Michael Lawler

Mr. LAWLER

Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.

Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to urge the House to agree to my resolution that reaffirms Israel's fundamental right to exist. This is a pretty simple and straightforward resolution. Israel has a right to exist. You either believe that or you don't. The American people should see very clearly whether or not the Members of Congress affirm Israel's right to exist. President Harry Truman recognized Israel 11 minutes after its founding. America was the first country to recognize the State of Israel, and for good reason. Over the last 75 years, Israel has become the greatest ally of the United States--our shared values, shared heritage. The relationship between our two Nations is unbreakable. I fundamentally believe that the terrorist attacks of October 7 perpetrated by Hamas are about one thing: Hamas does not believe Israel has the right to exist. Hamas wants to eradicate the Jewish people from the face of the Earth. They say so. Other bad actors like Hezbollah share that perspective. Iran, the greatest state sponsor of terrorism in the world, the backer and funder of Hamas, has been calling for the eradication of the State of Israel for millennia. They don't believe they have the right to exist. This resolution seeks to reaffirm the commitment made by President Truman upon Israel's founding. We not only recognize Israel, we reaffirm Israel's fundamental right to exist. In the wake of the horrific October 7 attacks on Israel, we saw Members of this body and other opponents of Israel call for the elimination of Israel. When they chant: ``From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free,'' they mean that Israel will not exist. I want Palestinians to be free. I want them to be free from their oppressors: Hamas and the Palestinian authority. Hamas has used Palestinians as human shields even until today. As Israel prosecutes this war against this terrorist organization, Hamas uses Palestinians as human shields, camping out in hospitals and schools, launching missiles, shooting innocent civilians. I watched in horror the 21-minute unedited, raw footage of the October 7 terrorist attack. Every Member of Congress was offered the opportunity to watch a 45-minute viewing of that attack. Nearly half of Congress chose not to come, including some of the Members who have made it clear that they don't support Israel's right to exist. On college campuses and city streets, we see people calling for an intifada, actively promoting the destruction of the Jewish state. Everyone has a right to say what they want about a foreign government, to say what they want about war, but they don't have the right to delegitimize the very existence of the Jewish state to justify terror. The State of Israel was created 75 years ago to reestablish the native homeland of the Jewish people. For centuries, Jews were discriminated against and persecuted wherever they went. This culminated in the attempted genocide of European Jews during the Holocaust; 6 million Jews slaughtered. This most recent genocide provides new urgency to reestablish the Jewish homeland where the Jewish people were displaced, and we wanted to create a homeland where they weren't a vulnerable minority, where they could freely practice their faith, and where something like the Holocaust could never happen again. Yet, on October 7, we saw the largest slaughtering of Jews since the Holocaust. Yet, still today, many Jews view Israel as the safest place for them to live, even as rockets and missiles come from all sides. Denying Israel's right to exist is denying the Jewish people the right to self-determination. It is denying the Jewish people's historic ties to the land. It is justifying war crimes against babies, and let's call it what it is, it is anti-Semitic. I urge all of my colleagues to support this commonsense resolution that makes one thing fundamentally clear: Israel has a right to exist. Congress must never stop pushing back against Israel's opponents, and we must reject biased attempts to destroy our greatest ally. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations.

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

Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for closing. It should be clear by now to each and every Member of this body on both sides of the aisle and every American that Israel has a right to exist. This sentiment is unequivocal and is a critical point to unequivocally voice now in our ally's time of need. Harry Truman recognized the State of Israel 11 minutes after its founding. For 75 years, the United States and Israel have had a special bond. Israel is the only multiracial, multiethnic, multireligious democracy in the Middle East. It is a beacon of hope, of freedom, and of opportunity. If anyone in this body believes that they do not have the right to exist, please explain to us and the American people what nation does. This is a simple vote, and every Member should be on record in support of Israel's right to exist. If they cannot muster the courage to support Israel's right to exist at this moment, they don't belong in Congress, period. This is a simple vote, and I encourage all of my colleagues to stand with Israel, to defend and reaffirm their very right to exist, and to defend the right of the Jewish people to practice their faith. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LAWLER

Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on this measure.

Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, stretching from the mountains of Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico, the Rio Grande River also forms over 1,200 miles of the international border between the United States and Mexico. The Treaty on Utilization of Waters of the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande, signed in 1944, secures consistent and dependable water supplies for both countries, which is critically important in our desert Southwest. The treaty obligates Mexico to make available to the U.S. not less than 350,000 acre-feet of water per year from the main channel of the Rio Grande, averaged over a consecutive 5-year period. However, since 1994, Mexico has, on multiple occasions, failed to fulfill its Rio Grande water delivery commitments. The latest data indicates that we have now moved into year 4 of the 5-year cycle, and Mexico is in arrears of over 680,000 acre-feet of water, nearly two full years' worth. Mexico's recurring failure has reached real-world repercussions, especially for American farmers and ranchers, who have suffered devastating crop and cattle losses. U.S. diplomats and officials must urge Mexico to honor its commitments and establish regulations to regularize water deliveries. With this resolution, the House of Representatives affirms its support for the United States to use its resources to secure compliance by the Mexican Government. I thank my colleague from Texas, Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz, for introducing this bipartisan measure, which received unanimous support in the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. De La Cruz), the author of this resolution.

Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LAWLER

Mr. LAWLER. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. LAWLER. Madam Chair, today, I rise to urge the House to adopt my amendment, which would strip colleges and universities of Federal funding if they authorize, facilitate, provide funding for, or otherwise support any event promoting anti-Semitism on their campuses. In the wake of the horrific October 7 attack on Israel, we have seen a startling rise of anti-Semitism in our country and across the globe. On college campuses, we have seen students carrying signs, pins, or flags supporting Israel be violently attacked. This kind of behavior, and colleges and universities condoning it, is abhorrent. As I have said before, the U.S. Constitution grants people the right to say what they want, but that doesn't mean that the taxpayers should be paying for it, especially not at a time when the scourge of anti- Semitism is yet again on the rise. From 2020 to 2021, anti-Semitic hate crimes increased by 20 percent. From 2021 to 2022, anti-Semitic incidents in the United States rose by 36 percent. This year, anti-Semitic incidents have skyrocketed. I have people living in my district who are scared to go to their synagogues on the weekend for fear of being attacked. It is wholly and totally unacceptable. This disturbing trend cannot be allowed to continue, and it is incumbent upon each of us to speak out and denounce anti-Semitism wherever it rears its ugly head. That starts by refusing to subsidize this hate on college campuses. It is a simple concept: If you want to maintain your Federal funding or student aid, don't hold events that peddle in the same anti-Semitic tropes embraced by the enemies of Israel and America throughout the world who want nothing short of the destruction of both. People chanting ``glory to the martyrs'' and praising the resistance of Hamas are objectively partaking in horrific anti-Semitism, praising the largest slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust. Chanting ``from the river to the sea'' is calling for the eradication of Israel. It is vile. It is wrong. It is unacceptable. This amendment serves colleges and universities notice that it will not be tolerated. Madam Chair, this morning we watched a video that was the raw footage of the terrorist attack on October 7--women, children, babies were slaughtered. Hamas terrorists were joyful with glee. One terrorist called their parents to brag about slaughtering 10 Jews with their bare hands. Why? Because at a young age in Gaza, in the West Bank, they are taught to hate Jews, taught that killing Jews is acceptable. Here in the United States of America, college campuses, universities are teaching that anti-Semitism is okay, that calling for the eradication of Israel is okay. Anti-Semitic hate is at the root of the terrorism that we are seeing, and it must stop. People have the right to free speech. They have the right to voice their opinions, but we do not have to pay for it. If colleges and universities don't have the courage to crack down on this crap, then they should be defunded. Frankly, I question the judgment of anybody who would vote against this. Taxpayer money should never be used to fund hate. Madam Chair, I encourage all of my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LAWLER. Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Chair, today, I rise in support of my amendment No. 146 to the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill, which increases funding for the Head Start program. Head Start is a critical program that provides comprehensive early childhood education, health nutrition, and parental involvement services to low-income children and families. My district alone has almost a dozen Head Start locations, each providing crucial services to families in Rockland, Westchester, Putnam, and Dutchess Counties, which is why it is so critical that we continue to provide robust funding for Head Start. My amendment does just that, increasing funding to the Head Start program by $100 million and ensuring that this critical service has the support that it needs. As a father of a young daughter, I am seeing just how inquisitive and curious she is, and I know that there are tens of thousands of children like her in my district who would benefit from an early childhood development program. That doesn't even include the tens of millions of children who have benefited from the program's existence across the Nation. Mr. Chair, I ask my colleagues to support amendment No. 146 and show the American people that we want to build on the successes of Head Start. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Chair, I would remind the gentlewoman from Connecticut there is a reason she is the ranking member and not the chair, and it is because when her party was in complete control of Washington, they spent $5 trillion in new spending in just 2 years. The American people elected a House Republican majority to govern, to rein in much of the spending that occurred in the prior 2 years. I believe the Head Start program is critical, which is why I have put forth an amendment to increase the funding by $100 million. According to the gentlewoman's statements, she is opposed to taking $100 million from the management account of the Department of Education because we need to make sure that we have bureaucrats, rather than providing the funding for disadvantaged children across this country. My objective is to make sure that the money that we spend actually goes into our communities rather than Washington, D.C., and the bureaucracy that has been created here. I think this amendment is important. I thank the gentlewoman for acknowledging she does not believe we should increase the funding further by opposing this amendment. She thinks we should spend the $100 million on bureaucrats rather than the children. I thank her for acknowledging that. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Chair, clearly the gentlewoman hasn't met a dollar that she doesn't like to spend. We don't have a revenue problem in Washington, D.C. In fact, our revenue is at its highest levels ever. This is not an issue of revenue; it is an issue of spending. In the prior 2 years, in the prior Congress, the Democrat majority increased spending by $5 trillion in 2 years in new spending. It is unsustainable. It is why we have dealt with record inflation under this administration. It is why energy costs have skyrocketed; grocery costs have skyrocketed. The gentlewoman would like to continue down that path and just keep spending money we don't have. This appropriations process that we are going through, we have to make decisions. We have to make cuts that actually bring our government into size. If it was up to her, not only would we spend everything they have spent over the last 2 years, they would probably increase it another $5 trillion because who cares? It is not their money; it is the American peoples' money. It is the taxpayers' money. We have to make decisions. That is why we were elected, to govern. I felt this amendment appropriate because I do think the Head Start program is important. I do think it provides valuable opportunities for underprivileged children across this country, and we need to continue to fund it, but the gentlewoman would just like to spend money we don't have, make it up out of thin air. It doesn't work that way. Mr. Chair, I would encourage all of my colleagues to support this amendment, to increase funding for this critical program, and pay for it by eliminating funding for bureaucrats in Washington and spending that money on the children. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LAWLER

Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Speaker, as a point of personal privilege, I would like to recognize my grandparents, John and Eileen Lawler, who are here with us tonight. Mr. Speaker, I just returned from a bipartisan delegation trip to Israel, where we met with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Gallant, and U.S. Ambassador Jack Lew. We also met with the family members of some of the 240 hostages currently being held by Hamas and viewed raw footage of the barbaric terrorist attack of October 7. Mr. Speaker, let's be clear: Hamas is a terrorist organization that not only wants to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth, they want to eliminate the Jewish people. They must not only be defeated, they must be destroyed. I support Israel's right to defend itself and denounce the ludicrous calls for a cease-fire. No one in this room would have called for a cease-fire after September 11, and no one should hold Israel to a standard we would not hold ourselves. The United States must stand resolute in our support for Israel. This is a battle of good versus evil. As Edmund Burke said: The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Let us not be Neville Chamberlains; let us be Winston Churchills: ``Victory at all costs . . . for without victory, there is no survival.''

Mr. LAWLER

Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today it adjourn to meet on Monday, November 13, 2023, when it shall convene at noon for morning-hour debate and 2 p.m. for legislative business.

Mr. LAWLER

Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Speaker, in 1893, Katharine Lee Bates wrote ``America the Beautiful.'' In it she wrote: ``God shed His grace on thee and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.'' As the Bible says in Psalm 72:8: He shall have dominion from sea to sea and from the river unto the ends of the Earth. That is aspirational. Chanting ``from the river to the sea'' is not. Chanting ``from the river to the sea'' is calling for the eradication of Israel. I would hardly define that as aspirational. My colleague Representative Rashida Tlaib has parroted the talking points and the message of Hamas, a terrorist organization whose sworn mission is the destruction of Israel and the eradication of the Jewish people. Israel is our strongest ally in the Middle East, a beacon of hope, peace, and liberty in the region. It is the only multicultural, multiethnic, and multireligious democracy. It is not an apartheid state. The oppressor of the Palestinian people is Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. Mr. Speaker, if you want Palestinians to be free, then reject Hamas, reject the Palestinian Authority, and demand that Hamas surrender. Calling for a cease-fire that they won't abide to is outrageous. They need to immediately surrender and return the hostages to their families. My colleague repeated a vile and disgusting lie that Israel bombed a hospital knowing full well that was factually inaccurate and knowing full well that this administration, the Biden administration, advised her it was inaccurate, gave her a private briefing, and still she continued to repeat this vile and disgusting lie. Why? It was intended to undermine. It was intended to turn the world against Israel. Why? It is because when she chants ``from the river to the sea,'' she believes it. Mr. Speaker, she believes Israel should be eradicated because otherwise you would never, ever repeat that vile, vile statement. It is not a lie. That is why we are here. It is not a lie, and that is why we are here. Paul Kessler was killed for holding an Israeli flag in the United States of America. We are losing respect for the sanctity of life, the rule of law, and the important role of faith. We must combat anti-Semitism, and it starts with this censure.

