Strengthening America's Security in the Middle East Act of
Floor Speech
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Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I would like to begin by expressing my appreciation to the Senator from Nebraska for her comments on the INF Treaty that President Trump has withdrawn the United States from. There wasn't much of a treaty left, really, after Russia repeatedly violated it, and China is not even bound by it. It is very important, when we are talking about these issues, that we understand the facts and the state of the world as it is.
I read a recent summary by the RAND Corporation of their analysis of Russia and China. They called Russia a rogue, not a peer, and China a peer, not a rogue. There is a lot behind that, but I think it really is true that the only way we are going to deter the Russians is by maintaining our strength. The way we do that is by doing what is necessary to protect the United States and our allies. In this case, that means taking a treaty that has already been violated by the Russians and no longer bounds China and building the appropriate missiles to deter anybody from taking advantage of any perceived weakness in the United States, insofar as it comes to protecting ourselves or our allies.
I would like to express my appreciation for those comments and support them.
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S. 1
Madam President, in a moment we will hold a cloture vote on the strengthening America's Security in the Middle East Act and soon have an opportunity to pass this legislation, which has been balled up for some time because of the intervening shutdown. Importantly, it reaffirms our longstanding commitment to the stability in the Middle East. This vote has been a long time in coming. The four bills that comprise this legislation enjoyed bipartisan support last year, but we ran out of time before we could get them passed.
Exactly 1 month ago today, as we were kicking off this new Congress, the majority leader announced his intent to package these four noncontroversial bills together and bring them to the floor. Here we are a month later, and this is how noncontroversial things get handled in these strange times we live in. For weeks, our Democratic colleagues have blocked us from voting on this legislation, not because they disagreed with the contents but because they claimed no work should be done during a governmental shutdown, even though 75 percent of the government was up and running and funded, including the legislative branch, of which Congress is a part.
They used this as an excuse to showboat and to not do their job. Of course, something changed when they saw an opportunity to take a vote on an entirely political matter involving Russia. All of a sudden, they decided it was OK to do other things during the shutdown as long as it had the potential to embarrass our political adversaries, including President Trump. Nevertheless, I am glad that today we will finally be able to vote on this bill.
In the face of the ongoing troubles in the Middle East, it is important to reaffirm our commitment to our allies and condemn the brutalities of our enemies. While this legislation is far from the comprehensive solution to the challenges faced in the Middle East, it is important to take steps in the right direction where we can.
First, this bill strengthens our relationship with Israel, the lone democracy in the region. Israel faces near-constant attacks from Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, Hamas, and other terrorist groups. To ensure that Israel is poised not only to withstand but to counter threats from these shared adversaries, this bill authorizes needed military assistance, including things like missile defense and loan guarantees.
It also includes measures to enhance Israel's ability to address threats in its vicinity, like drones, which are increasingly used by Iran, which is bent on the destruction of the State of Israel. This is a major step to ensure that the nation of Israel is poised to tackle both the threats of today and tomorrow.
Secondly, this bill provides support to Jordan by reauthorizing legislation to deepen our defense cooperation. Jordan has borne the brunt of much of the upheaval in the Syrian civil war, with many refugees calling Jordan their home temporarily because they are displaced from their home country. Jordan continues to face grave challenges posed by the chaos in Syria, and our assistance is desperately needed.
As I said, Jordan has absorbed a disproportionate number of refugees who have been escaping the Syrian civil war. Some 740,000 refugees are currently in the relatively small country, making it the second highest refugee host per capita in the world. The impact of the Syria crisis is immense, and our assistance with humanitarian relief is critical.
Third, this legislation provides flexibility for State and local governments that disagree with the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions, or BDS, movement. This movement is designed to isolate Israel, both economically and politically, by encouraging governments and businesses, including academic institutions, to cut ties with the Jewish state.
At least 34 States, including mine--the State of Texas--have already enacted legislation to combat BDS. This legislation doesn't require States to take any sort of particular stance. It simply clarifies the right to counter boycotts of Israel without fear that they are somehow in jeopardy of Federal law.
Finally, this bill takes steps to address the ongoing crisis in Syria at large. It holds accountable those responsible for the crisis in Syria by imposing new sanctions on anyone who supports Syria either financially or militarily, specifically targeting military aviation, telecommunications, and energy industries. It also provides needed aid to impacted communities and condemns the heinous human rights violations of the Assad regime.
In addition to these four pillars of this legislation, I am glad we have the opportunity to vote this afternoon on an amendment to affirm that American leadership is needed in our ongoing fight in Syria and Afghanistan. We simply cannot afford to leave a vacuum in places where terrorists flood when they take advantage of the chaos and the upheaval in the Syrian civil war. These are places where they can lodge, grow, and train and then export their terrorist attacks, not only around the region but, as we saw 9/11, even around the world.
There is no doubt that we made great progress on our fight against ISIS and al-Qaida, but as the majority leader noted when he offered this amendment last week that ``our response to this progress must not be to take our foot off the gas pedal, but rather to keep up those strategies that are working.''
One of our colleagues, the Senator from Florida, Mr. Rubio, said that terrorism is like a tumor. It is like a cancer. You can try to eliminate it, but if you are unsuccessful in eliminating it, even though you have shrunk it, it will come back as soon as you remove the pressure. Though we made incredible gains in the fight to eradicate these terrorist groups, the threat has not been entirely eliminated, and our job may never be finished. This is what some people have called the ``long war.'' Sadly, it is necessary in order to keep ourselves safe, as well as our allies.
Fully defeating these groups and the radical ideology will require our continued commitment. We simply can't unremember the lessons of 9/ 11, which are that things that happen overseas don't stay overseas and that when you have power vacuums or safe havens for terrorist organizations to exploit, that endangers not only people in the region but also us here at home. We cannot allow a resurgence of ISIS or al- Qaida and somehow let the gains we have fought so hard to make slip through our fingers.
During a time of ongoing instability in the Middle East, it is imperative that our allies remain confident in our commitment and our partnership and stand ready to continue to fight for our shared interests.
As I indicated, this bill will not solve all the problems in the Middle East. It will not provide justice for innocent civilians killed by the Assad regime or rebuild the communities destroyed at the hands of terrorist groups. But it is an important step to ensure our allies are prepared to fight alongside us and defend our shared national security interests.
This legislation will support and protect our allies, safeguard U.S. interests in the Middle East, and take a stand against the despicable human rights violations committed by the Assad regime. I look forward to supporting the majority leader's amendment this afternoon and voting yes on this legislation when that opportunity arises.
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