dollars for the United Nation’s Immigration Invasion Act.’’ The bill states: “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Federal Government may not make a contribution to the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), or the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).” It also requires a report on all U.S. funding to the three organizations in 2021 and 2022, that should also “assess and specify the amount of funds IOM, UNHCR, and UNRWA should repay to the U.S.” The bill was referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Gooden introduced this same measure in 2021 (H.R. 6155). Rep. Gooden’s press release stated that this bill “prevents taxpayer funds from being used to facilitate mass migration into the U.S.” The fact is that UNRWA has nothing to do with migration (mass or otherwise) to the U.S., so it seems clear that inclusion of UNRWA in this anti-immigration bill is aimed to garner votes from anti-Palestinian Democrats (unlikely) or (more likely) to use it as a political tool to label opposition to the bill as anti-Israel.

Letters to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk were penned by Rep. Brad Sherman (DCA) on Jan. 23 and co-signed by 10 fellow House members (listed in the box), attacking Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, for alleged antiSemitism, explicitly citing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism as the standard against which she must be judged. The letter goes on to attack the U.N. for antiSemitism and closes saying, “We urge you to demonstrate that the U.N. is capable of genuinely addressing anti-Semitism by removing Ms. Albanese from her post.” Since her portfolio is tracking human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, it comes as little surprise that she is under fire. Of note, all the signatories are beneficiaries of proIsrael PAC campaign support; three were nominated to the House Foreign Relations Committee, including the letter’s author.

On Jan. 26, Rep. Jake Auchincloss (DMA) delivered a speech on a bill that would reintroduce the creation of the U.S.-Israel artificial intelligence (AI) center. Although the new version hasn’t been submitted yet, he stated that the piece of legislation would allow the U.S. “to collaborate with international partners like the Israeli government … to tap into the expertise of both countries and draw upon each other’s resources to explore and develop cutting-edge AI advancements.” Previous versions of the same legislation introduced in both the House and in the Senate in 2021 garnered little support and, as noted above, were removed from the FY23 Omnibus bill.

Meanwhile, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), former Chair of the House Intelligence Committee, and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, are waiting for responses to letters sent in late December to the Drug Enforcement Agency and FBI, respectively, raising concerns about the agencies’ use of Israeli-produced spyware. Both letters conspicuously omitted the fact that the companies producing the spyware are Israeli.

On a positive note, in January 2023the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights released a new fact sheet de- tailing protections for students of protected classes already part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and students of all religious groups. The fact sheet is drawing attention, not over what it includes but because of

House Freshmen Appointed To The House Foreign Affairs Committee

REP. JONATHAN JACKSON (D-IL) is the son of civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson. He told Jewish Insider he had tagged along with his father on trips throughout the world, including to the Middle East, and witnessed anti-apartheid efforts in South Africa. Based on those experiences, he rejected accusations that Israel has engaged in apartheid and said “we have to educate some members of our own Congress that there’s a history here.” He supports reentering the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran.

Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) said in an interview that the U.S. is “fortunate” to have allies like Israel and has a longtime relationship with the California Jewish community. Last May she said that the U.S. has an “obligation” to reenter the Iran nuclear deal.

Rep. Thomas Kean (R-NJ) hails from a long-running New Jersey political dynasty with long-standing ties to the Jewish community. He said in a 2020 interview that visits to Auschwitz and Moscow, the latter of which was to meet with Soviet refuseniks, had shaped his what it omits—the IHRA’s controversial working definition of anti-Semitism, which has drawn widespread criticism from civil society groups for defining certain criticisms of Israel as anti-Semitic. ■

“entire approach to public service,” particularly to Israel. In the New Jersey State Legislature, he led a bipartisan effort to deny state investments in Airbnb after it announced it would not list Israeli homes in the West Bank.

Rep. Michael Lawler (R-NY) is representing a heavily Jewish district in the Hudson Valley—a fact Lawler noted in a statement announcing his appointment to the Foreign Affairs Committee. “With ongoing challenges in the Middle East and an emboldened Iran looming, it will be critically important to bolster our support for one of our closest allies, Israel, in the coming weeks, months and years,” he said.

Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) served for 20 years in the Marine Corps and Navy, reaching the rank of commander. As a candidate in 2020, McCormick stated that “Any plan for the Middle East must recognize Israel’s right to exist, provide the Palestinian people with the right to self-determination and ensure access to the holy sites of Jerusalem…I also believe that peace should not demand the uprooting of people—Arab or Jew—from their homes.”

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Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) is an Iraq War veteran and former member of Joint Special Operations Command, who worked subsequently in private security and defense contracting. He is appointed to both the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Armed Services Committee.

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Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) replaces former Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL), whom he succeeded in a South Florida district, on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Moskowitz, like Deutch, has pledged to be a vocal supporter of Israel but, along with a few longtime Congress members, such as Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (RSC), is concerned about the new extremist Israeli government.

Rep. Keith Self (R-TX) is a former county judge who served in the Army Rangers in Qatar, Egypt, Germany, Afghanistan and Belgium.

Standing members who left the committee: Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Greg Steube (R-FL), Dan Meuser (R-PA), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), August Pfluger (R-TX) and Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY). Reps. Brad Schneider (DIL), Jim Costa (D-CA), Juan Vargas (D-CA) and Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX) have stepped off the committee. Former Reps. Steve Chabot (R-OH) and Peter Meijer (R-MI) did not win reelection, and Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and Lee Zeldin (R-NY) did not seek re-election. ■