S5320 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE August 1, 2014 The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without So the real root of the problem is The second thing I hope we can do is objection, it is so ordered. Hamas. There is no moral equivalency pass a resolution that was authored by f here. Hamas is trying to kill every myself and Senator MENENDEZ this Israeli possible. They are firing mis- morning. It is cleared on the Repub- ISRAEL siles by the thousands indiscriminately lican side. I think we are about there Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, a cou- into Israel. They could care less where on the Democratic side. ple things. they land. Thank God for the Iron So what have we done? Tactically, This is a very dark day for our Dome. The most heinous of all is they the Senate has acted in a fashion to re- friends in Israel. Apparently, earlier have put their own people in harm’s supply missiles to the Iron Dome Pro- this morning, about an hour and a half way as human shields. As Israel tries gram that is literally under siege. after the agreed-upon cease-fire, an to tell people to withdraw from an area Strategically, we have a partnership Israeli column of soldiers who were because it is coming under attack, agreement pending before the Senate trying to decommission a terrorist tun- Hamas says: Ignore the leaflets. You go that reaffirms our relationship for nel, consistent with the terms of the to that area. years to come as a signal to Israel: cease-fire, were attacked by a suicide There is a video where a hospital was Strategically, we will be your partner bomber that resulted in some Israeli occupied by Hamas fighters. Israel gave as far as the eye can see. casualties. That column also was hit 2 days’ notice to evacuate the hospital. So that is pending before the Senate, by antitank missiles, and a group of When the hospital was destroyed mili- and I hope we can clear it today. Palestinian Hamas fighters engaged tarily because it became a command Today, of all days, would be a great the column, resulting in the capture of center for Hamas, secondary explosions time for us to make decisions that re- one Israeli soldier. went on for quite a while. It was also inforce the military capability of the For lack of a better way of explain- an ammo dump. ing this, there was a cease-fire. Israel So Hamas uses mosques, hospitals, Israelis to defend themselves, recom- was acting consistent with the terms of apartment complexes. We found two in- mit ourselves to a strategic partner- the cease-fire, and this was a planned stances of Hamas rockets being stored ship. military operation to take advantage in U.N. schools. They are violating And the third thing we could do is of the cease-fire. In the law of war this every known tenet of the law of war. lend our moral voices as a nation by would be a great breach. At the end of They are using their own people as condemning the attack of Hamas the day Israel is a victim of a group of human shields in an unprecedented against the Israeli defense forces and people called Hamas that lie, cheat, strategic manner. the capturing of a soldier. have everything in their being that As to the United Nations, you are This resolution thoroughly points most of us should condemn. about to run afoul of the Congress. The out the cease-fire breach by Hamas, the So what has the Senate done? This Human Rights Commission issued a preplanned attack on the Israeli col- could be a very good day for the U.S.- resolution that had one sentence con- umn during the cease-fire, the cap- Israeli relationship. To my Democratic demning the attacks on Israeli civil- turing of a soldier. We are condemning and Republican colleagues in the Sen- ians. It never mentioned the word this activity as a breach of inter- ate, you have risen to the occasion. I ‘‘Hamas.’’ It basically accused Israel of national law, and we are urging that thank the majority leader Senator being a war criminal. Hamas return the IDF soldier. REID and the minority leader Senator It passed 27 to 1. We were the lone This resolution would give the moral MCCONNELL for bringing up Iron Dome vote objecting to the resolution, which voice of our Nation and the Senate to funding. I thank all of my colleagues was so out of sync with reality, and the cause Israel faces. So if we could, for allowing the funding to go forward. several major nations abstained. in a dysfunctional Congress—and we OBURN The United Nations is becoming more Senator C was trying to find an deserve a lot of criticism, both parties anti-Israeli as I speak. Anti-Semitism offset. He is being consistent in trying are to blame—but if we could end the is spreading throughout the world, but to bring our fiscal house in order. He is day speaking as one on something that let it be said that the Senate in a bi- a very principled man, but he under- is very important, the survival of our partisan fashion will have no part of stood the urgency of the matter in friends in Israel—not being anti-Pales- this. The United Nations is a force that Israel and withdrew his objection last tinian but being pro-Israel and pro- could be used for the good or it could night. peace and being anti-Hamas—I just To our friends in Israel, the Senate be a force to make problems worse. wish and hope and pray the Palestinian has acted in a unanimous fashion, bi- I consider myself, as a Republican, an people will reject Hamas and turn in a partisan in nature, to appropriate $225 internationalist. I believe in foreign as- new direction because in that direction million to resupply the missiles that sistance. I believe in helping people. I