Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, of all the lies that George Santos told, two are the most jarring: that his mother perished in 9/11--was in the building, got cancer from 9/11, or that his parents or grandparents fled the Holocaust. In both instances, Mr. Santos used tragic events in history to try and propel himself to public office.

Worse than that, he not only defrauded the voters of the Third District, he also defrauded donors, stealing their money for personal gain.

The facts and the evidence are clear. He can defend himself in a court of law, but for the purposes of this body, he has to go. It is time to expel George Santos.

Mr. Speaker, 2 weeks ago, I was in Israel with Chairman McCaul, Ranking Member Meeks, and a bipartisan delegation. We met with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and we watched 21 minutes of unedited, raw footage of the October 7 terrorist attack. We watched Hamas terrorists indiscriminately kill women, children, and babies. We watched them take innocent civilians hostage, including Doron Katz Asher and her two daughters, Raz and Aviv. Doron's uncle is a constituent of mine in the 17th Congressional District of New York.

We met with families of the hostages, including the brother of Emily Hand. I sat next to him as he tearfully told his sister's story, bringing the rest of us to tears as he talked about the fact that his 8-year-old sister would spend her ninth birthday--the Friday after our meeting--alone, held captive by Hamas terrorists.

A few weeks ago, in New York City, I met with the mother of Or Yaakov and Yagil Yaakov, 13- and 16-year-old young men who were held captive. All of them have since been released.

I thank the administration for negotiating to get their release, but let's be clear: Hamas is a vile, barbaric terrorist organization.

We hear Members calling for a cease-fire. There was a cease-fire on October 6. In fact, there have been eight cease-fires in 15 years, each time violated by Hamas. In this most recent one, the biggest slaughtering of Jews since the Holocaust, 240 innocents were taken away from their families.

While they are releasing hostages, it is not enough. I have a simple way for this to end. If people want a cease-fire, Hamas must surrender. It is that simple. We want these hostages home, and we want to make sure that the innocent lives lost are not in vain.

Mr. Speaker, we saw news reports that Hamas would not release a 10-month-old baby and, in fact, was turning that baby over to another terrorist organization. That is the type of people, if you can even call them that, who you are dealing with.

The United States must do everything it can to stand by its greatest ally in the Middle East and, indeed, across the world, the State of Israel. We will vote on a resolution that makes it clear that not only does Israel have a right to exist, but they have a right to defend themselves, and the only way that this ends peacefully is for Hamas to surrender.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 888) reaffirming the State of Israel's right to exist.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members

may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to urge the House to agree to my resolution that reaffirms Israel's fundamental right to exist.

This is a pretty simple and straightforward resolution. Israel has a right to exist. You either believe that or you don't. The American people should see very clearly whether or not the Members of Congress affirm Israel's right to exist.

President Harry Truman recognized Israel 11 minutes after its founding. America was the first country to recognize the State of Israel, and for good reason.

Over the last 75 years, Israel has become the greatest ally of the United States--our shared values, shared heritage. The relationship between our two Nations is unbreakable.

I fundamentally believe that the terrorist attacks of October 7 perpetrated by Hamas are about one thing: Hamas does not believe Israel has the right to exist. Hamas wants to eradicate the Jewish people from the face of the Earth. They say so.

Other bad actors like Hezbollah share that perspective. Iran, the greatest state sponsor of terrorism in the world, the backer and funder of Hamas, has been calling for the eradication of the State of Israel for millennia. They don't believe they have the right to exist.

This resolution seeks to reaffirm the commitment made by President Truman upon Israel's founding. We not only recognize Israel, we reaffirm Israel's fundamental right to exist.

In the wake of the horrific October 7 attacks on Israel, we saw Members of this body and other opponents of Israel call for the elimination of Israel. When they chant: ``From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free,'' they mean that Israel will not exist.

I want Palestinians to be free. I want them to be free from their oppressors: Hamas and the Palestinian authority.

Hamas has used Palestinians as human shields even until today. As Israel prosecutes this war against this terrorist organization, Hamas uses Palestinians as human shields, camping out in hospitals and schools, launching missiles, shooting innocent civilians.

I watched in horror the 21-minute unedited, raw footage of the October 7 terrorist attack. Every Member of Congress was offered the opportunity to watch a 45-minute viewing of that attack.

