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Floor Speech
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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I have a brief statement on this very important resolution we are about to vote on.
Mr. President, October 7, 2023, will go down as a day of infamy. As Israel faces the darkest hour of its 75-year history, the bipartisan resolution we are about to vote on proclaims that so long as there is a United States of America, the people of Israel will never stand alone. So long as there is a United States Senate, the people of Israel will never stand alone.
Today's bipartisan resolution shows exactly where the United States Senate stands. We stand firmly with Israel and her right to defend herself. Today's bipartisan resolution shows exactly where the United States Senate stands. We condemn the heinous, vicious attacks by the terrorist group Hamas. It is rare that all 100 Senators agree on anything, but every one of the 100 of us is here today, united, saying that we are behind Israel. Today's bipartisan resolution shows where we stand.
We demand Hamas stop their attacks and release all hostages, including American hostages. We urge the world to unite against Hamas and against nations like Iran that support global terrorism.
This resolution is not the end; it is the beginning. The Senate will back up this resolution with real, swift, decisive action and resources.
Let the entire world see that today Democrats and Republicans alike stand in total unity. We support Israel's absolute right to defend itself.
To the Israeli people, we say: We stand with you, we feel your pain, we ache with you, and we will act.
To any actor that seeks to take advantage of Israel, the United States Senate says with one unified voice: Don't.
The resolution also does what everyone in this country in elected office and the press should do: condemn Hamas as a heinous terrorist organization.
This resolution is momentous. The entire Senate today is unified in our support of the Israeli people and against Hamas. And again, to repeat, this resolution is just the start. We will follow it up with swift action and get Israel the help and resources she needs.
In conclusion, I want to thank Leader McConnell for joining me in this statement and championing the measure. I want to thank Chairman Cardin of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as well as Ranking Member Risch, for helping draft this resolution. I thank every Senator, all 99 of my colleagues, for supporting this. We needed to stand united, and today, we are. In the Senate, we will not waiver in our friendship with the Israeli people.
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Mr. SCHUMER. Butler) and the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Durbin) are necessarily absent.
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