WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) reintroduced his legislation to impose terrorism sanctions on the Iran-controlled Houthis, as acts of terrorism continue to escalate in the Middle East. On February 5, 2021 the Biden State Department announced it would lift terrorism-related sanctions on the Houthis and three of their leaders: Abdul Malik al-Houthi, Abd al-Khaliq Badr al-Din al-Houthi, and Abdullah Yahya al-Hakim. Sen. Cruz repeatedly pushed language to reverse that decision, including filing this bill in 2022.
Upon re-introducing the bill, Senator Cruz said, “The Biden administration made a day one politically-driven decision to dismantle terrorism sanctions against the Houthis and their leaders. That decision was an obvious and catastrophic mistake from the very beginning, and it has only become more obvious and more catastrophic as time has gone on. Now the Houthis and other Iranian-controlled terrorists are openly and routinely attacking the United States and our allies, but the Biden administration still refuses to reverse its decision, because they believe doing so would be politically costly. Politics should not be a consideration when American lives and national security interests are at stake. President Biden needs to put an end to enabling the Houthis and other Iran-backed terrorist groups through sanctions relief and sanctions non-enforcement. If he won’t then Congress should mandate that he does so.”
The bill is co-sponsored by Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).