Nearly half of Congress chose not to come, including some of the Members who have made it clear that they don't support Israel's right to exist.

On college campuses and city streets, we see people calling for an intifada, actively promoting the destruction of the Jewish state. Everyone has a right to say what they want about a foreign government, to say what they want about war, but they don't have the right to delegitimize the very existence of the Jewish state to justify terror.

The State of Israel was created 75 years ago to reestablish the native homeland of the Jewish people. For centuries, Jews were discriminated against and persecuted wherever they went. This culminated in the attempted genocide of European Jews during the Holocaust; 6 million Jews slaughtered.

This most recent genocide provides new urgency to reestablish the Jewish homeland where the Jewish people were displaced, and we wanted to create a homeland where they weren't a vulnerable minority, where they could freely practice their faith, and where something like the Holocaust could never happen again.

Yet, on October 7, we saw the largest slaughtering of Jews since the Holocaust. Yet, still today, many Jews view Israel as the safest place for them to live, even as rockets and missiles come from all sides.

Denying Israel's right to exist is denying the Jewish people the right to self-determination. It is denying the Jewish people's historic ties to the land. It is justifying war crimes against babies, and let's call it what it is, it is anti-Semitic.

I urge all of my colleagues to support this commonsense resolution that makes one thing fundamentally clear: Israel has a right to exist. Congress must never stop pushing back against Israel's opponents, and we must reject biased attempts to destroy our greatest ally.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for closing.

It should be clear by now to each and every Member of this body on both sides of the aisle and every American that Israel has a right to exist. This sentiment is unequivocal and is a critical point to unequivocally voice now in our ally's time of need.

Harry Truman recognized the State of Israel 11 minutes after its founding. For 75 years, the United States and Israel have had a special bond. Israel is the only multiracial, multiethnic, multireligious democracy in the Middle East. It is a beacon of hope, of freedom, and of opportunity.

If anyone in this body believes that they do not have the right to exist, please explain to us and the American people what nation does.

This is a simple vote, and every Member should be on record in support of Israel's right to exist. If they cannot muster the courage to support Israel's right to exist at this moment, they don't belong in Congress, period.

This is a simple vote, and I encourage all of my colleagues to stand with Israel, to defend and reaffirm their very right to exist, and to defend the right of the Jewish people to practice their faith.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 683) expressing support for the diplomatic relations required to encourage the Government of Mexico to fulfill its water deliveries on an annual basis to the United States under the treaty between the United States and Mexico regarding the utilization of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, stretching from the mountains of Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico, the Rio Grande River also forms over 1,200 miles of the international border between the United States and Mexico.

The Treaty on Utilization of Waters of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande, signed in 1944, secures consistent and dependable water supplies for both countries, which is critically important in our desert Southwest.

The treaty obligates Mexico to make available to the U.S. not less than 350,000 acre-feet of water per year from the main channel of the Rio Grande, averaged over a consecutive 5-year period. However, since 1994, Mexico has, on multiple occasions, failed to fulfill its Rio Grande water delivery commitments.

The latest data indicates that we have now moved into year 4 of the 5-year cycle, and Mexico is in arrears of over 680,000 acre-feet of water, nearly two full years' worth. Mexico's recurring failure has reached real-world repercussions, especially for American farmers and ranchers, who have suffered devastating crop and cattle losses.

U.S. diplomats and officials must urge Mexico to honor its commitments and establish regulations to regularize water deliveries.

With this resolution, the House of Representatives affirms its support for the United States to use its resources to secure compliance by the Mexican Government.

I thank my colleague from Texas, Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz, for introducing this bipartisan measure, which received unanimous support in the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. De La Cruz), the author of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, today, I rise to urge the House to adopt my amendment, which would strip colleges and universities of Federal funding if they authorize, facilitate, provide funding for, or otherwise support any event promoting anti-Semitism on their campuses.

In the wake of the horrific October 7 attack on Israel, we have seen a startling rise of anti-Semitism in our country and across the globe.

On college campuses, we have seen students carrying signs, pins, or flags supporting Israel be violently attacked. This kind of behavior, and colleges and universities condoning it, is abhorrent.

As I have said before, the U.S. Constitution grants people the right to say what they want, but that doesn't mean that the taxpayers should be paying for it, especially not at a time when the scourge of anti- Semitism is yet again on the rise.

