Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this has been a long time coming, but I am so pleased that we finally have an opportunity to send to the President's desk the bill before us, the U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership Act. I authored the original bill, alongside my Florida colleague, my good friend Mr. Deutch, and together we introduced it in the House almost 2 years ago. Chairman Royce, Ranking Member Engel, and their staffs were immensely supportive in pushing this bill through, and we ultimately passed the House version, H.R. 938, in this body in March, with an overwhelming vote of 410-1. I want to thank our colleagues in the other Chamber, Senator Boxer and Senator Blunt, for introducing the companion bill in the Senate. Today is, indeed, a significant day in the history of the United States-Israel relationship. Our bill takes the already strong bond between our two countries and makes it even stronger. In the aftermath of this summer's Gaza conflict, in which we saw Hamas fire thousands of rockets indiscriminately into innocent Israeli civilian populations, and with the alarming rise in terror attacks in Jerusalem these past few weeks, well, Mr. Speaker, now is precisely the time for us to make this bill a law. Our bill is as important strategically as it is symbolically.…”