Today, Representative Lauren Boebert, (R-CO), Doug Lamborn (R-CO), and 34 others will be sending out a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressing concern that the Biden administration has been offering hundreds of millions of dollars to the Palestinian Authority without regard to the Taylor Force Act.

The Taylor Force Act was passed and signed into law on March 23, 2018, and stipulates that any United States assistance made to the Palestinian Authority must deduct the lavish stipends that the Palestinians payout for the murder of American or Israeli civilians. Named for a US veteran who had served one tour of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, and came home unscathed, only to be murdered by a Palestinian terrorist while walking near the beach of Te Aviv.

The letter is in response to a non-public State Department report that was released last month that the White House is paying more than half a billion dollars in taxpayer funding to the Palestinian Authority (P.A.)  without regard for the letter or the spirit of the Taylor Force Act. The White House recently announced the additional assistance to the Palestinian Authority of $316 million, and the signatories of the letter expressed concern that these funds are “tragically enabling the Palestinian Authority’s payments to terrorists and the families of terrorists who kill innocent Americans and people of Jewish descent-also commonly referred to as “pay-to-slay”.

The letter further correctly points out that “administrations across the political spectrum  have routinely  and loudly condemned this practice; unfortunately, the Palestinian Authority has  nevertheless refused to put a permanent end to pay-to-slay.”

The signatories ask a series of probing questions of the Administration, including, but not limited to,   how they are able to certify that the P.A. and the PLO are “taking credible steps to end acts of violence against Israeli and United States citizens that are perpetrated  or materially assisted by  individuals under their jurisdictional control?” It further asks the Administration to publicly release to the greatest extent possible, publicly release the report, and within the following 60 days.

It further calls for any statistics that the Administration has regarding the number of terrorists or families of terrorists that have received payments from the P.A. for killing Americans and people of Jewish descent since March 8, 2016.

Further signatories of the letter include Representatives Gregory Steube, Michael Cloud, Jody Hice, Scott Perry, Vicky Hartzler, Mary Miller, Jeff Van Drew, Brian Mast, Ronny L. Jackson, Maria Elvira Salazar, Brian Baban, Jeff Duncan, nancy Mace, Tom Tiffany, Andy Biggs, Russ Fulcher, Louie Gohmert, Dan Crenshaw, Bill Posey, Bob Good, Troy Nehls, Kat Cammack, Barry Moore, Glenn Grothman, Bryon Donalds, Joe Wilson, C. Scott Franklin, Michael Waltz, Neal F. Dunn, Andy Harris, Chip Roy, Jack Bergman, Steve Chabot, Michael Guest, and Tim Burchett.

Says EMET Founder and President, Sarah Stern, “EMET profoundly thanks Representative Lauren Boebert, Representative Doug Lamborn as well as all the other 34 members of the US Congress who understand not only the letter but the spirit of the Taylor Force Act. Turning a blind eye to the wanton murder of American and Israeli citizens and to the lavish inducement program of pay-for-slay is not what the United States is all about. By continuing to ignore the Taylor Force Act we are encouraging the screed of worldwide Jihadist terrorism.”

 

EMET is a Washington D.C.-based foreign policy institute, which specializes in the Middle East.

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