{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://desjarlais.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/named-for-vanderbilt-terror-victim-taylor-force-act-restricts-us-foreign", "NAMED FOR VANDERBILT TERROR VICTIM, TAYLOR FORCE ACT RESTRICTS U.S. FOREIGN AID TO STOP PALESTINIAN MARTYRDOM PAYMENTS", "2017-12-06", "2017", "2017-12", "Republican", "House", "TN", "Scott DesJarlais", "D000616", "desjarlais.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "NAMED FOR VANDERBILT TERROR VICTIM, TAYLOR FORCE ACT RESTRICTS U.S. FOREIGN AID TO STOP PALESTINIAN MARTYRDOM PAYMENTS\nREP. SCOTT DESJARLAIS VOTES FOR BILL TO HONOR SLAIN ARMY VET, PUNISH \u201cPAY TO SLAY\u201d\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 \u00a0Army veteran Taylor Force served two tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, before enrolling at Vanderbilt University\u2019s Owen Graduate School of Management. In 2016, on a trip to study international business, the Texas native became the latest victim of Islamic extremism in Israel, where the Palestinian government pays terrorists to murder Americans and Israelis.\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTaylor served his country, working to protect Americans and to make the world a safer place. In his memory, the House has passed severe restrictions on financial aid to the Palestinian Authority, funding terrorism, while the majority of its people subsist in poverty,\u201d said Congressman Scott DesJarlais, M.D. \u201cUntil it ends institutional support for violence against innocent civilians, the government there will never be a legitimate partner for peace.\u201d \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Taylor Force Act, which the House of Representatives passed yesterday, would require the Palestinian Authority to renounce support for payments to terrorists and to abolish laws and funding, including for affiliate organizations. The U.S. Secretary of State must regularly certify compliance. \u201cSadly, Taylor is not the only American citizen to have died in the climate of hate the Authority\u2019s radical policies create. Taxpayers here should have no part,\u201d said Rep. DesJarlais (TN-04).\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If successful, terrorists and their families receive pensions and other financial rewards from a Martyrs Fund. According to estimates, the territorial government spends approximately $300 million annually, or seven percent of its budget, on such payments. Because foreign aid to alleviate poverty and debt in the West Bank is fungible, American taxpayer dollars, averaging $335 million per year, free funds for martyrdom operations or may directly subsidize them.\n\u00a0\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://desjarlais.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/named-for-vanderbilt-terror-victim-taylor-force-act-restricts-us-foreign"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3491001445800066, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}