Rubio, Moskowitz Celebrate Passage of SHIP Act, Other National Security Bills into Law

Three bills countering Iran, Hamas, and China, including the Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum (SHIP) Act, were recently signed into law by President Biden, originally introduced by Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), while Representative Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) introduced the SHIP Act in the House and cosponsored the latter acts. Both issued statements celebrating the passage of these bills into law.

The SHIP Act, which would toughen sanctions on Iranian oil exports, was introduced in the House by Rep. Moskowitz and Representative Mike Lawler (R-NY), while Sen. Rubio introduced the Senate version with Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH).

During a July discussion on Fox News about the SHIP Act, Rep. Moskowitz described how Iran uses the money gained via oil export sales to "use as a destabilizing force. They are helping out Russia by supplying drones and just lately, Israel had to go into Jenin to work on the fact that Iran is continuing to fund Hamas actions."

When the bill passed the House in November, Sen. Rubio urged the Senate version to pass, saying, "Our nation’s foreign adversaries must know they will face consequences for empowering other regimes that are anti-democratic and anti-American. We must enact and then rigorously enforce this bill so that those who are enriching themselves through the sale of sanctioned oil, or linked with its illicit trade, are held accountable."

With President Biden now signing the SHIP Act into law, Moskowitz made a tweet on X (formerly Twitter), calling their signage "a victory for American leadership and a defeat for China, Russia, and Iran."

In his press release marking their signage, Rubio said, "We have seen the violent acts carried out by the Iranian regime, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and other terrorist affiliates. For too long, the U.S. was either unable or unwilling to punish these actions. One of Iran’s prime sponsors, the Chinese Communist Party, did not face significant consequences for aiding and abetting the regime’s illicit activities. I encourage the Biden Administration to move quickly and use these new authorities to punish the violent acts carried out by these entities and help put an end to their cruelty."

The other two acts, introduced by Rubio in the Senate and counted Moskowitz as a cosponsor in the House, included the Mahsa Amini Human Rights and Security Accountability (MAHSA) Act, which would introduce additional sanctions on Iran and the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad Support Prevention Act, which would sanction governments supporting the two terror groups.