From 2020 to 2021, anti-Semitic hate crimes increased by 20 percent. From 2021 to 2022, anti-Semitic incidents in the United States rose by 36 percent. This year, anti-Semitic incidents have skyrocketed.

I have people living in my district who are scared to go to their synagogues on the weekend for fear of being attacked. It is wholly and totally unacceptable.

This disturbing trend cannot be allowed to continue, and it is incumbent upon each of us to speak out and denounce anti-Semitism wherever it rears its ugly head. That starts by refusing to subsidize this hate on college campuses.

It is a simple concept: If you want to maintain your Federal funding or student aid, don't hold events that peddle in the same anti-Semitic tropes embraced by the enemies of Israel and America throughout the world who want nothing short of the destruction of both.

People chanting ``glory to the martyrs'' and praising the resistance of Hamas are objectively partaking in horrific anti-Semitism, praising the largest slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust. Chanting ``from the river to the sea'' is calling for the eradication of Israel. It is vile. It is wrong. It is unacceptable. This amendment serves colleges and universities notice that it will not be tolerated.

Madam Chair, this morning we watched a video that was the raw footage of the terrorist attack on October 7--women, children, babies were slaughtered. Hamas terrorists were joyful with glee. One terrorist called their parents to brag about slaughtering 10 Jews with their bare hands.

Why?

Because at a young age in Gaza, in the West Bank, they are taught to hate Jews, taught that killing Jews is acceptable.

Here in the United States of America, college campuses, universities are teaching that anti-Semitism is okay, that calling for the eradication of Israel is okay.

Anti-Semitic hate is at the root of the terrorism that we are seeing, and it must stop. People have the right to free speech. They have the right to voice their opinions, but we do not have to pay for it. If colleges and universities don't have the courage to crack down on this crap, then they should be defunded.

Frankly, I question the judgment of anybody who would vote against this. Taxpayer money should never be used to fund hate.

Madam Chair, I encourage all of my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, today, I rise in support of my amendment No. 146 to the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill, which increases funding for the Head Start program.

Head Start is a critical program that provides comprehensive early childhood education, health nutrition, and parental involvement services to low-income children and families.

My district alone has almost a dozen Head Start locations, each providing crucial services to families in Rockland, Westchester, Putnam, and Dutchess Counties, which is why it is so critical that we continue to provide robust funding for Head Start.

My amendment does just that, increasing funding to the Head Start program by $100 million and ensuring that this critical service has the support that it needs.

As a father of a young daughter, I am seeing just how inquisitive and curious she is, and I know that there are tens of thousands of children like her in my district who would benefit from an early childhood development program. That doesn't even include the tens of millions of children who have benefited from the program's existence across the Nation.

Mr. Chair, I ask my colleagues to support amendment No. 146 and show the American people that we want to build on the successes of Head Start.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I would remind the gentlewoman from Connecticut there is a reason she is the ranking member and not the chair, and it is because when her party was in complete control of Washington, they spent $5 trillion in new spending in just 2 years. The American people elected a House Republican majority to govern, to rein in much of the spending that occurred in the prior 2 years.

I believe the Head Start program is critical, which is why I have put forth an amendment to increase the funding

by $100 million. According to the gentlewoman's statements, she is opposed to taking $100 million from the management account of the Department of Education because we need to make sure that we have bureaucrats, rather than providing the funding for disadvantaged children across this country.

My objective is to make sure that the money that we spend actually goes into our communities rather than Washington, D.C., and the bureaucracy that has been created here.

I think this amendment is important. I thank the gentlewoman for acknowledging she does not believe we should increase the funding further by opposing this amendment. She thinks we should spend the $100 million on bureaucrats rather than the children. I thank her for acknowledging that.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, clearly the gentlewoman hasn't met a dollar that she doesn't like to spend.

We don't have a revenue problem in Washington, D.C. In fact, our revenue is at its highest levels ever.

This is not an issue of revenue; it is an issue of spending.

In the prior 2 years, in the prior Congress, the Democrat majority increased spending by $5 trillion in 2 years in new spending. It is unsustainable. It is why we have dealt with record inflation under this administration. It is why energy costs have skyrocketed; grocery costs have skyrocketed.

