Mike Gallagher: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. It is fitting, at least for me, that we are debating this today because one of the…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. It is fitting, at least for me, that we are debating this today because one of the very first bills I got passed as a freshman Member of Congress working across the aisle with my fellow classmate, Representative Suozzi, was the Sanctioning the Use of Civilians As Defenseless Shields Act, which first created the authority for the President to sanction Hamas and Hezbollah for their use of human shields. I remember at the time talking about this barbaric practice. I was met with shock and surprise. Unfortunately, in the wake of October 7, the entire world has seen the lengths that these terrorist groups will go to in order to advance their genocidal cause, using innocent women and children as human shields. The fact that this may be one of the last bills I get passed in Congress is fitting. As I alluded to, there is nothing new about this despicable practice, which Hamas has perfected, of using civilians and hostages as human shields. They have been doing it for decades, placing innocents in harm's way. They have been unmasked in recent months for the world to see. Rocket launchers, weapons caches, and terrorist fighters are found in or near civilian population centers, including sites like schools and mosques, to deliberately limit the Israeli military from striking Hamas targets or, if they do, to incur the condemnation of the world against them in order to limit their effectiveness going forward.…”