Howard Berman: “I yield myself 30 additional seconds. And reinforcing that commitment to Israel's security, this bill extends for 4…”

“I yield myself 30 additional seconds. And reinforcing that commitment to Israel's security, this bill extends for 4 years a loan guarantee program for Israel that was initiated in 2003, an extension based on legislation that Chairman Ros- Lehtinen and I introduced in March. Our relationship with our ally Israel is one of the most important, and closest, that we have with any nation in the world. We face many of the same threats, and we share the same values. Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak recently said that he can hardly remember a better period of U.S. support and cooperation and common U.S.-Israel strategic understanding than the current one. Passage of this bill will help ensure that this cooperation continues into the future. I encourage all of my colleagues to support the legislation. I reserve the balance of my time. General Leave”