Ritchie Torres: “I thank Ranking Member Meeks for his friendship and mentoring, and I thank Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member Meeks for…”

“I thank Ranking Member Meeks for his friendship and mentoring, and I thank Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member Meeks for setting the gold standard of bipartisanship here in Congress. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Lawler) for his legislative partnership and leadership. If there is one cause that should transcend partnership, it is the cause of peace in the Middle East. Building a bridge between Israel and the Arab world is neither a Democratic value nor a Republican value. It is an American value. The Abraham Accords is both an affirmation of Arab-Israeli peace and a rejection of BDS as a relic of the past. Indeed, the three noes of the Khartoum Resolution have been replaced by the three yeses of the Abraham Accords: yes to recognition of Israel, yes to negotiations with Israel, and yes to peace with Israel. The Abraham Accords is an achievement so monumental that it demands and deserves its own special envoy whose sole and singular mission is to build on the inexorable progress of peace in the Middle East. Today, we in the United States Congress are bending the long arc of the Middle East exactly where it belongs, toward peace and prosperity for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The children of Abraham are finally standing together as one, divided no longer. {time} 1700 Mr. McCAUL. Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.”