Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024
Floor Speech
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Mr. HIMES. Mr. Speaker, maybe I can help my confused friend from New York so that he might understand what is at stake here and why Democrats are going to vote ``no.''
I stand here with some trepidation because, for a decade and a half, I have stood here and proudly voted to support Israel, and Israel has been attacked. I know that we will pass Israel aid.
Make no mistake, what we are seeing today is a profoundly cynical political maneuver. For my friend from New York, let me explain it.
Mr. Calvert, Ms. DeLauro, and I were in the White House when the Speaker--all of 2 days as Speaker of the House--looked at the National Security Advisor and said that we will do border first, Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel. He demanded that. The White House said, no, we shouldn't bind those things up because that creates the possibility that we don't get any of that done.
Then, we made very real progress. We have a bipartisan package that does all of those things. It counters Putin's murderousness in Ukraine, supports Taiwan, stands with Israel, and provides humanitarian aid. It offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do a border and immigration deal, an immigration deal that the Border Patrol union has endorsed.
My Republican colleagues trot out the Border Patrol every day and say, look at these poor guys.
The Border Patrol union has endorsed this bill. This should pass. It is a historic opportunity to stand up for what we believe as Americans, but then something happened. Donald Trump called.
Donald Trump called the Speaker, and the Speaker said it. He said, we know how he feels about Ukraine. He said, don't do the border deal, a border deal negotiated with one of the most conservative Senators in the United States Senate.
Mr. Calvert, Ms. DeLauro, and I heard Mitch McConnell say: This is a better deal than we get if Donald Trump is President and we have the House and the Senate, but Donald Trump called.
I need to put another name out there: Neville Chamberlain, 1938, ``peace for our time'' because he kowtowed to a dictator. That is what is at stake.
We will hang the legacy of Neville Chamberlain around our necks if we don't seize this historic opportunity to do a comprehensive security bill and reject this political cynical maneuver.
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