Army veteran Taylor Force served two tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, before enrolling at Vanderbilt University's 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.
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. "Sadly, Taylor is not the only American citizen to have died in the climate of hate the Authority's radical policies create. Taxpayers here should have no part," said Rep. DesJarlais (TN-04).
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.