Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, it is hard to describe the anguish I feel in the aftermath of the horrific attack on Israel by Hamas. It continues the record I've seen from Hamas for as long as I've been in Congress. Under Yasser Arafat, Hamas torpedoed a peace agreement that was almost adopted with President Clinton. The pain was magnified because we were so close to an agreement for lasting peace. Even though optimism for the two-state solution has faded, I still believe it is the best chance for long-term peace and security. Ultimately, there is no military solution to this conflict. I've traveled to Israel several times over the last 25 years and am heartsick that the optimism I first encountered there appears to have melted away. During my first trip to Israel in 1999, I met at a police command center in Ramallah led by both an Israeli officer and a Palestinian officer who were working cooperatively towards keeping the peace. Now we are on the edge of a humanitarian catastrophe made even worse with the widening scope of this war. I am deeply concerned for the safety and security of the two million civilians in Gaza, half of whom are children. Israel cutting off water, electricity, medicine, fuel, and humanitarian aid has already created horrific consequences. These actions are not recipes for lasting peace in the region. It was important for President Biden to acknowledge the mistakes that America made in our military response to 9/11 in Iraq and Afghanistan. We lost our perspective.…”