Providing for Congressional Disapproval of the Proposed Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Israel of Certain Defense Articles

Floor Speech

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Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, I rise tonight in support of Senator Sanders' joint resolutions of disapproval for select arms sales to Israel. The Senate has voted on similar resolutions in the past, all of which I have supported. The last time this Chamber voted on prior resolutions, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu was bombarding Gaza. A cease-fire had collapsed, hostage release negotiations had stalled, and innocent children and families in Gaza were starving and suffering. That was because the Netanyahu government, fueled by extremist Israeli National Security Minister Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Smotrich and supported by the Trump administration, was blocking humanitarian aid from reaching Palestinians in Gaza. The large-scale bombs covered by those resolutions went far beyond what Israel needed for its defense. Their use would cause indiscriminate damage and only worsen the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

Now, the need for restrictions on military aid to Netanyahu has only taken on renewed urgency. The Trump administration is proposing to sell to Netanyahu 1,000-pound bombs and armored bulldozers that Netanyahu could use not only in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon but also in Trump's illegal and unnecessary war in Iran. I fully support the current cease- fire with Iran, but tenuous as it may be, Vice President JD Vance's bid for a peace deal in Pakistan last weekend failed, and fighting could resume at any time.

So make no mistake, a vote to approve arms sales to Israel at this time would be seen as a message of approval for Trump and Netanyahu's disastrous war against Iran. I will not send that message. Trump's war of choice in Iran is a moral tragedy and economic disaster playing out before our eyes. It is only making the United States, Israel, and the world less safe.

Let us count the ways:

One, we have seen thousands of civilian deaths in Iran and Lebanon. More than 100 Iranian schoolgirls have been killed by American weapons, and 13 American servicemembers have been killed and hundreds injured.

Two, the United States and the Netanyahu government are losing credibility. In particular, President Trump's threats of war crimes and genocide against Iran are a total abdication of moral leadership on the global stage and must be opposed here and everywhere.

Three, the United States and Iran are blockading the Strait of Hormuz--crippling the global economy and sending energy prices sky high.

Four, gas prices in America are $1.20 a gallon higher than before the war. Vehicle owners will be paying $500 to $600 more here in the United States over the course of this next year. It is going to be Trump at the pump. The American people are going to be paying for this war.

Five, this dangerous, unnecessary, and expensive war has cost the American taxpayer about $50 billion so far, with the Trump administration seeking hundreds of billions of dollars more as part of a $1.5 trillion military budget, which must be rejected.

Six, Iran still controls its uranium.

Seven, there has been no regime change. We just swapped out one Ayatollah for another.

And, eight, Iranians are still not free.

Why would we send American military weapons that could prolong, escalate, or worsen this horrible situation in the Middle East?

I say no more. The Senate should express its opposition to Trump and Netanyahu's needless war and seek to stop it.

No. 1, we should pass these resolutions to block 1,000-pound bombs and armored bulldozers for use in this war.

No. 2, we should pass a War Powers Resolution that denies President Trump the authority to continue this war.

And, No. 3, we should reject any request for funding to pay for Trump's war of choice.

Today, we must send a clear message that the U.S. Senate opposes--in the strongest possible terms--Trump and Netanyahu's dangerous, expensive, unnecessary, and immoral war.

There is no military solution to this crisis. We must solve this at the negotiating table. We must end this war now. We must pass these resolutions in order to have the U.S. Senate speak to our outrage at what is happening in the name of the American people.

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