WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today joined Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and colleagues in introducing the Stand with Israel Act to combat the United Nation’s (U.N.) persecution of Israel. The legislation would block any U.S. dollars from going to the U.N. if it downgrades Israel’s status in any way, such as preventing Israel from having certain voting powers, access to committees or other roles within the organization.
“The U.N. has failed to pass any resolution to condemn the October 7 terrorists, yet the Palestinian delegation has tried to delegitimize Israel by introducing radical resolutions. Even though the U.N.’s policies often run against American interests, we remain its biggest funder. We shouldn’t send American tax dollars to groups that demonize our strongest democratic ally in the Middle East while elevating terrorist-sympathizers and the Palestinian Authority,” said Kennedy.
In September, Kennedy criticized the Palestinian Authority for introducing a U.N. resolution that would reward terrorism. The resolution would have supported an end to Israel’s presence in the West Bank, sanction Israeli officials and block other countries’ arms transfers to Israel. The U.N. General Assembly adopted the one-sided resolution without U.S. support.
“Any attempt to alter Israel’s status at the UN is clearly antisemitic. If UN member states allow the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization to downgrade Israel’s status at the UN, the United States must stop supporting the UN system, as it would clearly be beyond repair. I am disgusted this outrageous idea has even been discussed, and will do all I can to ensure any changes to Israel’s status will come with consequences,” said Risch.
The legislation is the companion to the House of Representative’s bipartisan H.R. 9394, which Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) introduced.
Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Katie Britt (R-Ala. ), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) also cosponsored the legislation.
Full text of the Stand with Israel Act is available here.
Kennedy, colleagues raise concerns over DOJ’s response to $7 billion Stanford Trust Ponzi scheme
Nov 13 2024
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today joined colleagues in urging Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to coordinate with the victims of the Stanford Trust Ponzi scheme.
More than 1,000 Louisianians from Baton Rouge, Covington and Lafayette lost large sums from their life savings due to Allen Stanford’s fraud, which involved Stanford’s selling roughly $7 billion worth of illegitimate certificates of deposit from his offshore bank. In 2020, Kennedy led an amicus brief on behalf of victims.
Kennedy has also urged Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler to ensure that any potential attorney fees and settlements for victims are fair and reasonable.
“We write to you on behalf of the Louisianans and Texans who were defrauded and have yet to be made whole by Allen Stanford and the Stanford International Bank. In 2019, members of Congress wrote a letter urging that Société Générale provide restitution to the victims of Allen Stanford for its involvement in facilitating the Ponzi scheme. Société Générale held $210 million in frozen assets connected to the Stanford Ponzi scheme, which it refused to release to Stanford’s victims. The undersigned were emphatic that this money belonged to the victims and should be returned to them immediately. There was a follow-up letter a year later expressing our frustration at the lack of progress and the bank’s refusal to engage with the victims of the Ponzi scheme,” the senators wrote.
“Separately, members of Congress reached out to Toronto-Dominion Bank regarding its involvement with the Stanford Ponzi scheme. The undersigned highlighted troubling details relating to the bank’s relationship with Allen Stanford and indicated that such lapses in compliance oversight could facilitate money laundering and other fraudulent activities. The undersigned demanded that Toronto-Dominion Bank engage with Stanford’s victims to seek a swift resolution to the matter,” they continued.
“The Stanford Financial Receiver raised similar concerns and asked the Department of Justice to investigate Toronto-Dominion Bank for its involvement with the Stanford Ponzi scheme. We have been informed that the Stanford Financial Receiver received no acknowledgement regarding its requests. If true, this appears to be a break with the Department’s prior practice to maintain open lines of communication and coordinate with victims’ groups,” the senators concluded.
The senators are seeking answers from the DOJ regarding what communications it has had with the Stanford Financial Receiver and whether or not the Department considered seeking a restitution penalty as part of the settlement with Toronto-Dominion Bank regarding its Bank Secrecy Act and money laundering violations.
The full letter is available here.
Kennedy introduces bill to prevent medical researchers from burying results that undermine radicals’ agenda
Nov 13 2024
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today introduced the Scientific Research Accessibility and Transparency Act (SRATA) of 2024 to ensure that American taxpayers have access to the medical research that they fund regardless of what the studies show.
