President Obama Goes to Israel

Floor Speech

Mr. ROSKAM. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to announce that over 100 colleagues have joined together on both sides of the aisle to send a letter to President Obama commending his trip to Israel and also asking him to use it as an opportunity to continue to put the imprimatur of the administration on a strong U.S.-Israeli relationship. We also urge the President to continue to make sure that all options are on the table as it relates to Iran and their nuclear ambitions and that we should continue to adopt a policy of prevention and not containment.

Similarly, we said that we need to protect Israel's Qualitative Military Edge and Israel's inherent right to defend itself, and also recognize that the Israeli-Palestinian peace process can only be achieved and advanced through direct negotiations without preconditions.

Finally, we said that the President must maintain foreign aid to Israel, as well as funding for Iron Dome and other Israeli-made antimissile defense systems.

In a nutshell, we've urged the President to use this as a time to highlight our relationship with the Nation of Israel because it makes all the sense in the world, and it's a foundation upon which prosperity can happen.

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