Floor Statements

I announce that the Senator from California (Ms. Butler) and the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Durbin) are necessarily absent.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the consideration of Executive Calendar No. 209; that the Senate vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business, with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Madam President, I have three requests for committees to meet during today's session of the Senate. They have the approval of the Majority and Minority Leaders.

Pursuant to rule XXVI, paragraph 5(a), of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the following committees are authorized to meet during today's session of the Senate:

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule XXII and at a time to be

determined by the majority leader in consultation with the Republican leader, no later than October 26, 2023, that it be in order for Senator Marshall or his designee to move to proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 229, S.J. Res. 42; further, that if the motion is agreed to, there be 10 hours of debate equally divided between the proponents and opponents of the joint resolution; further, that upon the use or yielding back of that time, the joint resolution be read a third time and the Senate vote on passage of the joint resolution; finally, that all other provisions under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, remain in effect except the 60 session day clock.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following Senate resolutions, submitted earlier today: S. Res. 409, S. Res. 410, and S. Res. 411.

I ask unanimous consent that the resolutions be agreed to; the preambles, where applicable, be agreed to; and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, October 18; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for later in the day, and morning business be closed; that upon the conclusion of morning business, the Senate proceed to consideration of Calendar No. 228, S.J. Res. 32; and that at 12 noon, the joint resolution be read a third time and the Senate vote on passage of the joint resolution without intervening action or debate.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Madam President, today I come before the Senate with a heart full of grief. I come shaken by anger and fear but with a resolve to act. I come with my spirit moved down to its core by the terrible things I saw these past few days.

This morning, I returned to the United States after leading a bipartisan delegation to Israel along with Senators Rosen and Kelly and Romney and Cassidy. As the first Jewish majority leader, as the highest ranking Jewish elected official ever in America, I wanted to be there, and I felt an obligation to be there.

It was a trip I will remember for the rest of my life, a visit to the only Jewish State on Earth, facing one of the darkest hours of its 75- year history, probably the darkest hour.

We traveled to deliver a simple and unmistakable message: We, the American people, stand with the people of Israel in this moment of need. We said to the people of Israel: We have your back. We feel your pain. We ache with you. And in the coming weeks, the U.S. Senate will do everything possible to help Israel eliminate the threat that Hamas presents and help Israel in every way we can.

I thank my colleagues who joined me on this important trip. I thank everyone who will be traveling there this coming weekend. Right now, our presence means the world to Israel. They were so gratified that American Senators came to stand with them in their moments of grief and sorrow. It was clear that just being there made a tremendous difference and boosted their resolve.

We had very productive meetings with a whole range of Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Netanyahu, National Unity Party Minister Chairman Benny Gantz, Defense Minister Gallant, President Isaac Herzog, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid.

But the most memorable meeting was with 12 families of the hostages. There they were sitting there, wondering what was happening to their mother, their sister, their brother, their baby in the hands of these brutal terrorists.

Nothing prepared us for the overwhelming grief we felt talking to the families of the hostages and sharing their deep pain. There was not a dry eye in the room. Many of these people didn't know if their relatives were dead

or alive. Some of them said: I wonder which is better.

They just knew that they were missing and taken by wretched Hamas fighters. It breaks your heart.

We saw footage they showed us of their loved ones being led away by the Hamas terrorists, an elderly woman being dragged away from her family, a 12-year-old boy being pushed along by these terrorists-- families in sheer agony, wondering what was happening to their loved ones in the captivity of these brutal terrorists.

Today, we now know that the number of hostages has exceeded 199. It is of the utmost importance that Israel and the United States do everything it can to bring every single one of these hostages to safety.

During our visit, we also experienced, in flashes, what the Israelis experience on a daily basis. We were having lunch at our hotel when the sirens went off, meaning rockets were only 7 to 9 minutes away, rockets fired by Hamas. We all rushed into a shelter and waited with bated breath until they told us the coast was clear. It happened again in the evening moments before a press conference that had to be delayed that we held on Sunday.

For us, the danger was momentary, thank God, but it is harrowing to think that Israelis are going through this and much greater horrors every single day.

So, again, as the first Jewish majority leader, the highest ranking Jewish official in America, someone who has knowledge of the persecutions and ravages that have affected the Jewish people through the decades, the centuries, the millennia, I felt an obligation to travel this weekend to Israel and deliver a message of partnership.

And I believe our trip went a significant way in pushing back against the dangerous false equivalency between what Hamas is doing and the response against them. Let us be clear: Hamas is an evil organization that wants to see Israel wiped off the face of the map. They don't believe in a two-state solution. They want no Israel and no Jews living between the Jordan and the Mediterranean. Eliminating Israel is part of their charter, so is the killing of Jews.

