Ed Royce: “I want to thank my good friends, the gentlewoman and gentleman from Florida, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen and Mr. Deutch, who are…”

“I want to thank my good friends, the gentlewoman and gentleman from Florida, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen and Mr. Deutch, who are chair and ranking member of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, for their hard work and leadership in bringing this important measure to the floor today. And I also thank the ranking member, Mr. Eliot Engel from New York, for his work on the resolution as well. Israel is one of America's closest friends, and Israel is facing growing threats. Today Iran's leading terrorist proxy, Hezbollah, has thousands of missiles and rockets and mortars that are aimed at Israel--over 100,000. And the threat from Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is even worse, as we hear from those chants: ``Death to Israel.'' The United States must stand with Israel to help promote security and stability in the volatile Middle East. And next year, the current memorandum of understanding signed with Israel in 2007 that guaranteed Israel $3.1 billion per year in foreign military financing will expire. The administration and Israel are currently negotiating the terms of a new package for the next 10 years, ensuring that Israel will maintain its qualitative military edge in the region. That is the goal of Mr. Eliot Engel. That is my goal. That is the goal of our subcommittee chairman and ranking member.…”