Press Releases

Today, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions, led by Chairman Warren Davidson (OH-08), examined whether U.S. sanctions are being used strategically to advance clear foreign policy and national security objectives.

On Sanctions Strengthening U.S. National Security:

Subcommittee Chairman Davidson said, “Ensuring that our sanctions are effective, targeted, and strategic is vital to achieving our national security objectives. This discussion is especially timely as we work to further isolate Iran and prevent it from funding its nuclear program, ballistic missile development, and regional proxies.”

Rep. Andy Ogles (TN-05) said, "The efficacy of our sanctions relies on partnerships with the private sector, foreign governments, and other actors. And I'm happy to see the United States use sanctions aggressively to advance American interests, quite frankly, make the world a better place. But it's important that we ensure that we're leaning on our partners, to your point, to help with those sanctions and those regimes for our own strategic reasons. At the end of the day, we are that provider of global security, which impacts pricing and commodity markets, travel around the globe, etc."

Rep. Marlin Sutzman (IN-03) said, “Since President Trump's decisive action to bring Nicolas Maduro to justice, OFAC has issued 16 general licenses, allowing some American participants to return to the Venezuelan oil market. A lot has been said about companies bringing Venezuela oil to the U.S. market, but I'm curious about the opportunity for American companies to play an important role in selling this oil to partner nations.”

On Committee Legislation to Combat Illicit Finance:

Rep. Zach Nunn (IA-03) said, “Look, here's the reality right now, threat actors have stolen nearly $200 billion from the American public. And to put this into perspective, for us, that's the entire budget of the U.S. army today, plus another $50 billion. This is a real threat, Mr. Chair, that we have to go after. It's one of the reasons I've been proud to work with this Committee and lead the TRAPS Act and the GUARD Act, two very important bills to go after threat actors who are scamming money from Americans and using it directly to support terrorist financing.”

U.S. Department of the Treasury, Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing, Jonathan Burke Echoed the Work of the Committee:

Assistant Secretary Burke said, “Secretary Bessent is following through on President Trump’s pledge to eliminate fraud nationwide. Treasury is working with the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud—led by Vice President Vance—to find and stop fraud across the country. Over the last several months, Secretary Bessent announced several initiatives to safeguard taxpayer dollars against fraud. We are mobilizing a whole-of-government effort—leveraging financial intelligence, interagency coordination, asset seizure and forfeiture authorities, and law enforcement partnerships—to disrupt the networks, recover funds, and hold those responsible accountable.”

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