On the recordNovember 13, 2017
I thank my good friend, the chairman of our committee, for yielding me the time, and I rise today in support of H. Res. 599--expressing the sense of the U.S. House of Representatives with respect to United States policy toward Yemen. I want to thank my other colleague from California, Mr. Khanna, and Mr. McGovern from Massachusetts for offering this important resolution before us. I want to thank Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel for always working in a bipartisan manner in our committee, including with our leadership, to bring this resolution before us today. Mr. Speaker, there are approximately 2 million internally displaced persons in Yemen right now. International aid agencies consider Yemen to be one of the four current famine countries alongside South Sudan, Somalia, and Nigeria. We must ensure that access and safe passage is being given to reach the people of Yemen who desperately need this assistance. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have security and terror concerns in Yemen, and they have to mitigate those, but there should not be any obstacles to prevent the delivery of vital humanitarian assistance to Yemen. It is positive news that this morning Saudi Arabia announced that it will begin reopening airports and seaports in Yemen; so, hopefully, that aid will come quickly for those starving people. Since this campaign began in 2015, the United States has been the largest contributor of humanitarian aid to Yemen.…





