Senate introduces bipartisan bill to increase US authority to sanction firms backing terror groups

A bipartisan group of senators is set to unveil legislation Thursday that will increase the government's ability to sanction firms that financially support terrorist groups. 

The initiative is led by Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and would allow the federal government to sanction any firm that funds “Foreign Terrorist Organizations.”

The bill is titled the "Terrorism Financing Prevention Act," and is based on a previous law from 2015 that focused on Hezbollah. 

Some supporters of the legislation include GOP Sens. Mike Rounds, of South Dakota, and Mitt Romney, of Utah, according to Punchbowl News.

The bill would point the Treasury Department to find banks, as well as crypto companies abroad that “knowingly” facilitate payments to designated terror groups.