The gentlewoman would like to continue down that path and just keep spending money we don't have. This appropriations process that we are going through, we have to make decisions. We have to make cuts that actually bring our government into size.

If it was up to her, not only would we spend everything they have spent over the last 2 years, they would probably increase it another $5 trillion because who cares? It is not their money; it is the American peoples' money. It is the taxpayers' money.

We have to make decisions. That is why we were elected, to govern.

I felt this amendment appropriate because I do think the Head Start program is important. I do think it provides valuable opportunities for underprivileged children across this country, and we need to continue to fund it, but the gentlewoman would just like to spend money we don't have, make it up out of thin air. It doesn't work that way.

Mr. Chair, I would encourage all of my colleagues to support this amendment, to increase funding for this critical program, and pay for it by eliminating funding for bureaucrats in Washington and spending that money on the children.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, as a point of personal privilege, I would like to recognize my grandparents, John and Eileen Lawler, who are here with us tonight.

Mr. Speaker, I just returned from a bipartisan delegation trip to Israel, where we met with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Gallant, and U.S. Ambassador Jack Lew. We also met with the family members of some of the 240 hostages currently being held by Hamas and viewed raw footage of the barbaric terrorist attack of October 7.

Mr. Speaker, let's be clear: Hamas is a terrorist organization that not only wants to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth, they want to eliminate the Jewish people. They must not only be defeated, they must be destroyed.

I support Israel's right to defend itself and denounce the ludicrous calls for a cease-fire. No one in this room would have called for a cease-fire after September 11, and no one should hold Israel to a standard we would not hold ourselves.

The United States must stand resolute in our support for Israel. This is a battle of good versus evil.

As Edmund Burke said: The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Let us not be Neville Chamberlains; let us be

Winston Churchills: ``Victory at all costs . . . for without victory, there is no survival.''

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the

House adjourns today it adjourn to meet on Monday, November 13, 2023, when it shall convene at noon for morning-hour debate and 2 p.m. for legislative business.

Mr. Speaker, in 1893, Katharine Lee Bates wrote ``America the Beautiful.'' In it she wrote: ``God shed His grace on thee and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.''

As the Bible says in Psalm 72:8: He shall have dominion from sea to sea and from the river unto the ends of the Earth.

That is aspirational.

Chanting ``from the river to the sea'' is not. Chanting ``from the river to the sea'' is calling for the eradication of Israel. I would hardly define that as aspirational.

My colleague Representative Rashida Tlaib has parroted the talking points and the message of Hamas, a terrorist organization whose sworn mission is the destruction of Israel and the eradication of the Jewish people.

Israel is our strongest ally in the Middle East, a beacon of hope, peace, and liberty in the region. It is the only multicultural, multiethnic, and multireligious democracy. It is not an apartheid state. The oppressor of the Palestinian people is Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.

Mr. Speaker, if you want Palestinians to be free, then reject Hamas, reject the Palestinian Authority, and demand that Hamas surrender.

Calling for a cease-fire that they won't abide to is outrageous. They need to immediately surrender and return the hostages to their families.

My colleague repeated a vile and disgusting lie that Israel bombed a hospital knowing full well that was factually inaccurate and knowing full well that this administration, the Biden administration, advised her it was inaccurate, gave her a private briefing, and still she continued to repeat this vile and disgusting lie.

Why?

It was intended to undermine. It was intended to turn the world against Israel.

Why?

It is because when she chants ``from the river to the sea,'' she believes it. Mr. Speaker, she believes Israel should be eradicated because otherwise you would never, ever repeat that vile, vile statement.

It is not a lie.

That is why we are here. It is not a lie, and that is why we are here.

Paul Kessler was killed for holding an Israeli flag in the United States of America. We are losing respect for the sanctity of life, the rule of law, and the important role of faith.

We must combat anti-Semitism, and it starts with this censure.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, tonight, I rise to advocate for the passage of my amendment to the T-HUD bill, amendment No. 3, which would allocate an additional $10 million toward the DOT's Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements account, otherwise known as

Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), the chair of the Rules Committee.

Mr. Chair, I think it is important, obviously, to increase support for safety improvements, given some of the incidents that we have seen across the country.