Mr. LAWLER

Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Chair, tonight, I rise to advocate for the passage of my amendment to the T-HUD bill, amendment No. 3, which would allocate an additional $10 million toward the DOT's Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements account, otherwise known as CRISI. The CRISI program is designed to provide financial support for project development and infrastructure upgrades, including station improvements, improving rail system reliability, and grade crossing projects, to ensure efficient and safe rail service. CRISI also assists with the creation and improvement of grade crossing projects, something of critical importance to my constituents and others across the country. Nowhere is rail safety more important than in New York's 17th Congressional District, where hundreds of thousands of my constituents live within 5 miles of a train track or train station. Earlier this year, we saw the impacts of rail safety concerns when a sweeping brush fire was ignited near the train tracks in Rockland County. Thankfully, due to the efforts of our heroic first responders, no one was injured or killed, but the fire came awfully close to doing serious damage and causing potential loss of life, which is why it is so critical to ensure that CRISI is funded appropriately. Earlier this year, I sent a letter with dozens of my colleagues calling for the full funding of this program, and this amendment helps toward that goal. Rail safety is not something that should be shortchanged in funding, especially after the disasters we have seen nationwide, including in East Palestine, Ohio. Mr. Chair, I urge all of my colleagues to support this critical amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), the chair of the Rules Committee.

Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Chair, I think it is important, obviously, to increase support for safety improvements, given some of the incidents that we have seen across the country. Mr. Chair, in response to my colleague across the aisle, I don't think we would be in this situation if the prior Congress didn't increase spending by over $5 trillion in 2 years. In looking to find savings for the American taxpayer while making sure that these programs are funded to the degree that they need to be, I think it is important that we increase funding in this account by $10 million, and I encourage all of my colleagues to support that. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LAWLER

Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Speaker, we must stand with Israel in its time of need. This funding will go a long way toward ensuring that Israel has the ability to defend itself from the horrific campaign of terror waged by Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, and other terrorists organizations. What occurred on October 7 is akin to what happened to our country on December 7, 1941, or September 11, 2001. Israel has a right to defend itself and fight back against those who would see them eradicated from the face of the Earth. No one told the United States after Pearl Harbor or 9/11 not to hold the perpetrators of those attacks accountable. The perpetrators of this attack on Israel are an insidious organization that has attacked their country. Hamas' stated goal is the elimination of the State of Israel, and by extension, the genocide of the Jewish population living in it. We cannot let that happen. We cannot let that happen. We have Members in this body who have voted against condemning Hamas and voted against holding Iran accountable. Members of this body are calling for a cease-fire despite the fact that Hamas has already stated this is just the first step. They will not abide by a cease-fire. This legislation before us today would provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel. This is a significant defense supplemental that includes $801.4 million in extra funding for ammunition procurement, $3.5 billion in funding for foreign military financing, $50 million in evacuation assistance support for the U.S. Embassy in Israel, $4 billion for Iron Dome and David's Sling defense systems and other Defense-wide procurement, and $38.6 million for Air Force procurement. This bill is necessary for our closest ally in the Middle East, which is why I urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to join us in passing this critical aid for Israel to show our support for this beacon of hope and freedom in the Middle East. We cannot let our differences divide us on this critical issue. We cannot allow the bright candle of democracy in the Middle East to be extinguished by Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran. We cannot allow Israel to lose. This legislation is not conditioning aid. It is paying for it. Apparently, my Democratic colleagues still don't understand that we cannot just continue to borrow and print new money at every opportunity. We have a debt that is approaching $34 trillion. It costs money, and we have to pay for it. To oppose this simply because you don't like the fact that there is an offset is absurd. Mr. Speaker, I look forward to everyone joining in passing this bipartisan legislation.