you will find peace and you will find you need to defend yourself under the believe in leading the world, not having America as a partner. Iron Dome Program. With the missiles the world run us over. Ronald Reagan comes a message. The message is we is a great role model from my point of So let it be said the Senate, in the are with you. Take as long us you need. view. He said: America makes history. most turbulent political times, found Go where you need to go to deal with That is our destiny. We shape history; its way when it came to supporting our this terrorist threat called Hamas. we are not overrun by it. That does not friends in Israel by appropriating To the Palestinian people, we are not mean we have to become the world’s money to help their military which is your enemy. We hope one day you will policeman or act as the Lone Ranger. under siege, by passing a strategic reject Hamas and try to find a peaceful It does mean we have to stay involved partnership agreement that reaffirms solution to your problems with your in the world. That is my point of view. the relationship, and by lending our Israeli neighbors, and we stand ready But it is very hard to maintain that voice to what happened today in con- to help in that regard. point of view when the United Nations, demning, in no uncertain terms, the vi- The Palestinian Authority and Israel I believe, is being hijacked in such a cious attack and the breach of the have a good working relationship when fashion. cease-fire by Hamas. it comes to the West Bank. Hamas has To the United Nations leadership: If we could do those three things been in charge of Gaza for several years You are about to run afoul of the Con- today, it would be the right message, it now, and this cycle of violence repeats gress, who wants to be part of the body would send the right message at the itself. You will have a cease-fire. You that wants to shape the world for the right time, and it would solidify this will have a lull in the violence. One better. By your constant condemning relationship that is so important be- year later you will fight Hamas again. of Israel in a disproportionate manner cause the enemies of Israel are our en- They have fired over 15,000 rockets into to what is going on, on the ground in emies also. Radical Islam has the same Israel. In 2005 Israel withdrew from Gaza, beware of where you are taking desire to kill us and destroy our way of Gaza, giving land for peace. The land this. To the Human Rights Commis- life as they do Israel. At the end of the was given, the peace has been unattain- sion: You have become a joke in the day we have to understand our fates able. eyes of Congress. are tied together.

VerDate Mar 15 2010 03:34 Aug 02, 2014 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 4624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G01AU6.014 S01AUPT1 rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with SENATE August 1, 2014 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5321 CRISIS ON THE BORDER coming from Central America after The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, the President Obama unilaterally gave am- objection, it is so ordered. second issue I would like to talk about nesty to children already here. No mat- f ter how well intentioned, it has created is my colleagues in the House are try- UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST— the belief in that part of the world that ing to find their way to pass legislation S. 2673 regarding the crisis on the border. if you make it to America you can They tried yesterday. They failed. stay. Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, we all They are back at it again. We want you to understand there is a know that our ally Israel is in a fight I thank Speaker BOEHNER, from the legal way to get to America. Just do for survival because a terrorist group, Republican point of view, for not leav- not show up on the doorstep and ask to so named by the United States and Eu- ing town until we have a solution in a be taken in. That is not a way for our rope, is at war with Israel right now. Republican-controlled House. It has Nation to have to deal with people We remember how it all started, with been hard to find. It is an emotional wanting to come to this Nation. So I the kidnapping of three Israeli boys issue. It is a difficult issue on many hope we will not be gone for 5 weeks and the torture and the deaths, and levels. The human suffering of the chil- with this problem unaddressed. Hamas praised that. Tragically, there dren—everybody is moved by that, as If the House can get its act together was a revenge killing, and the Israeli we should be. But we cannot and pass a solution to the problem, it Government arrested the Israelis re- incentivize these three countries in would be incumbent, in my view, upon sponsible for that and they are going to question to keep sending their children the Senate to reconvene, deal with the face justice, while Hamas praises— here, putting their children at risk, House proposal, come up with one of praises—what happened. and overrunning our systems. That is our own, and engage the House to solve Today I spoke to the Ambassador, not the way to deal with our neighbor. this problem. Five weeks is a very long and this is what I heard him say—and So the House hopefully will pass leg- time to be away from a problem this I haven’t fact-checked this, but as I un- islation reforming the 2008 law that important. derstand it there was a cease-fire in needs to be reformed to make children As to the August break, contrary to place, all sides agreed everything was from Guatemala, El