Mr. Chair, in response to my colleague across the aisle, I don't think we would be in this situation if the prior Congress didn't increase spending by over $5 trillion in 2 years. In looking to find savings for the American taxpayer while making sure that these programs are funded to the degree that they need to be, I think it is important that we increase funding in this account by $10 million, and I encourage all of my colleagues to support that.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, we must stand with Israel in its time of need. This funding will go a long way toward ensuring that Israel has the ability to defend itself from the horrific campaign of terror waged by Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, and other terrorists organizations.

What occurred on October 7 is akin to what happened to our country on December 7, 1941, or September 11, 2001. Israel has a right to defend itself and fight back against those who would see them eradicated from the face of the Earth. No one told the United States after Pearl Harbor or 9/11 not to hold the perpetrators of those attacks accountable.

The perpetrators of this attack on Israel are an insidious organization that has attacked their country. Hamas' stated goal is the elimination of the State of Israel, and by extension, the genocide of the Jewish population living in it. We cannot let that happen.

We cannot let that happen. We have Members in this body who have voted against condemning Hamas and voted against holding Iran accountable. Members of this body are calling for a cease-fire despite the fact that Hamas has already stated this is just the first step. They will not abide by a cease-fire.

This legislation before us today would provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel. This is a significant defense supplemental that includes $801.4 million in extra funding for ammunition procurement, $3.5 billion in funding for foreign military financing, $50 million in evacuation assistance support for the U.S. Embassy in Israel, $4 billion for Iron Dome and David's Sling defense systems and other Defense-wide procurement, and $38.6 million for Air Force procurement.

This bill is necessary for our closest ally in the Middle East, which is why I urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to join us in passing this critical aid for Israel to show our support for this beacon of hope and freedom in the Middle East.

We cannot let our differences divide us on this critical issue. We cannot allow the bright candle of democracy in the Middle East to be extinguished by Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran. We cannot allow Israel to lose.

This legislation is not conditioning aid. It is paying for it. Apparently, my Democratic colleagues still don't understand that we cannot just continue to borrow and print new money at every opportunity.

We have a debt that is approaching $34 trillion. It costs money, and we have to pay for it. To oppose this simply because you don't like the fact that there is an offset is absurd.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to everyone joining in passing this bipartisan legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3774) to impose additional sanctions with respect to the importation or facilitation of the importation of petroleum products from Iran, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to be here today as we gather to pass the Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum Act, or the SHIP Act, which I introduced earlier this year with my colleague from Florida, Congressman Jared Moskowitz.

In the wake of the appalling terrorist attacks against Israel on October 7, it is clear that we must work to confront Iran and its proxies in the region with a strong sanctions regime. Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world and, unfortunately, has the coffers to back this up. Iran spends its money on terror, on developing nuclear capabilities, on taking hostages to use for bargaining purposes, and on funding the criminal IRGC.

We must cut off Iran's funding and stop these illicit activities at their source, and that is where Iranian oil comes in.

Iran currently engages in a massive global oil trade, exporting its blood-stained petroleum in exchange for money and influence abroad. In the past year alone, Iran has made tens of billions off of their illicit oil trade, and this August, China imported a staggering 1.5 million barrels per day.

China is the largest importer of Iranian oil and, in doing so, has become complicit in the nefarious acts carried out with that funding. While the U.S. already sanctions Iranian petroleum, it is absolutely critical that we expand our sanctions regime to not only target Iran but Iran's enablers that are complicit in the nefarious acts committed with that money.

The SHIP Act specifically expands these sanctions to cover foreign ports and refineries that process Iranian oil. Individuals and entities that knowingly accept shipments of Iranian oil, refine Iranian oil, transport or offload Iranian oil, or otherwise transact with Iranian oil should be held accountable for their actions, for their willingness to pay for Iranian-backed terrorism.

The SHIP Act has been bipartisan from the start and continues to show a united front between Republicans and Democrats to limit Iran's global influence and protect those the Iranian regime seeks to harm, such as our Jewish and Israeli friends.

The SHIP Act sends a message to those who trade in Iranian oil that they will have the United States to deal with if they continue to do so. They can't pretend they don't know where the money is going. They can't pretend to separate Iranian oil from the very terrorism it supports. Now, we are putting it in writing that they are going to be held accountable if they keep enabling Iran.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 3774, and I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives,

Committee on the Judiciary,

Washington, DC, October 26, 2023.

