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111 House Members Call on Pres. Bush to Combat Terrorist FinancingWASHINGTON DC - Today, in a letter spearheaded by Congressman Jim Davis (D-Tampa), 111 members of the House of Representatives called on President George W. Bush to appoint a coordinator to oversee efforts to combat terrorist financing. The letter highlights the urgent need for the United States to stop the flow of funds to terrorist organizations and to pressure the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to establish an effective system to control charitable giving. Among the members who signed the letter were: House Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Doug Bereuter and nine other members of the Intelligence Committee, House International Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde and Ranking Member Tom Lantos, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Michael Oxley, and House Appropriations Committee Chairman C.W. Bill Young. “We cannot wait for the next terrorist attack to take steps to curb the flow of money into the hands of international terrorists,” said Congressman Davis. “Breaking the financial support system of terrorists groups must continue to be a priority here at home and in all of our diplomatic efforts as well.” Specifically, the letter calls for a point person on terrorist financing to coordinate among the agencies responsible for combating terrorist financing and to facilitate interagency information sharing among diplomatic, intelligence and law enforcement agencies. This individual would report directly to the President through the national security advisor. “Appointing a coordinator to combat terrorist financing - someone who is above the agency culture - would be another step in the right direction,” said Congressman Davis. A copy of the letter is below. July 29, 2003 President George W. Bush The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest Washington, D.C. 20500-0003 Dear Mr. President: We are writing to express our deep concerns regarding the lack of effective oversight of financing charitable activities worldwide. In particular, we would like to address two central concerns: 1) our institutional infrastructure to monitor charitable giving; 2) the ability or willingness of the government of Saudi Arabia to monitor and control the large dollar amount of charitable giving that originates in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As you know, this is an urgent matter since some charitable financing destined for worthy causes ends up in the hands of terrorists and their organizations. Mr. President, we applaud your actions to focus on the terrorist funding trail in the aftermath of September 11th; however, the United States and the international community have a long way to go if we are to achieve success. While financial networks supporting terrorism may have been disrupted, they certainly have not been destroyed. Utilizing interagency task forces such as Operation Green Quest and the Policy Coordinating Committee on Terrorist Financing is a vital step in the right direction. But the recent terrorist bombings in Bali, Morocco and Saudi Arabia continue to remind us that the flow of money to these vicious organizations enable these despicable acts to become a reality. With regard to Saudi Arabia, the May 12th bombings in Riyadh is the third such terrorist attack in which Americans were killed inside the Kingdom since 1995. In this latest bombing, thirty-four people were killed, including nine Americans. Last Fall, the Saudis reportedly established a High Commission for oversight of all Saudi charities, including the contributions and donations. Furthermore, it has been reported that the government of Saudi Arabia has established financial control and audit mechanisms and strict new rules for sending money outside the country. But how well has this system worked? It is not enough to say that Saudi Arabia is cooperating. We need detailed assurances, in classified form if necessary. After all, fundraising is a terrorist’s vital lifeline. It is estimated that there are 300 Saudi charities contributing as much as $4 billion a year. Considering that charitable giving is one of the five pillars of the Islamic faith, we understand the importance to the millions of people who follow this religion. Unfortunately, there are too many unscrupulous people who take advantage of this tenet, resulting in many people unknowingly funding terrorist activities. Mr. President, now more than ever, the United States must use all of its political and diplomatic resources at our disposal to forge a better security oriented relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The amount of money being channeled to groups who would like to destabilize the region and harm the United States and our allies raises this issue to the highest level. In fact, a task force commissioned by the Council on Foreign Relations writes in an October 2002 report, that “For years, individuals and charities based in Saudi Arabia have been the most important source of funds for Al Qaeda; and for years, Saudi officials have turned a blind eye to this problem.” Accordingly, we call on you to appoint a coordinator for combating terrorist financing. This person would be the point person on terrorist financing and report directly to the President through the national security advisor. As the Council of Foreign Relations report points out, “no single senior official in the US government has the mandate and authority necessary to direct and coordinate the various diplomatic, law enforcement, intelligence, regulatory, and policy measures that will be required to assure a sustained and effective US response.” He or she would coordinate among agencies responsible for combating terrorist financing, such as the Departments of Treasury, Homeland Security, State, Defense, Commerce and CIA, and serve as the contact for foreign agencies. Further, as highlighted by the tragic events of September 11th, interagency information sharing is very important. Thus, this person must facilitate the free flow of information among diplomatic, intelligence and law enforcement agencies. Creating this position certainly is not sufficient to combat the financing of terrorist organizations. We must work with the international community to assist in building and strengthening financial and legal institutions to adequately monitor where money is going. We realize that every country has domestic constraints; however, Saudi Arabia has to do more to monitor and control charitable organizations. To date, the Saudis have not been entirely forthcoming regarding their policy implementation. Simply making tough statements via press releases is no substitute for taking action against those who finance terrorists. If needed, we must offer whatever assistance we can to help the Saudis establish an effective financial control system, not only for our benefit, but for their benefit as well. Most importantly, this must be among our highest priorities. The stability of the world and region is at stake. Mr. President, combating terrorist financing must remain a central component of the war on terrorism. We stand ready to assist you. Thank you for your attention to our concerns.
