Congressman Crow Opposes House Republicans’ Dangerous Bill to Sanction the ICC
Crow: “America is best when we lead with our values.”
View Full Committee Remarks Here
WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Jason Crow (CO-06), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability joined a hearing in the House Rules Committee to speak in opposition to House Republicans’ overreaching legislation that would impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), or any foreign actor who supports their effort to prosecute protected persons of the US and its allies.
Though we may not be a member of the court or party to the Rome Statute, 124 other countries are. The largest ICC funders are amongst our closest allies – the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, and Japan. This bill puts the US at serious risk of being forced to sanction many of those partners.
In the House Rules Committee, Congressman Crow said:
“The world is an increasingly dangerous and volatile place - America needs friends and allies now more than ever.
“The bill before us, the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act, will do significant damage to our national security, to American leadership in the world, and prohibit a more measured method of addressing the issue.
“In short, it is bad for America.
“I come before you today a combat veteran, supporter of the American Servicemembers Protection Act, a longtime supporter of Israel's security, and someone with concerns about the ICC’s approach to this case.
“I also come before you today as someone who believes that America is best when we lead with our values, uphold rules based-institutions, and differentiate ourselves from our adversaries.
“And it’s for these reasons that I vehemently oppose this bill.”
Congressman Crow continues working to uphold US values and the rule of law with bipartisan colleagues in our best national security interest, including a recent letter to President Biden urging enforcement of US law and policy regarding humanitarian aid to Gaza, a letter to ODNI Director Avril Haines seeking information on the US-Israel intel sharing relationship, as well as a letter in December urging Biden to demand a shift in Israeli military strategy.