Providing for Congressional Disapproval Under Chapter 8 of Title United States Code, of the Rule Submitted By the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Relating to ``Small Business Lending Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Regulation B)''--veto

Floor Speech

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Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, let me begin by wishing all Americans and my colleagues here in the Congress a very happy and peaceful holiday season.

Unfortunately, for the people in Israel and Palestine, that will not be the case. This is not a peaceful season for them. In Gaza, millions of people will end the year under constant bombardment, exposed to the winter or living in tents, wondering where they will find their next meal or clean drinking water or the medical supplies they need. What is going on in Gaza right now is an unmitigated humanitarian disaster, and we must not look away from it.

We all know that the current war was begun by Hamas in their brutal terrorist attack against Israel, which killed some 1,200 innocent men, women, and children and took more than 240 hostages. Hamas is a corrupt terrorist organization which, before and after their attack on October 7, has made it clear that their goal is to destroy the State of Israel.

There is no question in my mind that Israel has the right to defend itself and respond against the perpetrators of the October 7 attack. But while it is clear that Israel has the right to respond militarily against that terrorist attack, it is also clear that the Netanyahu rightwing extremist government is waging that war--that response--in a deeply reckless and immoral way.

A just cause for war does not excuse atrocities in the conduct of that war, and that is precisely what we are seeing. Israel has the right to go to war against Hamas. It does not have the right to go to war against innocent men, women, and children in Gaza.

Israel's reliance on widespread and indiscriminate bombardment, including the use of massive explosive ordnance in densely populated areas, is unconscionable. Israel's military campaign will be remembered among some of the darkest chapters of our modern history.

Consider the toll thus far--and I hope that every Member of Congress is prepared to consider the toll of what Israel is doing right now. As of today, nearly 20,000 people have been killed, 70 percent of whom are women and children.

Let me repeat that. Nearly 20,000 people have been killed, 70 percent of whom are women and children. And more than 52,000 have been wounded since October 7. More victims are likely trapped under the rubble. Further, 135 United Nations workers have been killed as well as dozens of other aid workers.

Unbelievably--and it really is quite unbelievable--nearly 1.9 million people--that is more than 85 percent of the population in Gaza--have been driven from their homes. Can you imagine that? Eighty-five percent of the people have been thrown out of their homes, and, as we speak, they don't where they are going. They don't know what their future is. They don't have enough food, water, medical supplies, or fuel.

Despite sharing their locations with Israeli military forces, more than 100 United Nations facilities have been bombed. More than 100 U.N. facilities have been bombed, and the U.N. reports--and, again, an incredible fact--that over 60 percent of the housing units in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed. Can you imagine that?

My State of Vermont has 600,000 people. That is one-third of the people who live in Gaza, and I am just trying to think in my mind what it would look like if 60 percent of the housing units in Vermont were damaged or destroyed. But that is the case in Gaza right now.

Let me put this in historical perspective and what that historical perspective means: that the destruction in Gaza is now equivalent to that of Dresden, Germany, where 2 years of bombing by the U.S. Air Force and British Air Force during World War II destroyed half of the homes in that city and killed about 25,000 people. Gaza has matched that in just 2 months--not 2 years, 2 months.

This massive bombardment has made it impossible for the United Nations and other aid groups to provide basic necessities to the people in Gaza. As we speak, some 1.4 million people are sheltering in 155 overcrowded U.N. facilities.

Can you imagine that 1.4 million people are sheltering tonight in 155 grossly overcrowded U.N. facilities? There is little electricity, food, water, medicine, or fuel; and hundreds of thousands of children are going hungry tonight in Gaza. The shortage of clean water and adequate sanitation facilities is leading to disease.

And we can't even begin to contemplate the lasting psychological damage being done to the children of Gaza. Can you imagine a 5-year- old, a 10-year-old, looking around for whether a bomb is going to be hitting him or her, wondering what kind of house, if any, they are ever going to return to or where are they going? Massive psychological damage is being done to the people of Gaza and especially to the children. The United Nations' senior humanitarian official said that he fears a ``breakdown in society'' amid this desperation.

