Three Schneider Amendments Accepted at House Foreign Affairs Committee Markup

This week, U.S. Representative. Brad Schneider (IL-10), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, offered three amendments that were accepted during the committee markup.

Two of the Schneider amendments highlight the use of underground tunnel networks by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) to conduct terrorist attacks against Israel. They amend H.R. 3542, the Hamas Human Shields Act, which would sanction those affiliated with Hamas who are responsible for violations of human rights due to their use of human shields, and H.R. 2712, the Palestinian International Terrorism Support Prevention Act, which would sanction individuals and foreign governments that support Hamas and the PIJ.

"I appreciate the committee's bipartisan work to crack down on terrorist groups in the Middle East, including Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad," said Schneider. The amendments I offered highlight the civilians in harm's way because of the terrorist tunnels in densely populated areas, near schools, hospitals, and mosques. These tunnels are not only used to conduct terrorist attacks against Israel, but also to kidnap Israeli civilians and soldiers, and wreak havoc on Israel's bordering communities. I'm glad these amendments were adopted without objection as a sign of the Committee's bipartisan commitment to the fight against terror and support for our ally Israel."

Separately, an amendment introduced by Schneider was included in H.R. 3776, the Cyber Diplomacy Act, which encourages the president to enter into arrangements with foreign governments to support international cyber space policy and requires a status report one year after an agreement is reached. The Schneider amendment would require notification of the steps our government has taken or plans to take to ensure all commitments are fulfilled if commitments per such arrangements are not met.

The Schneider amendments are available online here.