If left to their own devices, Hamas would do to the Jewish people in the rest of Israel what they did to them in the Gaza border.

So Israel can't just shrug its shoulders and say: Let's not try to end the threat from Hamas. They have an obligation to do it because Hamas's attack against Israel was an act of unspeakable evil. It was their goal to kill as many civilians as possible, children brutalized, the elderly slaughtered, young people in the prime of their life at a peace festival being machine-gunned down as they ran away.

I was told that at one of the kibbutzes, over a hundred people-- people from 90 years old down to little toddlers--were rounded up and herded into the recreation room, and then Hamas machine-gunned every one of them down until they were dead, every one of them.

It reminded me of the story of my own family, my great-grandmother who was the wife of a well-known rabbi. When the Nazis came into Ukraine--that was then part of Poland--in 1941, they told my grandmother to gather her family, her greater family, on her porch. She did. About 35 people, according to what my grandmother told me, her daughter, who had come to America, told me there were about 35 people from ages 88 to 3 months. The Nazis said: You are coming with us. She said: We are not moving. They machine-gunned every one of them down. History is repeating itself in an evil and awful way.

So the bottom line is simple: Hamas must be defeated. Israel must ensure they are permanently stopped because if the world moves on and acts as if this were just some unfortunate episode, you can be sure this will happen again. And it is essential that the entire world unite in condemning the evils of Hamas.

I first learned of the attacks against Israel during my delegation trip to China when I met with President Xi. I pointed out to President Xi that their initial statement on the conflagration in the Middle East didn't even mention terrorism or the deaths of these innocent civilians. I, respectfully, requested that he change his statement, and they did strengthen their initial statement relating to the attacks. The rest of the world must do the same. It must acknowledge and condemn the attacks--brutal attacks--that occurred this week.

Now, as the Senate gavels back in for our fall work period, supporting Israel must be at the top, at the front, at the center of our attention. To that end, I urge every single member of the Senate-- Democrat, Republican, Independent--to unanimously support the resolution championed by Chairman Cardin, Ranking Member Risch, Leader McConnell, and myself, condemning Hamas and affirming that we stand with Israel and their right to defend themselves. The resolution matters because the Senate needs to declare in one voice that we stand with Israel and against Hamas.

In the coming days, I will be working with the administration on putting together an emergency supplemental that will give Israel the tools it needs to defend itself. That means military assistance, intelligence assistance, diplomatic assistance, and humanitarian assistance to care for innocent civilians.

We want to move this package quickly. The Senate must go first. I know that the House is in disarray, but we cannot wait for them. The needs are too great. And if we pass a strong package with strong bipartisan support, it will importune the House, somehow or other, to act, despite the morass they are in.

It is also very important that we not only provide the military and intelligence support Israel needs but that we provide humanitarian assistance to aid civilians impacted by the violence.

During my meetings with Israeli officials, my colleagues and I strongly echoed the administration's urging that Israel follow the rule of law and do everything to minimize civilian deaths.

Israel has a very difficult task to eliminate Hamas, save the hostages but also minimize civilian casualties, which is a difficult task but one that Israel must and does strive to live up to.

We are not like the evil militants of Hamas. Israel is not. In America and in Israel, countries must hold themselves to a higher standard. It is part of who we are as democracies. So this package must move quickly, a package of military aid, the necessities that Israel needs. We talked to the leadership of Israel about what they need, and it will be in this package: intelligence aid to make sure we share intelligence in the best way possible, diplomatic aid to make sure that the nations of the world stand with Israel, and humanitarian aid to make sure that civilians are given the help that they need. We must move this package quickly.

We must also move to confirm an ambassador to Israel as quickly as possible. The President has already sent us a capable and strong nominee in Jack Lew, who will come before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. I urge the committee to approve Mr. Lew as soon as possible, without any costly partisan delays so we can bring him to the floor and confirm him with all due haste.

We dealt very closely in our trip with so many people in the Embassy, including a wonderful charge d'affaires, but it is obvious that they really need an ambassador now more than ever. Mr. Lew has proven himself a strong public servant, a ferocious ally of Israel, so delaying him would be egregious at a time like this. We must move him quickly, and I hope we will.

Finally, as the conflict evolves in the coming days and weeks, my office will work with the administration to ensure the Senate remains fully updated about the situation at all times.

For the information of the Senate, we will hold an all-Senators classified briefing this Wednesday, October 18, at 3:30 p.m., provided by the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and the Director of National Intelligence. It is essential that we hear what is going on from our top leaders.