Let's be frank. What we are talking about in Gaza now is not just a humanitarian cataclysm but a mass atrocity.

And what is important for every Member of this body to understand-- for every American to understand--is that all of this is being done with bombs and equipment provided by the United States of America and heavily subsidized by American taxpayers. We are paying for the carnage in Gaza right now--our bombs, our ordnance. There is no denying that we are, as a nation, complicit in this carnage.

The Israeli military has made extensive use of massive explosive munitions in its campaign, including 2,000-pound and 1,000-pound bombs, and 155-millimeter artillery. These bombs and shells are manufactured here in America and supplied to Israel by the United States of America.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the United States has provided at least 15,000 bombs and 57,000 artillery shells to Israel since October 7, including more than 5,400 of the huge 2,000-pound bombs that can flatten entire neighborhoods.

The Washington Post reports that, in just 6 weeks after October 7, Israel dropped more than 22,000 American-supplied bombs on Gaza. And CNN reports that U.S. intelligence believes 40 to 45 percent of the bombs Israel has used in Gaza have been unguided ``dumb bombs.''

These munitions were provided with the full knowledge they would likely be used in Gaza, a densely populated urban area with a large civilian presence. Parts of Gaza are more densely populated than New York City.

The press, human rights monitors, and U.S. officials have confirmed that U.S.-provided bombs have been used in attacks that have killed thousands of civilians.

This campaign, I am sorry to say, very likely violates U.S. law and U.S. policy. That is why I have introduced a privileged resolution under section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act. The resolution requests that the State Department provide information on any credible allegations of human rights violations in Gaza caused by indiscriminate or disproportionate military operations and the blanket denial of humanitarian access. It also requests a list of the arms provided to Israel since October 7 and a description of the steps taken to limit civilian risk caused by Israeli military actions.

We will be voting on this resolution in January, and the best basic question that we will be answering in that resolution is, Do we support asking the State Department whether human rights violations may have been committed in the Israeli campaign in Gaza?

That is not a tough question, and I hope that what we will see is a ``yes'' vote from most of my colleagues.

This should not be controversial. If you believe, as I do, that this campaign has been indiscriminate, then, it is our responsibility to get that question answered. If you believe Israel has done nothing wrong in Gaza, then you should want that information to support your belief.

When we receive this information, we will then have a privileged vehicle to debate any necessary changes in U.S. security assistance to Israel.

While I look forward to this debate, let me also mention that there are other things that we should be doing as well. The United States-- President Biden--has urged Israel to change its tactics with regard to their indiscriminate bombing. The President and people in the State Department have asked Netanyahu over and over and over again. Unfortunately, the Netanyahu government has not listened and has not been terribly interested in our perspective, despite the fact that we are supplying the bombs that they are using, despite the fact that we have provided them with $3.5 billion every year for a long time in military aid. Instead, the Netanyahu government is continuing its military approach, which is both immoral and in violation of international law.

In my view, the United States must end our complicity in those actions, and, to do so, we must make two critical changes in our policy. First, while it is appropriate to support defensive systems like Iron Dome to protect Israeli civilians against incoming rockets, it would be irresponsible to provide an additional $10.1 billion in military aid beyond those defensive systems, as contained in the proposed supplemental foreign aid package.

The bottom line is that we should not be giving more money to a rightwing extremist government in Israel to conduct a horrific and immoral military campaign that includes indiscriminate bombardment.

Second, in my view, the United States should support efforts at the United Nations Security Council to end the bloodshed, such as the resolution expected tomorrow that would demand an ``urgent suspension of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access, and for urgent steps towards a sustainable cessation of hostilities,'' as well as the unconditional release of all hostages. This should be something we strongly support.

As you may recall, last week, the United States vetoed a resolution, and I think that was disappointing not just to me but to many Americans.

As we soon head home to our families, let us not forget the millions of people in desperate need both here in the United States and around the world. In Gaza, there is a horrific situation we can and must do more to address. We cannot forget about it. We cannot shove it under the rug. The time is now for the United States to stand up and do everything that we can to end this humanitarian disaster.

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