MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) penned this op-ed in the Ouachita Citizen arguing that America must stand firm alongside Israel until every American hostage is home safe. Kennedy noted that Hamas is still holding four American citizens in Gaza and argued that the Biden-Harris administration must do more to hold Hamas and its supporters accountable. 

Key excerpts of the op-ed are below:

“While our hearts go out to the many Israeli families who lost loved ones during Hamas’s attack, we cannot forget that October 7 was an attack on Americans, too.”

. . .

“At least four American hostages are still alive in Gaza, including Edan Alexander, Omer Neutra, Sagui Dekel-Chen, and Keith Siegel. Israeli officials believe three other Americans—Judith Weinstein Haggai, Gadi Haggai, and Itay Chen—died in captivity, but Hamas refuses to turn over the bodies of these Americans so their families can finally lay them to rest.”

. . .

“Both President Biden and Vice President Harris seem to have fallen silent in their support for Israel to appease a handful of leftist institutions that believe Hamas was justified in raping and murdering innocent people.

“The Biden-Harris administration continues to support the United Nations Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA), for example, despite clear evidence that the global organization is riddled with Hamas supporters. Just last week, Israel killed a Hamas leader in Lebanon who just happened to be an UNRWA employee.”

. . .

“The same is true on college campuses. Last spring, anti-Israel rioters set up encampments on public property, vandalized buildings with antisemitic slogans, and blocked Jewish students from attending classes. One protester at Columbia University even held up a sign stating that Hamas’s ‘next targets’ were the Jewish students on American campuses. As some of the most influential universities in America devolved into campgrounds for antisemites, the Biden-Harris administration sat on its hands.

“These campus protestors—and far too many of my colleagues in Washington—seem to be confused about who the bad guys are in this conflict between Israel and Hamas. People in Louisiana, however, aren’t confused.

“Louisianians understand that the Hamas terrorists who brutally murdered and kidnapped innocent civilians are the bad guys. They know these campus protesters who are rooting for Hamas are like rocks, only dumber. They support the Israelis who are fighting to free the hostages, not the monsters who carried out the October 7 attack.

“As we reflect on the anniversary of the October 7 attacks, I hope President Biden, Vice President Harris, and my colleagues in Washington will remember why we need to stand strong alongside Israel in its fight against evil. We must have Israel’s back until every American is home and Hamas is in ruins.” 

Read Kennedy’s full op-ed here.  

MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today joined Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and 47 colleagues in introducing a resolution condemning Hamas for its Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Hamas took the lives of nearly 1,200 people, including more than 40 U.S. citizens, and abducted at least 251 individuals as hostages.

“The world will never forget how Hamas terrorists slaughtered roughly 1,200 people in Israel—including Americans—in a single day. One year later, U.S. citizens remain in captivity in Gaza, suffering at the hands of evil men with black hearts. Pres. Biden and Vice Pres. Harris have the duty and obligation to fully condemn Iran’s proxy militants, support Israel’s right to defend itself and bring American hostages home quickly,” said Kennedy.

Last month, Hamas took the life of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Hamas is also reportedly holding hostage Keith Siegel, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Edan Alexander, Omer Neutra, and the bodies of three other Americans, Itay Chen, Judith Weinstein and Gadi Haggai, in Gaza.

“This time last year, I woke up in the Middle East to the unbearable news that Israel was under attack by Iran-backed terrorists and Americans were being killed and taken hostage. I immediately traveled into Israel to show that our nation’s friendship is unwavering, in good times and bad. Regardless of whether I have been in Jerusalem, Washington, or Iowa, I have worked around the clock to hold the White House accountable to its ‘ironclad’ commitment, bring our hostages home, and cut off the source of terrorism in Tehran. One year since that day, as Israel remains under attack on all fronts, Senate Republicans stand united with our greatest ally in the Middle East,” said Ernst. 

The senators’ resolution:

• Condemns Iran-backed Hamas for its brutal attacks on Israel, for killing and taking hostage U.S. citizens, for using rape as a weapon of war and for its inhumane treatment, torture and killing of hostages.

• Condemns the destructive and antisemitic protests in which protestors damaged property, tore down flags and burned and replaced them with Hamas flags while threatening Jewish Americans.

• Supports an outcome that will ensure the survival of Israel, destroy Hamas’s ability to reconstitute any leadership role in the region and safely release and return all American hostages.

