WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted to advance Congressman Andrew Clyde’s (GA-09) legislation, H.R. 6046, the Standing Against Houthi Aggression Act, by a bipartisan vote of 34-13. The bill redesignates the Iran-backed Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and reinstates sanctions on the group.

“I’m incredibly pleased that the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved my Standing Against Houthi Aggression Act with bipartisan support, as this critical legislation is direly needed to combat Iran’s aggression,” said Clyde. “President Biden’s ongoing capitulation to Iran and Iranian proxies has threatened our national security, exacerbated tensions, put our troops in harm’s way, and tragically led to the recent death of three American heroes. Due to our Commander-in-Chief’s weakness on the world stage, Congress must take action and prioritize U.S. national security by continuing to advance my legislation to redesignate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.”

“The administration made a deadly mistake removing the Iran-backed Houthis’ designation as an FTO. In recent months, the Houthis have expanded their terrorist actions beyond the Arabian Peninsula with consistent attacks on global shipping. Enough is enough. We need to use every tool in our arsenal to respond to this terrorist activity and defend our interests, and that means redesignating the Iran-backed Houthis as an FTO,” said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman McCaul.

Text of the Standing Against Houthi Aggression Act is available HERE.

Watch the full committee markup HERE.

Background

In 2021, President Biden recklessly reversed a Trump Administration policy by removing the Houthis from the Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist lists. 

Since Hamas’ barbaric October 7th, 2023 terrorist attack on Israel, U.S. troops in the Middle East have been attacked more than 160 times by Iran-backed proxies, including the Houthis.