On the recordOctober 25, 2017
I thank the chairman for the bipartisan leadership of this committee. Mr. Speaker, this week marks the 34th anniversary of the devastating Marine Corps barracks bombing in Lebanon. As the very proud mother of a U.S. marine, this is deeply personal to me. My son returned safely from his tours of service. Not so blessed were the families of 220 marines and 21 other service personnel who were murdered when Hezbollah struck with truck bombs at a Marine Corps compound in Beirut, Lebanon, on October 23, 1983. The marines we lost that day were someone's husband, father, brother, or son. Except for al-Qaida, Hezbollah has killed more Americans than any other terrorist group in the world, and it continues to be a menacing threat to all humanity. Just look at Syria, the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time: hundreds of thousands of civilians murdered; 5 million have fled as refugees; Hezbollah, a tool of Iran, propping up Assad and fueling the violence. Their actions don't stop there. Israelis live under the constant shadow of Hezbollah's missile arsenal that is pointed directly at them. In just a decade, they have increased their rocket count from 15,000 to 150,000. They hold the Lebanese people hostage by embedding weapons in their mosques, their hospitals, and their schools.…
