On the recordJuly 11, 2019
I just want to point out Chairman Engel has been approaching this issue in a little more of a surgical approach in looking at Federal law. I think that that would be the more appropriate tactic in being able to work together in a bipartisan fashion on this issue. This amendment, with all due respect to my good friend from California, is a little more of a sledgehammer. I think he would probably say that that would be true, unapologetically. I, though, would certainly encourage my colleagues, really, on both sides of the aisle, to be able to work together through concerns that others may have rather than passing this particular amendment. There has been a hold that has been placed for a very long time. And I would encourage any Members of Congress who are responsible for that hold or support the hold to articulate to us and to the administration exactly what the hold is, what the concerns are, and how we can work through it together. I hope that we all are in unanimity with concern over Iranian aggression in the Middle East. We are all in unanimity with concern when we see Iran--beyond the rhetorical calling us the great Satan-- pledging death to America, building a land bridge across the Middle East, supporting Assad in Syria and financing Hezbollah in Lebanon. And, certainly, there are the concerns with the movement in shipping lanes around Yemen, a conflict that the Houthis, in overthrowing a legitimate government, did with the backing of the Iranians.…
