Racine Sun

Wisconsin First Congressional District U.S. House Rep. Bryan Steil recently introduced five amendments to the nation's annual defense bill, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), after what he called the "mishandled" withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Steil described his amendments on the House floor and in a social media post last week, in addition to a previous statement released by his office.

"The mishandled evacuation from Afghanistan was a tragic disaster," Steil said on the largely empty House floor, as recorded in a C-SPAN video included in his Sept. 23 Twitter post. "The fundamental misunderstanding of the situation on the ground, a faulty plan for withdrawal and poor decision making in Washington put our troops in harm's way, leading to the abandonment of American citizens, the death or 13 brave American service members – including critical injuries to two Marines from the First Congressional District of Wisconsin. My amendments to national defense bill are directed at getting answers for our troops and the American people and I ask my colleges for their support."

In a separate press release issued two days prior to his Twitter post, Steil described his amendments as aimed at "holding our adversaries accountable and stopping human trafficking."

His amendments would stop evasion of Iran sanctions by closing a known loophole and would require reports about any threats posed by Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces and on Taliban sanctions, as well as about "hard currency and other financial benefits that the Assad regime in Syria will obtain through transit fees for allowing the export of gas into Lebanon through the Arab Gas Pipeline." The latter report would be required "in case the president issues a waiver under the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019."

Steil's amendments also would require regular U.S. Treasury Department reports about sanction waivers between financial institutions and "targeted individuals," which closely resembles the Banking Transparency for Sanctioned Persons Act introduced last spring.

Another provision in Steil's amendments would be the creation of a human trafficking coordinator at the Treasury Department, within Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, who would coordinate the fight against illicit human trafficking financing.

"Our top priority must be to protect American citizens at home and abroad," Steil said in his earlier statement. "We must ensure that our nation's defense bill includes provisions to hold Iran, the Taliban and other rogue actors accountable. I will continue working with my colleagues to counter terrorists and the regimes that support them and ensure Americans are safe here at home."

Steil's announcement about his proposed NDAA amendments also followed an AP news story that a Taliban founder "and the chief enforcer of its harsh interpretation of Islamic law when they last ruled Afghanistan" had confirmed those harsh punishments will return.