House panel OKs bill to call Muslim Brotherhood terror group

WASHINGTON – The Associated Press

Supporters of the ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi chant slogans and raise an image of him, in the Faysal district of Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Jan. 25, 2016. AP Photo

The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee has approved legislation calling on the U.S. State Department to label the Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organization.

Lawmakers voted Feb. 24 along party lines, 17-10.

Supporters say if the measure is signed into law, the U.S. would have to deny admittance to individuals who are tied to the Brotherhood but aren’t U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals.

Individuals who provide material support to the group would face criminal penalties.

The bill would allow the Treasury Department to require U.S. banks and financial institutions to block transactions involving assets held by the Brotherhood.

If the bill passes a full House vote, it will then move to the Senate.      

Once both chambers pass the bill, it will be presented to President Barack Obama who will have 10 days to sign or veto the legislation.  

The State Department will consider within 60 days whether to agree to the bill.      

If it decides not to list the group as a terrorist organization, it will have to provide a “detailed justification as to which criteria have not been met,” the bill said.

The Brotherhood says it is a peaceful charitable and political group. The group is considered a terrorist organization by Saudi Arabia and by Egypt, where former Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi was ousted as president in 2013.