Hon. Michael McCaul,

Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of

Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman McCaul: I write regarding H.R. 3774, the Stop

Harboring Iranian Petroleum Act. Provisions of this bill fall

within the Judiciary Committee's Rule X jurisdiction, and I

appreciate that you consulted with us on those provisions.

The Judiciary Committee agrees that it shall be discharged

from further consideration of the bill so that it may proceed

expeditiously to the House floor.

The Committee takes this action with the understanding that

forgoing further consideration of this measure does not in

any way alter the Committee's jurisdiction or waive any

future jurisdictional claim over these provisions or their

subject matter. We also reserve the right to seek appointment

of an appropriate number of conferees in the event of a

conference with the Senate involving this measure or similar

legislation.

I ask that you please include this letter in your

committee's report to accompany this legislation or insert

this letter in the Congressional Record during consideration

of H.R. 3774 on the House floor. I appreciate the cooperative

manner in which our committees have worked on this matter,

and I look forward to working collaboratively in the future

on matters of shared jurisdiction. Thank you for your

attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Jim Jordan,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill), a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the right to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mast), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the right to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I introduced this bill earlier this year with Congressman Jared Moskowitz of Florida. It has over 230 bipartisan cosponsors because Congress recognizes the need to sanction Iranian petroleum even further.

Since President Biden took office, relaxed enforcement of oil sanctions has contributed to increased Iranian oil revenues worth approximately $25.9 billion.

In 2019, Iran's oil exports fell below 500,000 barrels per day as a result of the prior administration's oil sanctions pressure.

As of September 2023, Iranian oil exports had increased to nearly 1.5 million barrels per day. Most of these increased sales have gone to Chinese buyers.

Exports are up 59 percent since January of 2021. The administration's refusal to list entities enabling the trade for secondary sanctions--in other words, imposing sanctions on the buyers--has contributed to this.

I wish we didn't need to do this, but we have to. HSI and OFAC should be enforcing these sanctions.

On October 11, 2023, NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications, John Kirby, responded to a question about the weak enforcement of sanctions on Iranian oil by stating, quote, ``The President has been concerned about making sure we have a viable global market for oil, working hard to keep the prices of gasoline down here in the United States. Part of that is making sure you remove some of the volatility in that global supply and demand.''

Are you kidding me? First of all, the United States doesn't get Iranian petroleum. Our refineries aren't able to process it, and we already have sanctions in place against it. This administration has prohibited U.S. oil and gas development more strenuously than it has Iranian. It is absurd.

Macquarie, a leading financial services advisory firm, recently advised its clients that: ``In our assessment, the Biden administration's policy approach has been to limit oil supply disruptions, regardless of the situation. Given that policy objectives did not target Russian oil flows even at the height of the Russian- Ukraine conflict, we do not expect Iranian oil exports to be constrained either.''

Now, there are Members of this body that are going to oppose this legislation because it is too strenuous, doesn't give enough wiggle room to the administration. There is a reason we are not giving wiggle room to the administration. It is because they have been incapable of enforcing the sanctions against Iran and Iranian petroleum, which has been used as the funding source for the greatest state sponsor of terrorism in the world.

Lest anyone think otherwise, the attacks by Hamas, by Hezbollah over the course of time have been funded by Iran. We must be stringent in enforcing these sanctions. It is critically important.

When you look at what is happening in the world and the unholy alliance that has been brought about by Iran, North Korea, China, and Russia to undermine and destabilize the free world,

to undermine the United States and our allies, we must enforce these sanctions, which is why it is critically important that we pass H.R. 3774 so that we can enact sanctions on the buyer.

China has been the largest buyer of Iranian petroleum. Their refineries are built to refine that oil. Our allies around the world must recognize and understand the threats that are emanating from this unholy alliance.

I urge all of my colleagues in both parties to support this bipartisan, commonsense legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H. Res. 599) urging the European Union to designate Hizballah in its entirety as a terrorist organization.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise

and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, 3 weeks ago, Hamas launched a brutal and unprovoked terrorist attack on our ally, Israel, from its perch in the Gaza Strip.

Now Israel is engaged in a major military operation in response to the pressing threat posed by this Iran-backed terrorist group. For years, Hamas benefited from the misconception that it was focused on governing the Gaza Strip but make no mistake, there is no difference between the political and military wings of terrorist organizations.