Salvador, Hon- what a lot of people may believe, we do clear. Israel was going to be allowed to duras, that region subject to the same not all go on vacation. We try to take clear out the tunnels which are being laws as if you came from Mexico, and some time for ourselves and our fami- used to open to Hamas the country of they are putting money aside to deal lies. But it is a chance to go visit other Israel, where they go under the ground with the deportation problem and the parts of the world, to get informed on and they have one objective—to kill humanitarian crisis. problems that can come here in terms Israelis, to torture them, to kidnap If they can pass a solution to this of affecting our national security. Situ- them. No country—no country—could problem, I am urging the majority ations over there are going to come ever live with that, no country—not leader of the Senate to bring us back in here if we do not deal with them re- our country. because we should not be gone for 5 sponsibly. It is a chance to do things in Imagine if we had 100 rockets a day weeks with something this important your State. So people are very busy coming from Mexico or Canada or from left unresolved. You may not agree during August. They try to capture the sea, either side. We would never with the House, but let’s take up their some time for themselves. But at the ever sit back for that. We would never proposal, amend it, vote on it, vote it end of the day, 5 weeks is way too long sit back if under our great cities we up or vote it down, take the prior to be absent from Washington as the had terrorists building tunnels so they Democratic proposal, allow amend- crisis on the border gets worse. If the could sneak in suicide bombers to kill ments to be had on both sides of the House can find a solution to this prob- our people. aisle, and see if we can find common lem, I am urging the Democratic-con- Here we had a cease-fire, and I know ground on dealing with the border. trolled Senate to bring us back, take the Secretary of State worked hard. The President at one time embraced up their solution, vote it up, vote it Yet and still what happened, even changes in the 2008 law. That has to be down, bring back the Senate bill, allow though it was known that Israel was done or we will never solve the prob- it to be amended so we can find con- permitted to continue clearing out lem. sensus. Consensus is there if we want these tunnels, a suicide bomber blew I do not mind spending money in a to find it. himself up, killed Israeli soldiers and humanitarian fashion as long as we are I appreciate the Presiding Officer’s someone else grabbed and kidnapped— spending money to solve the problem, voice on national security. The Pre- we think—we think—an Israeli soldier. not perpetuate it. So if the House can siding Officer has been a stalwart We don’t know all the facts on it. This find its way in offering a solution to friend of Israel in trying to find a way must be condemned. the border crisis, I am urging my forward regarding the problems the We have a bill, Senator BLUNT and I, Democratic colleagues who control Ukrainian people face. I hope we can and it has 81 cosponsors on it. It is the this body to act. Let’s not be gone for find a solution to our border crisis. But Israeli American strategic partnership 5 weeks. Bring us all back. See if we a final thought as to Israel: Today act, and it will send a strong signal can find a solution among ourselves in could be a very good day for the U.S.- today that we stand with Israel. We the Senate, talk to our colleagues in Israel relationship. It started in the want peace. We want justice. We want the House and solve the problem. Senate. I hope my House colleagues a good life for the Israelis and the Pal- It is within our power to do so. I will pass the Iron Dome legislation estinian people. But you cannot do it know we can get there. I know there that we passed by unanimous consent when you have a terrorist organization are at least five or six Democrats who today. The House needs to get this running, in essence, the Gaza Strip. understand throwing money at the done so the President can sign this into In this bill Senator BLUNT and I have problem without changing the 2008 law law. worked on, there is a visa waiver sec- gets you nowhere. There are plenty of To my colleagues in the House: tion, and I want to go over that be- people on our side who understand a Please take up Iron Dome. Let’s get cause I fear we may have objections to humanitarian crisis does exist. Let’s this right. this. I am hoping not, I still hope we marry these forces and see if we can I yield the floor and suggest the ab- won’t, but in this visa waiver section it come up with a bipartisan compromise sence of a quorum. does three things: First, it expresses in the Senate. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The the sense of the Senate that Israel The only way you can do that is to be clerk will call the roll. should be designated as a program allowed to offer amendments and de- The legislative clerk proceeded to country under the Visa Waiver Pro- bate. I cannot think of a problem more call the roll. gram. dramatic facing the Nation right now The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- Second, it urges United States en- in terms of a crisis than what is hap- ator from California. gagement with Israel to help it meet pening on our border: 50,000 unaccom- Mrs. BOXER. I ask that the order for the requirements of the waiver pro- panied children, the spike in people the quorum call be rescinded. gram; i.e., when Israelis come over

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