Patrick McHenryChairman

Washington, November 7, 2014 - Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) today announced the committee will hold a hearing next Thursday on “Terrorist Financing and The Islamic State” to examine U.S. efforts to disrupt the terror organization’s primary sources of funding.

“The enormous wealth of the Islamic State, at least compared to other terrorist groups, compounds its brutality and enhances its capabilities to attack Americans and our interests,” said Chairman Hensarling.  “The Financial Services Committee will conduct rigorous oversight of the Obama Administration’s efforts to disrupt the Islamic State’s financing network and examine the adequacy of international banking policies to combat the new challenges that the Islamic State and groups like it present.”
 
Treasury Under Secretary David S. Cohen, who heads the Administration’s office in charge of tracking terrorist financing, will appear as a witness.  Other witnesses scheduled to testify at the hearing are former Treasury Under Secretary for Enforcement Jimmy Gurulé and Matthew Levitt of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
 
According to the Treasury Department, the Islamic State has earned approximately $1 million a day from oil sales since mid-June and taken at least $20 million in ransoms this year.  Other funding sources for the terror organization include criminal activities and donations from sympathizers.
 
The hearing will take place on Thursday, November 13 at 10 a.m. in room 2167 of the Rayburn Building.  The committee’s regular hearing room is temporarily unavailable due to renovations to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and to meet increased public demand for access with improvements to the room’s audio and video capabilities.