One of Hamas' allies in the region, Hezbollah, also benefits from this misguided fiction that its political and military entities are separate. Like with Hamas, this is unequivocally false. Even Hezbollah's leader himself admits there is no distinction between the two, so it is unfortunate that the European Union includes Hezbollah's military branch on its list of sanctioned terrorist organizations, but not its political wing.

This has enabled Hezbollah to use Europe as a base to plan extremist terrorist activities and exploit global financial networks to pay for them. Right now, Hezbollah is launching near daily attacks on Israel's northern borders with rockets, mortars, and antitank missiles. Every one of these attacks risks the opening of a second front in this war.

Does this sound like the work of a political party? Yet, the EU's continued recognition of this arbitrary distinction between political and military wings allows Hezbollah to continue to operate throughout Europe, even while causing casualties in Israel. This issue has never been more urgent. We must make clear to these terrorist proxies that we are not fooled about their true intention: the destruction of Israel. We must make clear to Iran that it cannot hide behind its terrorist proxies.

Mr. Speaker, I urge our allies in the European Union to designate Hezbollah in full as a terrorist organization.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues in the House to vote in support of this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the right to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the right to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, every day that passes risks further escalation from Hezbollah on Israel's northern border.

We must not allow Hezbollah to continue to present the illusion that its political and military wings are distinct. The EU must designate Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization to permanently dispense with this fiction.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3266) to require the Secretary of State to submit annual reports reviewing the curriculum used by the Palestinian Authority, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3266, the Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian Education Act.

I thank my colleague, Mr. Sherman, for introducing this important legislation to prevent the spread of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic hatred.

We have known for decades that Palestinian children are taught from a young age to hate Israel and the Jewish people. Despite robust international discussion about these concerns, reports by nongovernmental organizations continue to show that Palestinian schoolchildren are being indoctrinated with deeply disturbing violent imagery.

For example, a review of the textbooks used in Palestinian schools in 2020 and 2021 showed that children are taught to read with passages that describe suicide bombings and the gruesome murders of IDF soldiers, to do math using numbers of martyrs and jihadists, and to learn history by asking them to discuss how the USA took advantage of the 9/11 attack.

These textbooks propagate the lie that the Jewish people control the media and politics and explicitly refer to Jews as ``enemies of Islam in all times and places.'' Children are taught to glorify the founders of the jihad movement and learn that jihad is ``a private obligation for every Muslim.''

We will never arrive at a peaceful solution for Israelis and Palestinians as long as Palestinian children are being taught hatred in textbooks.

Look at the brutal attack that over 2,500 Hamas terrorists carried out against Israel on October 7. Why else would Hamas terrorists call home bragging that they murdered Jews? Why else would they live stream their barbaric attacks?

That disgusting and gruesome cruelty is possible because these Hamas fighters were indoctrinated with hatred at a young age. They were taught to glorify terrorism and other so-called martyrs who killed Jewish people. This must end.

The Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian Education Act takes a first step to firmly establish Congress' position that the Palestinian Authority has not sufficiently eliminated inciteful and violent content from their educational curricula. It also requires the State Department to report to Congress on educational materials used in schools run by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, Hamas, and the Gaza Strip, and UNRWA.

A United States Government assessment of the content of these educational materials will carry tremendous weight in international efforts to eliminate hateful content and promote peace.

Since Hamas' attack, we have seen an appalling number of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel riots around the world and right here at home. I have condemned these in the strongest terms. I continue to speak out when they occur, and I have encouraged my colleagues to do the same.

That is why, earlier this year, I introduced legislation to combat the rise in anti-Semitism on college campuses, the Stop Anti-Semitism on College Campuses Act, which would defund institutions of higher learning that allow, promote, or sanction anti-Semitic events on their campuses.

That is why, just last week, Josh Gottheimer and I introduced the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which would amend the education law to require the Department of Education to use the IHRA definition of anti- Semitism on its enforcement actions of discrimination laws.

The commitment we made after the Holocaust, ``Never again,'' is being put to the test. We have a responsibility to prevent the teaching of anti-Semitism not just here in the United States but around the globe. This bipartisan bill uses the tools available to the United States Government to do just that.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mast), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

We must continue to stand against anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias. It is essential that we ensure children are not taught to hate, and this starts with the materials they learn in school.