The SRATA would require researchers who receive grants from the National Institute of Health (NIH) to submit their findings or the data collected to the NIH within one year of the study’s completion. The legislation would prohibit researchers who do not share that data from receiving future federal funding for five years.
“Gender activists have insisted that puberty blockers help kids overcome mental health issues associated with gender dysphoria—even when research doesn’t support that claim. If the federal government funds medical research, Americans should have access to the facts that it reveals. This bill would make sure that taxpayers get to see the research results that they’ve paid for so that political maneuvering can’t bury the truth,” said Kennedy.
The New York Times recently revealed that Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy withheld the results of a study on the mental health effects of puberty-blocking drugs on children that she conducted over a nine-year period.
Olson-Kennedy’s research was part of a project that received a reported $9.7 million in NIH funding, but she plans to withhold the results of the study because she believes the data would support arguments for protecting children from puberty blockers.
The SRATA is available here.
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced $5,186,169 in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants for Louisiana disaster aid.
“Our communities are still recovering from harsh weather events. This $5.2 million will help New Orleans cover Hurricane Ida costs as well as support Plaquemines Parish’s seawater intrusion treatment efforts,” said Kennedy.
The FEMA aid will fund the following:
- $3,195,167 to Plaquemines Parish for emergency protective measures at the Belle Chasse Water Treatment Plant as a result of seawater intrusion.
- $1,991,002 to the Roman Catholic Church Archdiocese of New Orleans for emergency protective measures as a result of Hurricane Ida.
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced a $4,680,568 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant for Louisiana disaster aid.
“Hurricane Laura devastated Lake Charles, leaving churches like the Church of the King with heavy storm damage. This $4.7 million will benefit the people of Lake Charles as they work to recover from the pain Laura caused,” said Kennedy.
The FEMA aid will fund the following:
- $4,680,568 to the Church of the King in Lake Charles, La. to replace its sanctuary building due to Hurricane Laura damage.
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced $3,568,827 in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants for Louisiana disaster aid.
“Hurricanes Laura, Delta and Ida damaged many facilities across south Louisiana, including educational buildings and churches. This $3.6 million will help communities rebuild and recover from some of the high costs sustained during these storms,” said Kennedy.
The FEMA aid will fund the following:
- $1,312,778 to the Society of the Roman Catholic Church of the Diocese of Lafayette for the restoration of the St. Francis Mission Chapel due to Hurricane Laura damage.
- $1,202,044 to the Office of Risk Management to repair multiple state educational facilities, the 3rd Circuit Appeal Courthouse and surrounding buildings due to Hurricane Delta damage.
- $1,054,005 to the Greater Lafourche Port Commission for emergency protective measures during Hurricane Ida.
Kennedy in The Hill: Biden admin threatens safety of key military base to appease UN activists
Oct 25 2024
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) penned this op-ed in The Hill questioning the Biden-Harris administration’s decision to allow the United Kingdom to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. Kennedy argued that this deal jeopardizes the safety of a key base on the island of Diego Garcia and benefits the Chinese Communist Party.
Key excerpts of the op-ed are below:
“The importance of the base at Diego Garcia cannot be overstated. Diego Garcia is one of the only bases in the world where our military can reload submarines. The base also houses several Navy ships and long-range bomber aircraft that we use to carry out missions around the world. These key missions have made it a top target of Chinese Communist Party spies.
“Today, we know our assets on Diego Garcia are secure because the Chagos Islands are a British territory. The United Kingdom controls the island of Diego Garcia and the surrounding water to protect our shared missions.
“Our secure arrangement, however, just imploded. The United Kingdom announced that it will turn over control of the Chagos Islands to the island nation of Mauritius.”
. . .
“This decision wasn’t about righting the wrongs that the United Kingdom supposedly committed against the people of Chagos, though. Chagossians consider themselves an indigenous people. The Chagos Islands and Mauritius—which are more than 1,200 miles apart—speak different versions of Creole and have no shared pre-colonial historic ties. They are, for all practical purposes, strangers.”