Background: 

• In Sept., Kennedy issued a statement against the Palestinian Authority’s anti-Israel resolution at the U.N. General Assembly.

• In Aug., Kennedy urged the Biden-Harris administration to reverse its pause on weapons transfers to Israel.

• In July, Kennedy issued a statement after attending Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress.

• In May, Kennedy helped introduce the Israel Security Assistance Support Act to condemn the Biden-Harris administration’s pause on arms transfers to Israel and require the administration to reverse its pause.

• In May, Kennedy helped introduced a resolution condemning the Biden-Harris administration’s decision to halt the shipment of American-made ammunition and weapons to Israel. 

• In May, Kennedy also helped introduce a bipartisan resolution to reject the International Criminal Court prosecutor’s application for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. 

• In April, Kennedy urged the Biden-Harris Justice Department to protect students from antisemitic mobs on their university campuses.

• In Dec. 2023, Kennedy spoke on the Senate floor, urging the Biden-Harris administration to continue to support Israel until it successfully destroys Hamas.

The full resolution is available here. 

MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, helped secure an extension of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) as part of the recent government funding package. Kennedy also helped secure language in the bill to help provide urgent disaster aid to Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Francine.

“Our state is still picking up the pieces that Hurricane Francine left behind, and our communities need all the help they can get. I’m thankful we’ve delivered Louisianians additional disaster aid and protected their flood insurance so that the program doesn’t expire in the middle of hurricane season,” said Kennedy.

Kennedy helped prevent the NFIP from expiring on Sept. 30 by securing an extension of the program until Dec. 20, 2024. 

Kennedy also helped secure disaster relief in the continuing resolution that will help Louisianians recover from Hurricane Francine by allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide aid for future storms. 

These disaster funds can provide Louisiana with emergency shelter, food and medical assistance, as well as long-term recovery efforts such as rebuilding public infrastructure, housing assistance and supporting small businesses. The funds may also cover mitigation measures to reduce the risk of future disasters and help communities become more resilient.

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, has introduced the Taxpayer Data Protection Act to safeguard Americans’ sensitive data and increase penalties for those who steal and leak Americans’ tax information.

“American taxpayers deserve to know that their financial data is safe from criminals and bad actors. My bill would discourage would-be crooks and vigilantes from exposing anyone’s personal tax information by increasing the punishment for those abuses,” said Kennedy. 

Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) introduced the Taxpayer Data Protection Act in the House, which passed the legislation earlier this month.

“Americans rightfully expect their personal tax information is safe and protected when they file their tax returns with the IRS. Unfortunately, that expectation was shattered when IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn was discovered to have stolen the private tax data of thousands of individuals, including President Trump, and leaked that information to the New York Times and ProPublica for publishing. Mr. Littlejohn was aware of the legal consequences before committing his theft, but was unfazed and undeterred. He even went as far as to destroy evidence and conceal his actions from law enforcement. The Taxpayer Data Protection Act scales up the punishment to fit the crime and sends a clear message to would-be criminals that Congress will not tolerate the theft of Americans’ personal and private tax information,” said Smith.

Under current law, disclosing tax information without that authority is a felony that is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000, by a sentence of up to five years in prison or both. The legislation would increase the maximum fine to as much as $250,000, lengthen potential prison sentences to as many as 10 years and subject criminals to either or both punishments.

Kennedy’s bill would also clarify that a person who exposes personal data is subject to prosecution for every taxpayer whose data he or she leaked. The Biden Justice Department recently employed a political maneuver by charging Charles Littlejohn with one count of improperly disclosing tax return information even though he stole tax return information for thousands of Americans. Under this bill, criminals who share data from multiple Americans would not be able to avoid prosecution for multiple counts.

Background:

• In 2019, Internal Revenue Service contractor Charles Littlejohn illegally leaked the tax returns of President Donald Trump to the New York Times. 

• In 2020, Littlejohn also illegally disclosed the tax information of roughly 7,600 individuals and 600 entities to ProPublica for political purposes.

• In 2023, the Department of Justice announced it was charging Littlejohn with just one count of disclosing tax return information without authorization despite his distributing the information of thousands of Americans.

• The judge overseeing the case ultimately sentenced Littlejohn to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine because the law did not allow a more appropriate punishment. 

The full bill text is available here.