Sincerely,
1. Jim Davis 2. Doug Bereuter
Page 3 3. Henry Hyde 4. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen 5. C.W. Bill Young 6. Michael Oxley 7. Jim Leach 8. Alcee Hastings 9. Vic Snyder 10. Joseph Hoeffel 11. Ginny Brown-Waite 12. Ellen Tauscher 13. Bud Cramer 14. John Spratt 15. Tom Lantos 16. Gary Ackerman 17. Howard Berman 18. Dan Burton 19. Dutch Ruppersberger 20. Peter Deutsch 21. Joseph Crowley 22. Rick Boucher 23. Anna Eshoo 24. Ed Towns 25. Frank Wolf
Page 4 26. Steve Israel 27. William Delahunt 28. Artur Davis 29. Dave Weldon 30. Rob Andrews 31. Christopher Shays 32. Elton Gallegly 33. Henry Waxman 34. Michael Castle 35. Martin Sabo 36. Martin Frost 37. Jeff Miller 38. Norm Dicks 39. Sherwood Boehlert 40. Gil Gutknecht 41. Mark Foley 42. Lee Terry 43. Tom Osborne 44. Walter Jones 45. Brad Sherman 46. Adam Smith 47. Albert Wynn 48. Jose Serrano 49. Ric Keller
Page 5 50. Tom Feeney 51. Sanford Bishop 52. Jay Inslee 53. Robert Wexler 54. Chris Van Hollen 55. Jim Matheson 56. Brad Carson 57. Neil Abercrombie 58. Katherine Harris 59. Ed Case 60. David Price 61. Michael Capuano 62. Earl Blumenauer 63. John Shimkus 64. Ron Kind 65. Ed Royce 66. Brian Baird 67. John Olver 68. Tim Bishop 69. Steve Chabot 70. Dennis Moore 71. Maurice Hinchey 72. Charlie Gonzalez
Page 6 73. Anthony Weiner 74. Leonard Boswell 75. Frank Pallone 76. Ruben Hinojosa 77. Kevin Brady 78. Carol B. Maloney 79. Jim Marshall 80. Tim Holden 81. Max Sandlin 82. Ed Markey 83. Silvestre Reyes 84. Ben Cardin 85. Mike Bilirakis 86. Greg Meeks 87. Eliot Engel 88. David Wu 89. Charlie Stenholm 90. Gene Taylor 91. Kenny Hulshof 92. Tom Allen
Page 7 93. Bob Etheridge 94. Sam Farr 95. Rush Holt 96. Marcy Kaptur 97. Jim Cooper 98. Peter King 99. Curt Weldon 100. Cliff Stearns 101. Robert Menendez 102. Jerrold Nadler 103. Robert Matsui 104. David Scott 105. Jim Turner 106. Heather Wilson 107. Zach Wamp 108. Nita Lowey 109. Rosa DeLauro 110. Steve Rothman 111. Jim McDermott ###
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