Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024
Floor Speech
Mr. Speaker, 122 days ago, Hamas terrorists murdered over 1,000 Israelis and at least 30 Americans in cold blood. They took hundreds hostage in the worst attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust.
President Biden's supplemental funding request for Israel, Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific, and for our border has gone all but completely unanswered by this historic do-nothing majority. For months our colleagues in the majority insisted that any foreign assistance bill must include border policy changes. So spoke Speaker Johnson at the White House several months ago, and he said that we needed a bipartisan border security agreement that would open and unlock the door for funds for foreign assistance.
Yet, Republicans have rejected a bipartisan bill that would accomplish exactly what they have asked for.
While declaring that bill dead on arrival in the House, the majority has opted to consider a bill that we know the President will veto. This is a political stunt that makes it less likely that Israel gets its funds while endangering U.S. national security. This accomplishes nothing and delays aid getting out to our allies and providing humanitarian relief.
Our allies cannot wait, our border communities cannot wait, and our cities cannot wait.
I wholeheartedly support funding for Israel. I have written aid to Israel supplemental appropriations over the last several years. However, I cannot support this bill which falls dangerously short of what this moment calls for. Our allies are facing existential threats, and our friends and foes around the globe are watching and waiting to see how America will respond.
Putin is watching, Xi is watching, and the Ayatollah Khamenei is watching. Russia, China, and Iran are watching, and our allies are watching.
This bill does not provide a penny in humanitarian assistance. We cannot abandon the innocent civilians caught in the crossfire of these conflicts, particularly in Gaza. The costs of Hamas' rule over Gaza and the war against Israel are borne by innocent Palestinians. Israel's harsh response has raised these costs further. Families and children are facing unthinkable circumstances. Millions are facing starvation because of this conflict. No one with clear eyes would say otherwise.
Furthermore, if this bill were to become law, there is no path to support Ukraine. We are witnessing the first land war in Europe in a generation, and through inaction, this Congress is handing a sovereign nation over to a ruthless autocrat jeopardizing U.S. national security. Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine. If he overtakes Ukraine and moves against a NATO ally, then we will see U.S. troops in a ground war.
If we do not provide Ukraine with what they need, then the ultimate legacy of the 118th Congress will be the appeasement of a dictator and the destruction of a free nation.
Our allies and our enemies in Europe and around the globe will know that the United States is no longer a trusted partner in the security of the free world. Yet, we know that a supermajority of this body supports Ukraine.
There are unquestionably more than 218 votes in the House for a supplemental appropriations bill that includes Israel, humanitarian assistance, Ukraine, and Indo-Pacific assistance. Yet, House Republicans are refusing to take that path. The Senate bill acts now to address the border that is in crisis. The status quo is unacceptable, but Republicans say no to moving forward.
We should reject this unserious effort, this political ploy, and insist on a bipartisan product that supports our allies and protects the integrity of our border.
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Ms. DeLAURO. McCollum), who is the ranking member of the Defense Subcommittee.
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Ms. DeLAURO. Wasserman Schultz), the ranking member of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support Israel's absolute right to exist, to defend itself, and to bring home its citizens--and ours--who are still held captive after 122 days.
Over those 122 days, President Biden has firmly backed Israel's response to genocidal Hamas terror. He helped free over 100 hostages and continues working tirelessly to bring them all home. He has forcefully countered malign forces who attack our troops and oppose any future peace.
Meanwhile, for 122 days, Republicans have ignored President Biden's urgent request: Safeguard our democracy and our allies from adversaries who seek chaos, death, and destruction.
This abdication of responsibility fails our constituents, our allies, and our national security interests.
After months of waiting, I won't hesitate to vote for Israel's defense in this moment of crisis.
I am enraged that Republicans are playing political games, caving to Trump and the extreme fringe of their party at the expense of our most sacred national obligations. They cynically pound the table about Iran, but they are suddenly blind to Putin's wrath in Ukraine and deaf to Xi's threats against Taiwan. They callously disregard the humanitarian tragedy facing Gazans, who are also victims of Hamas, eroding our credibility and undermining future prospects for a just and lasting peace.
I am appalled that after 3,300 anti-Semitic attacks in this country in just 3 months, they will pass a dozen nonbinding resolutions only to turn around and defund basic protections for Jewish Americans.
We could have passed the President's emergency request months ago in a massive bipartisan show of strength. Instead, Republicans are needlessly weaponizing these vital efforts to score cheap political points.
It took far too long to get here. Yet, this bill still falls short of our needs.
As a Jew and proud Zionist, my conscience demands that I vote with Israel in her hour of need in this moment of crisis. I won't pretend this bill comes close to meeting our security needs.
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Ms. DeLAURO. Lois Frankel), a member of the Appropriations Committee.
Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill for emergency funding for Israel and for U.S. military operations in the Middle East.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists brutally attacked Israel, murdering, maiming, and raping innocent women, men, and children, and taking 240 hostages, many who remain in dark tunnels being starved and abused.
Adding fuel to the fire, Iran proxies are shooting rockets into Israel, jeopardizing commerce in the Red Sea and killing American soldiers on military bases.
Funds from this bill will enable Israel to defend itself and the U.S. to protect our own military personnel.
Mr. Speaker, I recognize and respect the concern of friends who support Israel but want other also important issues to be addressed.
Mr. Speaker, the perfect should not be the enemy of the good.
Let me be clear: My vote will be for what is in this proposed bill and not a rebuke of what is left out.
I fear that a divided Congress will embolden Israel's adversaries and put our own military in harm's way. Israel's security is our security.
Mr. Speaker, I stand with Israel. I stand with humanity. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill.
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Ms. DeLAURO. Ocasio-Cortez).
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Ms. DeLAURO. Tlaib).
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Ms. DeLAURO. Lee), the distinguished ranking member of the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee.
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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, a short while ago, my colleague from Arkansas said it is our solemn duty to protect our allies. Indeed, it is our solemn duty to protect our allies. Our ally in this case is Israel, yes, and we support Israel. Our ally is Ukraine, and we need to continue to support Ukraine. Our ally is Taiwan, and we need to support Taiwan.
We have a solemn duty, yes, to provide humanitarian assistance to innocent civilians. We have a solemn duty to protect our border. These are not the issues that are part of this bill. This bill does not meet those solemn obligations.
My Republican colleagues do not want to help Ukraine or the Indo- Pacific and Taiwan. They do not want to address border security. They talked about border security as being the key to opening up the door to foreign assistance. They said it in the White House--the Speaker did that--and now they have walked away from it. It is really a political sham. They do not want to promote humanitarian assistance and leave millions of innocent civilians without food, shelter, and clothing.
When I asked about Gaza in a conversation with the Director of the World Food Programme, Cynthia McCain, she said to me: Rosa, these people are starving. It is a famine. I believe that in this process of providing assistance to just Israel and not our other allies, they do hurt Israel and isolate Israel. It is time for my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to put our country and our national security ahead of partisan politics. What we should do is to vote this bill down.
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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
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