Motion to Discharge--S. Res. 504

Floor Speech

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Mr. WELCH. Mr. President, I support this resolution and appreciate the leadership of my good friend, the senior Senator from Vermont.

Section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act is an important and long underutilized tool. It provides a practical mechanism to focus attention on serious human rights concerns around the world. These concerns should matter deeply to every Member of Congress and every American.

There are some who may not support asking the State Department to provide the information called for in this resolution. That is unfortunate. The Senate should be asking the hard questions, especially when fundamental rights and thousands of innocent lives are at stake. Though there are clauses in the resolution I believe could be more effective if drafted differently, that is the nature of the legislative process.

The people of Gaza are in the midst of a humanitarian catastrophe. The amount of death and destruction is staggering. An estimated 10,000 children have been killed and many more likely buried under rubble. The United Nations and other humanitarian relief organizations have warned of widespread starvation if the amount of food, potable water, medicines, and other necessities of life getting into Gaza is not drastically increased in the coming days.

Differences regarding this resolution and the conduct of the war aside, we have a shared responsibility to do whatever we can to save the lives of the 2 million men, women, and children who have been displaced in Gaza and are now completely dependent on international aid. That should be our immediate priority, and I look forward to working on this with other Members of Congress, the State Department, USAID, the United Nations, and other relief organizations in the coming days and weeks. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.

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