A bill introduced Monday would require the Biden administration to take punitive action against any groups or individuals aiding the Houthi rebel group’s incessant attacks on naval forces and international shipping in the Red Sea, the Daily Caller Foundation has learned.
Houthi terrorist attacks have destabilized international markets, threaten free navigation and endangered lives of service members and mariners, further inflaming hostilities in the Middle East, Republican Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee, who introduced the bill, told the DCNF. U.S. Navy vessels almost daily defend against drones and missiles fired by the terror group that receives most of its training, funding and arms from backers in Iran, whom the bill seeks to target.
“Iran-backed terrorist cells like the Houthis have launched the Middle East into chaos. My Combating Houthi Threats and Aggression Act will allow Congress to determine the full breadth of the Houthis’ capabilities and how we can best respond to this growing threat while imposing harsh sanctions,” Green, who chairs the Committee on Homeland Security, told the DCNF. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: GOP Rep Blasts Squad Dems For Trying To Block Sale Of F-35s Israel Used To Defend Against Iran Attacks)
The bill also requires the administration to submit reports on the Houthis’ capability to threaten U.S. national security and foreign policy goals, the specific Houthi attacks that have obstructed freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and instances where the group has violated international prohibitions on arms transfers.
The bill notes the U.S. has a spoken policy to safeguard security in the commercially significant waters of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, “including by supporting interdiction efforts and by opposing attacks on international shipping that threaten the free flow of commerce, endanger innocent mariners, and violate international law, as such attacks harm the global economy.”
Since November, U.S. Naval forces operating alongside partners in the Red Sea have seized smuggling vessels, killed dozens of drones and missiles aimed at international shipping and come to the aid of vessels that have been hit.
Sanctions required in the bill would block anyone supporting the Houthis, either through participating in the attacks or facilitating provision of arms and ammunition, from owning property in the U.S. or receiving a visa from Washington.
Green demanded a full accounting of Houthi leaders’ intentions amid what appears to be a sustained campaign against international shipping in the Red Sea, with no end in sight. He also called for a detailed breakdown of the Houthis’ weapons arsenals, the extent to which they rely on Iran and Iranian-backed groups for weapons production and training, and their ability to operate self-sufficiently.
“The Biden administration is dragging its feet. Until we understand the Houthis’ capabilities to threaten our national security and foreign policy efforts, our interests are even more at risk,” Green said.
Lawmakers have voiced concerns that the U.S. is expending weapons stockpiles too quickly to combat the rebel group’s attacks — weapons the U.S. Navy would require in large quantities in the event of a conflict with China.
Troops in the Middle East “are fighting with what they got, and we should never ask them to stop or conserve,” Adm. John Aquilino, who recently departed as the head of Indo-Pacific Command, told Congress in March. “What we do have to do is … to get on the right side of this cost curve.”
While the U.S. military defended Israel against dozens of drones and ballistic missiles Iran fired at Israel over the weekend, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces were busy in the Red Sea. CENTCOM forces destroyed four drones in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on Sunday, the military said.