[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 13, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S349-S350]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        LILLY LEDBETTER FAIR PAY ACT OF 2009--MOTION TO PROCEED


                             Cloture Motion

  Mr. REID. I now move to proceed to Calendar No. 14, S. 181, and send 
a cloture motion to the desk.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The cloture motion having been 
presented under rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the 
motion.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

                             Cloture Motion

       We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the 
     provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate, 
     hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to 
     proceed to Calendar No. 14, S. 181, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair 
     Pay Act.
         Jim Webb, Benjamin L. Cardin, Richard Durbin, Barbara 
           Boxer, Dianne Feinstein, Jeff Bingaman, Mary L. 
           Landrieu, Tom Harkin, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Charles 
           E. Schumer, Sheldon Whitehouse, Christopher J. Dodd, 
           Maria Cantwell, Debbie Stabenow, Patty Murray, Bernard 
           Sanders, Barbara A. Mikulski, Harry Reid.

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the mandatory quorum 
be waived.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. REID. I now withdraw the motion.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The motion is withdrawn.
  The Senator from New Jersey is recognized.


                             Gaza Conflict

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise to talk about the events that 
are in front of us and their significance. We are presently sharing in 
the excitement that surrounds this Capitol and our country at the 
prospect that President Obama will be taking office and leading this 
country in a positive fashion.
  There is a lot of work to do and a lot of concerns have been brought 
to our attention. We are reminded by President-elect Obama that people 
are losing their jobs, and we cannot stand still and let it happen. 
Prospects are that maybe 500,000 new people a month will be out of 
work. The economy is fragile and there is not the capital around to get 
businesses started or to reverse the course we are on. And health care 
is of great concern to people who are uninsured and struggling.
  At the same time that we are concerned about these things now in our 
own country, we have international responsibilities that we cannot 
ignore.
  Even as excitement surrounds us here, inspired by the new President, 
we have to look away from our shores and see what is happening in the 
Middle East where there is fighting raging between Israel and Hamas. 
And even while we face domestic problems, we cannot step back from what 
is happening in the Middle East and the responsibility of America as 
the leading Nation on our globe. Although I bring this up with some 
degree of reluctance, we must discuss the situation that we face.
  We know that governing is about choices. When we look at the Middle 
East right now, the choice for Israel is whether Israel steps aside and 
ignores the attacks on her people that come daily, without provocation.
  We have all heard the opinion around the world about how awful the 
situation in the Middle East is. It is awful. It is terrible. When I 
see children hurt, when I see them killed, when I see families 
distressed as their economy worsens, it is a terrible sight.
  I was in the Gaza Strip some years ago, bringing good news and 
financial assistance to the people of the Gaza as they opened a new 
airport. It was during the time that Arafat was President. There was 
hope springing up all around that maybe they could get out of the 
misery that existed in the Gaza Strip and develop an orderly society.
  Israel is a democracy in an area of many nations that are less than 
democratic. When these economies flourish the wealth falls into a few 
hands, who build their buildings, take their resources, and buy bigger 
yachts and bigger airplanes for themselves and not for their countries. 
But there was hope that maybe the Gaza Strip would become a place of 
opportunity for its people. That is why I was so pleased to be there 
and to bring the promise of aid upon which we had agreed.
  There was no Hamas there at that time. Now, Hamas is there making 
determinations about its future and the future of the people of the 
Gaza. Apparently the choice of Hamas is to continue the assault on 
Israel and to not let discussions take place. I am one of those people 
who support a two-state commitment there, knowing full well that Israel 
is a place that could share its knowledge and experience with the 
people of Gaza. But Hamas refuses to do that. It is a terrorist 
organization.
  I remember a trip I took with several colleagues when we went to Iraq 
and on the way we stopped in Jordan and Syria, and we spoke to the 
President of Syria and I asked him to try to curb the activities of 
Hamas by securing the borders. I said: Why are you encouraging Hamas to 
find refuge here, have their headquarters here along with Hezbollah? 
President Asad said: They are a social service organization.
  Social service--Mr. President, that is no more a social service 
organization than the people who attacked us on 9/11; than the people 
who attacked the British train system; than those who attack innocent 
people in various countries and cities.
  Terrorism is at our throat. We have to be wary. It has changed the 
way our society functions. Look at all the inspections you go through 
if you want to catch an airplane or go into public buildings--always 
with an ID card. We know the results of terrorism. It is to destroy 
democratic society, take away the choices people have in their lives. 
It says women have to conduct themselves in a certain way satisfactory 
and

