Israel

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOEVEN. Madam President, the images that have been emerging from Israel in the aftermath of the Hamas terrorist assault are shocking in the extreme. Our hearts are with the Israeli people in the wake of these atrocities, and all of us here in America need to stand strongly, firmly, and united for our friend and ally, Israel.

Here in Congress, there is strong bipartisan support to stand with Israel against Hamas. But what does that mean? What does that mean to stand with Israel? Of course, it means providing military aid. And, of course, it means providing diplomatic support.

I am pleased to cosponsor a bipartisan legislation from the Foreign Relations Committee under the leadership of Chairman Cardin and Ranking Member Risch that expresses the Senate's support for Israel against terrorism.

But today, standing with Israel also means standing against the largest state sponsor of terror in the world, and that is Iran.

For too long, the United States has negotiated with Iran and made concessions. Such policies have not brought peace.

Many of my colleagues and I have warned for years that giving money to Iran, letting Iran sell oil, and giving Iran access to weapons would destabilize the entire region. And, sure enough, over the last decade, we have watched Iran extract concessions in one negotiation after another while creating chaos in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, and beyond. And now we see the hand of Iran behind Hamas and this horrific assault on Israel.

So we must do all we can to support Israel, to help Israel--help Israel defend itself and ensure that it doesn't suffer another attack like this at the hands of Hamas. But also, to stand with Israel, we must undercut Iran's ability to work through its proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah that pose such a danger to the Israeli people and others as well. Concessions and waivers to the Iranian regime provide the resources for Iran to develop an infrastructure of terror across the Middle East, and the cash flow to Iran must be cut off.

To start with, we must refreeze the $6 billion that the regime gained access to following negotiations over the release of U.S. citizens from Iran.

I am part of the legislative efforts to do just that, including bills from Senator Cotton, Senator McConnell, as well as legislation authored by Senator Marshall and Senator Tim Scott.

Ultimately, we must return to a policy of maximum pressure--severe sanctions, maximum pressure that holds Iran accountable for its actions, its actions as the largest state sponsor of terror in the world.

This means a return to the sanctions without waivers. This means leading a global effort to isolate Iran, choke off its sources of financing, and deny the regime the resources required to dominate the region. And this also means making every effort to recognize the rights and the freedoms of the people of Iran, including the right of the Iranian people to choose their own future. We must take these steps.

At the same time, we must always do all we can to ensure that we provide strong, unwavering support to our closest friend and ally in the region, Israel.

Now, we need to move quickly to provide military support for Israel in its fight against Hamas. Also, as I said, our policy on Iran needs to change. We need to exert maximum pressure. That means severe sanctions without waiver.

Maximum and unrelenting pressure on Iran helps Israel, helps the United States, and provides the best chance for minimizing bloodshed both now and in the future.

We stand with Israel.

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