. . .
“President Biden and Vice President Harris either truly believe that the government of Mauritius has the ability and the courage to stand up to China to ensure the security of Diego Garcia, or they withheld their objections to avoid being criticized by woke United Nations activists if they stood up for the American people’s best interests.”
. . .
“The American people deserve to know why President Biden and Vice President Harris allowed this irreversible deal to move forward. Congress must hold the Biden-Harris administration accountable for this short-sighted and dangerous decision.
“So, I repeat: Why? Why put American interests at risk? Why help the Chinese Communist Party?”
Read Kennedy’s full op-ed here.
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced a $1,880,865 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant for Louisiana disaster aid.
“Hurricane Ida left behind many damaged and destroyed streetlights, utility poles and powerlines in south Louisiana. This $1.9 million will help these communities with important repairs to their electrical infrastructure,” said Kennedy.
The FEMA aid will fund the following:
- $1,880,865 to the South Louisiana Electric Cooperative Association for repairs to streetlights, utility poles and powerlines due to Hurricane Ida damage.
View Kennedy’s remarks here.
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today released this statement and sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken raising national security concerns over China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region, and specifically the threat to the Chagos Archipelago, where a key U.S. Navy support facility currently operates on the island of Diego Garcia.
Earlier this month, the United Kingdom reached a deal to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius while allowing the U.S. Navy’s Diego Garcia facility to operate for the next 99 years.
“As you know, the Chagos Archipelago, specifically Diego Garcia, is of particular strategic significance to U.S. national security and our ability to maintain stability and project power in the region. The decision to give up the islands is dangerous and irresponsible, especially in the face of China’s increasing aggression,” Kennedy wrote.
“The presence of the U.S. military on Diego Garcia is a vital component of our defense posture in the Indo-Pacific. With the transfer of control to Mauritius, I am concerned about our ability to maintain the integrity of our operations in the region. Chinese ambitions, particularly their strategic interest in expanding influence over critical maritime chokepoints and naval installations, present a clear and present threat to regional stability. We are all but guaranteed to see an increase in nefarious Chinese behavior around Diego Garcia following what has become a familiar playbook—Chinese fishing boats conducting surveillance, and debt trap diplomacy to ensure Chinese control of critical infrastructure,” he continued.
“Given the evolving geopolitical landscape, America must act proactively to secure this region from external influences that could jeopardize a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Kennedy concluded.
Kennedy’s full statement is available here.
The full letter is available here.
MADISONVILLE, La. – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today joined Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and colleagues in announcing their intent to introduce the Stand with Israel Act to combat the United Nation’s (U.N.) persecution of Israel. The legislation would block any U.S. dollars from going to the U.N. if it downgrades Israel’s status in any way, such as preventing Israel from having certain voting powers, access to committees or other roles within the organization.
“The U.N. has failed to pass any resolution to condemn the October 7 terrorists, yet the Palestinian delegation has tried to delegitimize Israel by introducing radical resolutions. Even though the U.N.’s policies often run against American interests, we remain its biggest funder. We shouldn’t send American tax dollars to groups that demonize our strongest democratic ally in the Middle East while elevating terrorist-sympathizers and the Palestinian Authority,” said Kennedy.
Last month, Kennedy criticized the Palestinian Authority for introducing a U.N. resolution that would reward terrorism. The resolution would have supported an end to Israel’s presence in the West Bank, sanction Israeli officials and block other countries’ arms transfers to Israel. The U.N. General Assembly adopted the one-sided resolution without U.S. support.
“Any attempt to alter Israel’s status at the UN is clearly anti-Semitic. That said, if the UN member states allow the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization to downgrade Israel’s status at the UN, the U.S. must stop supporting the UN system, as it would clearly be beyond repair. I am disgusted that this outrageous idea has even been discussed, and will do all I can to ensure any changes to Israel’s status will come with consequences,” said Risch.
The legislation is the companion to the House of Representative’s bipartisan H.R. 9394, which Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) introduced.
Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) and Ted Budd (R-N.C.) also cosponsored the legislation.
Full text of the Stand with Israel Act is available here.