[[Page S350]]

not have rights to participate in financial opportunities for 
themselves and their families.
  And so we look at Hamas and have to ask: Does it really care about 
the people of Gaza or is it simply dedicated to its terrorist ways? For 
the answer we can review how Hamas conducts itself.
  Once again, I, as a human being, as a person who cares about life and 
family, I am distressed to see the loss of life that is taking place in 
Gaza and in Israel. People are injured and frightened to go out of 
their homes--and yet even their home can be a place where misery 
prevails.
  But Hamas has attacked Israel, firing rockets, and even now, when it 
is perhaps possible to get a cease-fire, they insist on continuing 
rocket firing.
  We have seen the opinions of countries around the world as they look 
at this situation. Instead of just criticizing Israel, why isn't it 
said that Hamas is a terrorist organization that wants to take away 
people's rights, that wants to permit their innocent citizens to be 
used as decoys--in schools and mosques and other places--to try to hide 
the militants who are firing rockets into Israel?
  Hamas starts by saying they don't recognize the right of the State of 
Israel to exist, but Israel has that right and shall defend that right. 
She has built a society from the sands, a society that flourishes, not 
just on the economic side, but on the scientific and research side. 
They have figured out how to grow crops in areas that were arid, and 
how to develop the technology that Israel is known for.
  The practice of medicine is another thing that Israel is known for. 
There is a facility in Israel that I helped fund, in memory of my 
father who died as a very young man--43 years old--from cancer. There 
is a scientist who lived in New Jersey and was a professor at our 
principal institution, Rutgers University.
  And he asked if I would help fund a laboratory and a facility there 
that did cancer research. I said yes. That was some time ago. I know 
they have Arab students there and they have Arab professors there and 
they all cooperate in helping people maintain good health. We have all 
seen stories in the paper about the young Arab child who came to 
Israel, brought by her father, to have a heart transplant. In this way 
Israeli science reaches out to people of all nations and all religions.
  Israel has a right to exist, and a right to exist in peace, and would 
be more than willing to bring in the countries surrounding Israel to 
participate in programs for peace as it has with medicine. But there 
cannot be real peace without security. Israel is taking appropriate 
action to ensure the security of its people, and to ask them to do less 
is unfair.
  It is impossible to say to them that if we had rockets falling on 
Boston, we would not respond or if we had rockets falling on Newark, 
NJ, we would not respond.
  I can tell you, as a resident of New Jersey where we have a 2-mile 
strip that is said by the FBI to be the most dangerous 2-mile strip in 
the country for a terrorist attack, we are constantly on the alert. We 
have boats there, we have guards all over the place, and we make sure 
we are ready to defend ourselves.
  Not only is Israel defending itself, as we would, against deadly 
aggression, it is also putting a stop to the psychological warfare that 
has become a daily part of life for the people in southern Israel. 
Innocent civilians live with constant fear that a rocket might kill 
them, their children, or destroy their home.
  Israel, like the United States, is determined to protect and 
safeguard its people. After 9/11, America sought to eliminate threats 
to our country from Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida. Now Israel is seeking 
to eliminate threats from ongoing terrorist attacks.
  We cannot kid ourselves about the strategy that Hamas used to gain 
power in Gaza. Hamas built up its image among the Palestinian people by 
painting itself as a social service provider. But if they really cared 
about the Palestinian people, they would not use them as human shields, 
and they would not use the rooftops of homes to launch rocket attacks.
  The events of the past few weeks illustrate to the world that 
terrorist groups cannot be permitted to go on menacing the free world 
with terror attacks and there are no countries that are safe from this 
kind of assault.
  Hamas has shown that it cares more about destruction than about 
improving the lives of the people of Gaza. Hamas leaders have chosen to 
ignore the fact that their people are suffering in poverty and instead 
have focused exclusively on hurting Israel.
  So we ask Hamas: Stand up; show that you do care about your people 
and stop attacking Israel's citizens.
  There will be tense days ahead in Israel and Gaza, and I am deeply 
concerned about the loss of innocent life, the pain of losing a family 
member, and injuries that may last for a lifetime.
  To put a stop to the loss of innocent life, Hamas must come to its 
senses and pursue a cease-fire that is sustainable and durable.
  Israel should be joined by nations around the world in pursuing a 
cease-fire because terror is ultimately possible in their own states 
and their own communities, whether it is in India, whether it is in 
France, whether it is in Spain, whether it is in the UK, or whether it 
is in America as we saw on 9/11.
  There is only one way to bring real peace and real security to the 
Middle East: stop the rockets and get the people to the bargaining 
table.
  Negotiations are being attempted with Egypt's active participation. 
We have to encourage these negotiations.
  And it has to be very clear to Hamas and other terrorist 
organizations that they are not going to win by killing people or by 
discouraging free thought and democratic values.

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