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WASHINGTON- House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) delivered the following opening statement at today’s full committee hearing on terrorist financing and the Islamic State:
“The 9/11 Commission estimated that al Qaeda’s brutal, evil attack on 9/11 cost the terrorists approximately half a million dollars. So for half a million dollars, terrorists were able to murder almost 3,000 of our fellow countrymen and inflict immeasurable suffering upon our nation.
“Today we face another terrorist enemy for which half a million dollars appears to be pocket change; an organization that reportedly raises between $1-$2 million per day. Unlike al Qaeda and other terror groups with which we are familiar and rely mainly on private donations and state sponsorship to fund their activities, ISIL is almost entirely internally financed and apparently is sitting on assets of almost $2 billion.
“So today’s hearing continues this Committee’s ongoing efforts to ensure our government is doing everything possible to stop the Islamic State and other terrorists from using the global financial system to pay for their evil activities.
"Fighting the financial war against terror will demand constant innovation and improvement. The tools we have used in the past may not be suitable for the future. I look forward to hearing from all the witnesses on what may be necessary to upgrade, innovate and improve our capabilities to starve the terrorists of the money they so desperately need to carry out their attacks.”
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