Iron Dome Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022

Floor Speech

I rise today on this very important issue that is near and dear to my heart and ought to be near and dear to the heart of this body and the United States of America.

I think the Democratic majority made a horrific mistake this week in stripping out Iron Dome funding from the NDAA bill. I was shocked.

I was shocked because I grew up in a country that, despite being a Republican--and I am a strong Republican; my mother was a strong Democrat, my father was a strong Republican--support for Israel, our beloved ally, our democratic ally, our only really, really reliable ally in the Middle East was stripped out of that bill.

This was a defensive mechanism. This is a system, Mr. Speaker, that keeps missiles from coming in and killing innocent men, women, and children who live in fear. Never let an Israeli live in fear from terrorism again; a defensive mechanism, a defensive system.

So today I do applaud the Democrats for finally standing up and admitting their mistake with this bill that is unnecessary in this format but has become necessary because it was stripped out of the major NDAA bill.

So I will be strongly supporting this bill, this billion dollars for a defensive system, but more importantly today before I reserve the balance of my time, let me say that as an American, as a Republican, as a servant in this House, the United States of America must state its unequivocal support for the State of Israel.

Israel has gone through a tumultuous history since its founding. The United States has stood with Israel. We will stand with Israel today on this important bill. We will fund the Iron Dome, and we will always protect the Israeli people from terrorism wherever it comes from.

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Mr. FLEISCHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. FLEISCHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. FLEISCHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. FLEISCHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. FLEISCHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, the truth has finally come out on the floor of the House of the United States of America. I heard some of my Democratic colleagues: Stand with me, with Israel, with our ally, to fight terrorism with a defensive weapon system.

And what did we just hear? We heard the Democratic Party speak out. We heard, right now, from my colleague across the aisle with a shocking statement. She opposes this because they have a vocal minority in the majority party that is anti-Israel, that is anti-Semitic. And as Americans, we can never stand for that.

I grew up with Holocaust survivors. I grew up with children of Holocaust survivors. Israel has been attacked and attacked and attacked since its inception.

As Americans, I beseech you, I reach out to the majority, and I say condemn what we just heard on the floor. Condemn terrorism. This is a defensive weapon system. Stop playing your procedural games.

I hear recommit. It was a motion to recommit. You just saw something on this floor I thought I would never see, not only as a Member of this House, but as an American.

Let us stand with Israel. Let's combat anti-Semitism wherever it is in the world, whether it is in the United States, whether it is from terrorism.

I am shocked with what I just heard. I ask the majority to condemn the comments that were just made by their Member.

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend Chairman Ted Deutch. I am grateful to be the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa, and Global Counterterrorism. I appreciate his heartfelt comments.

I also have been to Sderot, and I have seen the example of the terrorist rocket attacks by Hamas from Gaza with Iranian rockets. I have seen the effect on mothers and families. And so this is something that should be addressed, and I appreciate Mr. Hoyer bringing it up. That, indeed, 4,400 rockets, 400 a day. A reason for that is the weakness of the Biden-Harris government. They are putting the people of Israel at risk.

And then I also believe that what we see with Mr. Hoyer, he is being undercut. And I sympathize with him that his political party, the Democratic Party, has become under the influence, extraordinary, bizarre influence of a group of anti-Semites, who also hate the State of Israel. It is very clear, as we saw a few minutes ago, right here, how horrible this is.

In fact, this vote is to cover the mistake of the Democratic Party.

Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I will vote in favor of the bill. But this is really a cover by the Democratic Party of the far left movement of their party abandoning the people of Israel.

And so I urge a ``yes'' vote. But this is clearly just to cover a horrible mistake. It is worse than a mistake, a bowing down of extremists within the Democratic Party.
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Mr. FLEISCHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers and would be ready to close when appropriate.

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Mr. FLEISCHMANN. Mr. Speaker, today we have had yet another heated debate in the people's House in the greatest, freest Nation in the world.

The United States of America is a beacon of freedom. In my 10-year tenure in Congress, I have spoken with world leaders in Israel, in the Middle East, in Europe, across the globe. The world looks to the United States for leadership and for freedom.

Our great ally in the Middle East, Israel, has been threatened. Its citizens have been threatened since its inception, and that is wrong.

I associate myself partially with the remarks of the majority leader when he said we need to pass this bill today; and we do. We need to give Israel and the Israeli people the capability to continue to defend themselves against what are terrorist attacks on its people.

Over 4,000 rockets directed by terrorists, supported by countries such as Iran and others, who wish to seek destruction of Israel. As Americans, we can never allow that to happen. As human beings, we can never allow that to happen. And we need to be heard, that beacon of freedom in the United States of America, all over the world in our defense of Israel because other countries have let them down.

Today, we will not let Israel down. We will pass this bill. And to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who once had a great Democratic Party, like the great Republican Party in our great two- party system, stand up, stand up and fight anti-Semitism wherever its ugly head is raised. It is the right thing to do.

We will do it with our vote today. But we heard from someone from Michigan (Ms. Tlaib); we heard from their radical left wing that does not support Israel, that does not support the Jewish people. It does not support their right, their inherent right to exist.

Let us, as Americans, make our resolve now, today, and forever in our great Republic to protect the people of Israel. Let's pass this bill, and let's associate our comments, as Americans, with those who will always stand up and fight anti-Semitism, racism, sexism, and every wrong-ism that exists. That is our great America. That is our great Republic.

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Mr. FLEISCHMANN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

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