Members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs debated for an hour on Tuesday morning over the Republican-led "Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act" which would sanction any foreign person who directly engaged, aided or acted on behalf of the International Criminal Court to "to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute" a US ally.
The sanctions would also extend to the immediate family members of the foreign persons involved and companies involved in business dealings with the ICC.
According to the bill, those sanctioned would be inadmissible to the US and unable to receive a US visa. Current visas would also be revoked.
White House responds, opposing legislation
The White House Office of Management and Budget released a statement on Monday strongly opposing the legislation, saying it could require sanctions against court staff, judges, witnesses and US allies and partners who provide even limited, targeted support to the court in "a range of aspects of its work."
"The Administration is deeply concerned about the ICC Prosecutor’s heedless rush to apply for arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials," the statement said. "At the same time, the Administration opposes the imposition of sanctions against the ICC, its personnel, its judges, or those who assist its work."
In its statement, OMB said there are more effective ways to defend Israel, preserve US positions on the ICC and promote international justice and accountability.
"The Administration stands ready to work with the Congress on those options," the statement said.
On the House floor Tuesday, Committee Chairman Rep. Mike McCaul (R-TX) accused the White House of doing a 180-degree turn by initially supporting the idea of sanctioning the ICC, saying even some Democrats criticized the White House's position change.
According to McCaul, he and Committee Ranking Member Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) wanted to make the legislation a bipartisan bill.
"The ICC itself was created as a court of last resort if national governments are unwilling or unable to try cases in their jurisdiction," McCaul said. "The United States and Israel do not fall into this category."
McCaul said it was outrageous for the ICC to be pursuing arrest warrants against Israeli officials and announcing it on CNN before a decision was made.
Republicans are broadly concerned that the ICC's warrants against Israel could set the precedent for future arrests of US leaders.
"Failing to act here in the Congress would make us complicit with the ICC's illegitimate actions. We must not stay silent, and we need that quickly," McCaul added.
Meeks, on the other hand, said the bill would have a "chilling effect" on the ICC as an institution and hamper the court's efforts to prosecute serious atrocities that have already been perpetrated in many places around the world.
"From Ukraine to Uganda, we can't forget that the ICC is a venue through which we can hold accountable bad actors," Meeks said.
Meeks noted that many members of Congress celebrated last March when ICC judges issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian officials for abducting 1000's of Ukrainian children.
While Meeks strongly opposes the ICC's investigation into Israeli officials and said there is no moral or legal equivalence between Hamas leaders and Israeli officials, Congress should only move forward with a bipartisan deal.
"This bill will bluntly curtail the United States ability to engage the court to advance our interest in supporting justice and accountability, and those processes to critically share relevant information that can impact the outcome," Meeks said. "And the sanctions will have a chilling effect on states who would otherwise be inclined to align with us and ensure the court delivers justice and avoids overreach."
Meeks and other Democratic members posited that the bill masquerades as pro-Israel policy while it actually divides a wedge between the two parties and benefits the Republicans, and not Israel.
Meeks said the bill's language is too broad and risks sanctioning the US' closest allies from the UK, France and Japan.
Rep. Brad Sherman, a Jewish, pro-Israel Democrat from California, said the ICC's ruling is outrageous and he would've been happy to co-sponsor a resolution denouncing and sanctioning the court.
We cannot vote yes on a bill today, Sherman said.
"I would have wanted to co-sponsor this bill when I read the title. Unfortunately, I read the bill," Sherman said. "Once again, we have a poorly drafted, poorly thought out messaging bill that hasn't gone through the committee process, that hasn't gone through regular order, that hasn't been thought through."