The first step is passing the bipartisan Peace and Tolerance in Palestinian Education Act, to ensure we have transparent, valid, and authenticated information.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to join me in support of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I will say, listening to the sanctimoniousness of my colleague from New York is quite priceless, talking about politics. This is a gentleman who couldn't even condemn the New York City DSA in an op-ed and, in fact, was more upset that I introduced a resolution condemning them than the actions of those individuals within the New York City DSA that supported the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. That is precisely because of politics, because his district is one of the most progressive districts in America. He couldn't muster the courage to even condemn the New York City DSA, so save us your sanctimoniousness sitting over there with your smug look.

Mr. Speaker, nobody wants to be in a situation where they are expelling a Member of Congress. It is serious, and it comes with weight and gravity because that individual was elected by their constituents to serve and to represent their district. You don't expel a Member for being a jerk. You don't expel a Member for something they said. You expel a Member for their conduct.

The conduct of Mr. Santos has been embarrassing and unbecoming and unfit for public office. Lying about your background, lying about your life experiences, making up events that didn't occur in an effort to bamboozle voters into believing that you are the right person to represent them, is wrong, fundamentally wrong. It is why all of us called for Mr. Santos to resign when this information came to light.

The resolution that was brought about in May was referred to the Ethics Committee for two reasons. Number one, there was not two-thirds of the vote to expel; and, number two, you wanted to allow for a process to get more information that Members could hang their hat on in a vote. That process is ongoing. We all would have liked to have seen it resolved more expeditiously than it has been, but given the voluminous amount of lies, it has taken time.

What has changed since May is that you have a guilty plea by the treasurer who was involved in this scam who has laid out precisely what happened, and you have a superseding indictment, 13 additional felony charges, outlining precisely what happened.

Yes, Mr. Santos will get his day in court, but for the purposes of this body, we now have more than enough information from a court of law, with the guilty plea of his treasurer, to expel him from Congress.

When you can sit with a straight face and say that you attended an institution like Baruch College or that you were a volleyball superstar and recite this on a nationally syndicated radio show, when you can make up the fact that your mother was in the Twin Towers on September 11 with not even an ounce of shame or remorse, you are unfit to serve.

All of us, being from New York, remember that day precisely. I was in my fifth day of freshman year of high school. The number of my classmates whose parents were in the building, whose parents didn't come home, the number of first responders in each of our districts who still today are dying from 9/11-related illnesses, this is not something you joke about or you lie about. It is unfit.

We, as Members of this body, despite the political nonsense that just came out of my colleague's mouth from New York, we, as Members of this body, have tried to allow for a process to take place, allow for a process in which the Members of this body can be confident that Mr. Santos should be expelled from Congress.

That process has been allowed to play out, both in the Ethics Committee and here today. Based on the conviction and guilty plea of his treasurer and the admission of the fraud that was perpetrated upon donors, upon the NRCC, upon former Speaker McCarthy's chief of staff, that is more than sufficient evidence and information to expel Mr. Santos from Congress.

There is not enough time to go through the litany of lies that Mr. Santos has engaged in during his campaign and during his time in Congress, including just recently a claim that his 5-year-old niece was kidnapped by Chinese Communist Party spies.

All of us take seriously the oath that we took. All of us want to uphold the integrity of this institution. We are willing to take on a member of our party not for political gain, not because we think this is fun, but because it is right.

I would ask my colleague from New York, name me one time you ever stood up to your party. You couldn't even muster the courage to denounce the New York City DSA.

We will do what is right. We have brought this resolution forward, and I encourage all of my colleagues to vote in favor of Mr. Santos' expulsion.

Mr. Speaker, women, children, babies slaughtered. The worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Israel has a right to exist, a right to defend itself. We have Members in this body that do not believe that. We have Members in this body that cannot muster the courage or the strength to condemn the slaughtering of babies but have the audacity to repeat a vile and disgusting lie that Israel bombed a hospital.

They are not worthy of serving in this body, and the fact that we have people that didn't even sign on to this resolution tells you everything you need to know. If you cannot stand with Israel, our greatest ally in the Middle East, a beacon of democracy and hope and freedom, you do not belong in this body. Those Members should resign in disgrace.