Madam President, the coming weeks will be an immense challenge, not just for the people of Israel, but for all of us in Congress as well. Now, more than ever, we must work with the spirit of bipartisanship to ensure we can govern and protect Americans here at home and abroad and stand with our friends in Israel. This moment is a test for all

of us--a test for our ability to work together, a test for our resolve to stand with our friends, a test of our resolve to fulfill our fundamental duties to the world. Let us not squander this consequential moment.

And to the people of Israel--``eretz zavat chalav,'' a land of milk and honey--let me close with this: We will be by your side. We will not allow you to bear this burden alone. Your burden will be our burden; your grief is our grief; your cause is our cause. May the memories of the day be a blessing and a source of strength to all of us as we navigate the road ahead.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

I announce that the Senator from California (Ms. Butler), the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Durbin), and the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fetterman) are necessarily absent.

Mr. President, tomorrow, the U.S. Senate will close in observance of the memorial of our late friend and colleague Senator Dianne Feinstein. It will be my honor--a sad, tearful, but great honor--to speak tomorrow at my friend Dianne's memorial. And I thank all my colleagues who will be in attendance. I know that it would mean the world to her for her colleagues to join in this one last good-bye.

I will have more to say tomorrow, but, over the past few days, I have been coming back to the same thought again and again: Dianne Feinstein was a public servant of uncommon integrity. Many of us here try our best to pursue the common good, but Dianne was on another level. When she thought something was right, when she had a cause she believed in, she pursued it until the end, until her cause endured.

I got to see it for myself when she championed the Assault Weapons Ban. The NRA launched horrible, vitriolic, arguably chauvinistic attacks, but she remained undeterred. She knew her cause was just, and she persisted, and, in the end, her cause won the day.

It will be a long, long time until the Senate sees someone as consequential as Dianne Feinstein again.

Mr. President, now, on a different note, across the way, yesterday, a small band of MAGA extremists plunged Congress into pandemonium. For the first time in American history, a Speaker of the House of Representatives has been removed from his position at the hands of radicals that he empowered from day one. What happened yesterday is a failure entirely of the House Republicans' own doing, a disaster in the making, to the great detriment of Congress and to the detriment of the American people.

Speaker Boehner, Speaker Ryan, and now Speaker McCarthy have all learned the same hard lesson: You cannot allow the hard right to run the House or the country. And all three of them were chased out by the MAGA right. You cannot allow a small band of MAGA extremists, which represent just a very small percentage of the views of the country, to tell the overwhelming majority of Americans what to do.

But Republicans' problems with MAGA extremism seep far deeper than any single leader. MAGA extremism is a poison that the House GOP has refused to confront for years, and until the mainstream House Republicans deal with this issue, the chaos will continue.

I thought House Republicans would have finally realized the dangers of MAGA extremism after what happened last fall, but, year after year, they end up making the same mistake, and it always leads to disaster. By now, I hope it is obvious: MAGA extremism is not good for House Republican leadership. It is not good for the GOP. It is not good for Congress. And MAGA extremism is disastrous for the country.

If MAGA Republicans had their way, they would take our country back all the way to the 19th century. They would turn the clock back radically on women's choice, on voting rights, on workplace protections, on education, on corporate greed, on the environment. They would disfigure our precious democracy, all for a handful of greedy, very wealthy people who just want to not have anything to do with the rest of us.

The MAGA agenda is a dark and dangerous vision of America, one most people overwhelmingly reject. Even so, they are the ones running the show right now in the House GOP.

We find ourselves in a dangerous situation. With about 40 days to go before the government shuts down, the House has ground completely to a halt. Until Republicans stop their infighting, the House can vote on no bills; no appropriations work can get done. If, God forbid, some national crisis were to occur that demands immediate action, the House would be unable--unable--to quickly respond.

So let me say this to the next Speaker of the House, whomever that may be: Think carefully about what happened to your predecessors before trying to coddle the hard right. Each of your predecessors got burnt each time. I urge the next Speaker not to make the same mistake, not just for their own future but for the country's. Whomever the House elects as Speaker will not be able to ignore the realities of divided government, no matter what the hard right demands. The need for bipartisanship will not change. We will need bipartisanship to keep the government open. We will need it to finish the appropriations process. We will need it to make life better for the American people. For the good of the country, I urge my Republican colleagues in the House to, once and for all, accept that reality. If not, it is my fear--deep fear--that the chaos from yesterday is just the beginning.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Madam President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Madam President, I just filed on three nominations, and that will take us through Tuesday afternoon, October 17.

We will also return to the consideration of the minibus, which includes MILCON-VA, Transportation-HUD, and Agriculture. We are working in good faith, together with our colleagues, to get the minibus done as soon as possible.