Krista Ruggiero

Professor Smith

PSCI 315: Fall 2017

October 22, 2017

Stop Arming Terrorist Act

Every year the Senate and House of Representatives receives many different bills. What

they must do with these bills is decide whether or not they shall be passed. Some of the bills that

they receive do get passed but others do not. If a bill does get passed it goes through a process to

become an official bill of the state. The first step is for the bill to become drafted. This can take

place anywhere by a senator, representative, state legislatures or anyone of legal status. After the

bill becomes drafted, it is then introduced by a Senator. If there is not objective to the bill then it

is referred to the appropriate committee who with then move forward with it. Once this has

occurred the bill is then entered into the Senate Journal and given a number. The bill is then

made available for anyone to be able to view it. The legislative clerk then places it on the

legislative calendar. In order for the bill to be placed before the senate, it must have a unanimous

vote. If given unanimous voting, the bill is then debated on. It will then go through more voting

before it is enrolled and signed. The process is very vigorous and will take some time to go

through before becoming signing and official. At any point in the process the bill can be thrown

out if not enough votes occur.

This year, there have been many bills that have been drafted and brought to the attention

of the Senate. One of these bills is S. 532 which is the Stop Arming Terrorist Act. This was

introduced to senate on March 6, 2017. This bill is to prohibit the use of United States
Government funds to provide assistance to Al Qaeda, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, and the Islamic

State of Iraq and the Levant and to countries supporting those organizations, and for other

purposes. Senator Rand Paul introduced this bill which was read twice and referred to the

Committee on Foreign Relations. It states that the Director of National intelligence should make

the determination whether someone is affiliated with the groups listed within the bill. After

looking into the individual or group, they then should justify their evidence with the appropriate

congressional committee. Some of the reasons for not allowing an individual or group to become

armed is their geographical location, detailed intelligence assessment, a description of how they

are linked with the groups listen in the bill like Al Qaeda and a description of the ideological

beliefs of the person or group. Along with not allowing an individual to become armed, the

United States will not provide funds to any country that the Director of National Intelligence has

determined is affiliated with such terrorist groups.

Over many years, the United States Government has been supporting individuals who are

affiliated with terrorist groups. The government is using tax payers money to strengthen these

groups by supporting armed militant groups like AL Qaeda and ISIS. Senator Rand Paul said in a

statement about the bill, One of the unintended consequences of nation-building and open-

ended intervention is American funds and weapons benefiting those who hate us. This legislation

will strengthen our foreign policy, enhance our national security, and safeguard our resources.

The United States needs to be picking a better area to be spending this money in that could help

to prevent war rather than cause it to continue to escalate.

Although this bill has the potential to cut off access for terrorist groups to gain resources

from the United States, not many are voting for it. In an article written by Alice Salles, only 2

percent of lawmakers are supporting the Stop Arming Terrorists Act. Although this bill is very
unique in the fact that it was stop the government from giving money and weapons to other

countries, it is not popular among law makers. Only thirteen out of hundreds of law makers have

co-sponsored this bill. This includes, Reps. John Conyers (D-MI), Scott Perry (R-PA), Peter

Welch (D-VT), Tom Garrett (R-VA), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Walter

Jones (R-NC), Ted Yoho (R-FL), and Paul Gosar (R-AZ), and endorsed by Progressive

Democrats of America (PDA), Veterans for Peace, and the U.S. Peace Council. This is not

enough people that could make a difference and have this bill passed. No real action has been

taken to pass this bill as of right now. There are a few groups that would not benefit from this bill

becoming a law which is impacting the votes on it. Military and Homeland Security Companies,

Lobbyists and law makers all profit from war. By this many people making profit off of war and

their high ranking of importance, it will make it hard to receive enough votes to become a law.

Representative Gabbard was one of the chief sponsors of the bill. She traveled to Syria

earlier this year to meet with government, religious and opposition leaders. Gabbard is very

passionate about resolving the issue of the United States supplying resources to terrorist groups.

He gave a statement saying, For years, the U.S. government has been supporting armed militant

groups working directly with and often under the command of terrorist groups like ISIS and al-

Qaeda in their fight to overthrow the Syrian government Rather than spending trillions of dollars

on regime change wars in the Middle East, we should be focused on defeating terrorist groups

like ISIS and al-Qaeda, and using our resources to invest in rebuilding our communities here at

home. He does not believe that anything the United States has been doing to bring down

terrorism is benefitting this country at all. Gabbard is not the only individual that felt this way.

Along with her, former vice president Joe Biden and other United States officials stated that they
felt the same way. What is going on with the tax payers money should be concerning every

citizen of the United States.

This bill could have a large impact on the United States. By passing this bill, it would

save the United States a lot of money. Along with the money saved, it would also put the country

at less of a risk of war. Although this bill seems like it has many benefits behind it, not many

people are voting for it. By supplying weapons and money to these countries, we are putting

ourselves at risk for war and terrorist attacks on the United States Soil.
 Works Cited

CONGRESSIONAL BILLS. FDsys - Browse Congressional Bills, Government

Publishing Office,

www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=BILLS&browsePath=115%2Fs%

2F%5B500%2B-

%2B599%5D&isCollapsed=false&leafLevelBrowse=false&isDocumentResults=true&ycord=42

92

Gabbard's Stop Arming Terrorists Act Introduced in Senate. Congresswoman Tulsi

Gabbard, 29 Mar. 2017, gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/gabbards-stop-arming-

terrorists-act-introduced-senate.

Alice Salles. Only 2% Of Lawmakers Support The 'Stop Arming Terrorists

Act'. MintPress News, 23 June 2017, www.mintpressnews.com/lawmakers-support-stop-

arming-terrorists-act/229197/.