Thank you Mr. Chairman.

Since the Banking Committee last met to hear testimony on Iran's support for terrorism and its determination to develop a nuclear capability, the situation has only worsened. Not only does Iran continue to defy overwhelming international opposition to its nuclear-related activities, but, in recent weeks, we have seen evidence of Iranian complicity in attacks on Americans in Iraq.

Iran's intransigence on all three fronts clearly demonstrates the severity of the situation confronting the United States and its allies.

Iran's continued support for Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorist organizations dramatically illustrates its strong desire to remain on the wrong side of the war on terror. Because there is virtually no region throughout the world that has not been a target of a terrorist attack, we must all remain vigilant and employ every available means to detect and deter future attacks, both here and abroad.

As we learned with illicit North Korean financial activities, the United States has a powerful weapon in its arsenal - financial sanctions. Properly employed, sanctions can restrict a rogue regime's ability to operate with impunity. Treasury's use of Section 311 of the Patriot Act, in the case of North Korea, and its new authorities under Executive Order, in the case of Iran, have proven effective. We have enjoyed some success at both restraining the ability of these regimes to finance illicit activities and communicating to the world of international finance that business as usual may carry risks.

Unfortunately, terrorism remains disturbingly cost-effective. In other words, relatively small amounts of money can support very large attacks. Terror's deadly efficiency is one of the major challenges we face.

I'm interested in hearing today how current authorities are working and whether any additional authority is needed to meet this challenge.

Again, thank you Mr. Chairman and I look forward to hearing from our witnesses.