Providing for Consideration of H.R. Fairness in Orphan Drug Exclusivity Act Drugs; Providing for Consideration of H. Res. Condemning the Horrific Shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, on March and for Other Purposes

Floor Speech

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Mr. MAST. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Why at this time should we come together bipartisanly on this vote? That is the question that I am going to attempt to answer.

Members of this body are going to have the opportunity as we move forward here to either support Hamas or to not, to fight against them. The choice will be made. People will decide which direction they want to go.

My bill, H.R. 261, the Palestinian International Terrorism Support Prevention Act of 2021, would make clear that the United States stands with Israel and would sanction those who provide financial support to Hamas. It is that simple.

Now, why do we need to do that? Why is it important to come together on this? To put a fine point on it, this is not one pissed-off Palestinian that picked up a shoulder-fired RPG, put it on their shoulder, and fired it 100 yards over at Israel. That is not what we are talking about here.

Hamas is sophisticated. They are well organized, and there is a complex infrastructure involved in getting them their weapons. They don't just go down to the Gaza Strip rocket depot in order to pick up these things. They are smuggled across Iraq, Syria, Jordan, into one of the most densely populated areas of the world without anybody noticing or saying anything. That is why we need these sanctions.

Why should we come together bipartisanly on this to support our friend and ally Israel to stand against Hamas?

Because the rockets that Hamas smuggles and fires at Israel are not science-fair bottle rockets. Many of them are Fajr-5 missiles, 21-plus feet long. That is longer than a Chevy Suburban. There are hundreds of pounds of explosives on the end of that.

The explosives that detonated underneath my legs were about 5 pounds to 10 pounds of explosives, to put that into perspective.

Why come together bipartisanly to support this?

Because Hamas is not firing these rockets in order to make a pretty fireworks show. They use these missiles specifically to target large towns and cities with the express hope of killing Israeli civilians, like so many that we have heard about.

Ido Avigal was a 5-year-old boy who was murdered when shrapnel from a rocket ripped through his window in a fortified room that he was hiding in with his mother.

Daniel Tragerman was a 4-year-old Israeli boy who was killed by a mortar shell fired by Hamas in 2014.

Soumya Santosh was killed when a rocket fired on Israel by Hamas on May 11th detonated close to her. She worked as a caretaker to an elderly woman who had been living in Israel for the last 7 years.

These individuals and so many others are not just collateral damage. They and millions of other Israeli civilians are targeted. They are targets of Hamas.

After I was blown up in Afghanistan, I volunteered to serve alongside Israel Defense Forces. There, I served alongside soldiers that were driven by their love for their fellow man, rather than by hatred for their enemies.

I had the honor of getting to know some of the most creative and caring people I have ever met, who adapted to some of the worst situations that anybody could be placed into. Every family that I encountered during my time in Israel shared a desire for their children to grow, like we do, and to be educated safely without the looming threat of war.

I learned at the Shabbat tables of my hosts there just how much each family truly desires peace between every neighbor of Israel, regardless of religion, regardless of history. They don't want to be attacked. They want to live in peace. They want to see their children grow.

So why support bipartisanly this legislation?

Because Hamas, on the other hand, uses their own people as shields and cannon fodder. They don't stand for their people. They don't defend their people. They stand behind their people. They build their command and control infrastructure inside hospitals and schools. They launch their missiles from heavily populated areas.

And this recent round of fighting between Hamas and Israel is exactly that, a round in an ongoing conflict that goes back decades. Hamas has consistently launched thousands and thousands of rockets into Israel, killing and maiming hundreds of civilians.

Why come together bipartisanly?

Because in the last week alone, they have fired more than 3,000 rockets into Israel. This didn't make the news, but in April, over 44 rockets fired into Israel. In January, three rockets fired into Israel. That is just this year.

Why come together bipartisanly?

In 2020, more than 130 rocket attacks. In 2019, 650 rocket attacks. In 2018, 350 rocket attacks.

That is more than one a day. Imagine if that was going on here in the United States.

Why come together bipartisanly?

To make sure that we sanction the enablers of Hamas.

In 2016, Hamas bombed a bus in Jerusalem, killing 2 and wounding 21.

At another time, a Hamas suicide bomber killed one and injured nine.

Another bombing, Palestinian Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for a suicide bombing in a neighborhood bakery.

Another bombing in a shawarma restaurant in Tel Aviv killed 11 and wounded 70. Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility, one of the listed sanctioned groups in this bill.

In another bombing, at a vegetable market, seven people killed. Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.

In another bombing, two commuter buses in Beersheba, 16 people killed and over 100 wounded. Hamas claimed responsibility.

Why is this bill needed? Why do we need to come together?

Because Hamas does not finance terrorism with bake sales. They receive significant support from individual groups and foreign governments, like Iran.

The U.S. Government has estimated that Iran, by itself, has provided as much as $100 million annually to Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other Palestinian terrorist organizations. These foreign sponsors seek to bring death to the Jewish state. It is that simple.

Under my bill, the United States will sanction these groups that are supporting terrorism. If we do not pass this bill, we will not stand together to sanction these groups that are enabling this terrorism.

This is common sense, which is why it passed the House of Representatives without any opposition last Congress. The bill even includes humanitarian exemptions that Democrats in the Foreign Affairs Committee wrote last Congress, before all voting in favor of this piece of legislation.

Given the ongoing attacks on Israel, and the bipartisan support for this bill last Congress, I have asked that this bill be expedited for consideration again.

Unfortunately, some of our colleagues are now pushing the opposite direction for the United States to withhold American weapons shipments to Israel, but they will not support steps to cut off the flow of weapons and funding from Iran to Hamas that is killing our Israeli friends. There is a false equivalency that is going on, and there is a rooting for a terrorist organization that is happening as well.

So, Madam Speaker, this is my request. Many of you supported this bill 2 years ago. Support it again now. Stand with our ally, Israel. Stand against Hamas. Stand against their enablers. Pass this bill unanimously.

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