[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 41 (Wednesday, March 20, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H1641-H1642]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     PRESIDENT OBAMA GOES TO ISRAEL

  (Mr. ROSKAM asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ROSKAM. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to announce that over 100 
colleagues have joined together on both sides of the aisle to send a 
letter to President Obama commending his trip to Israel and also asking 
him to use it as an opportunity to continue to put the imprimatur of 
the administration on a strong U.S.-Israeli relationship. We also urge 
the President to continue to make sure that all options are on the 
table as it relates to Iran and their nuclear ambitions and that we 
should continue to adopt a policy of prevention and not containment.
  Similarly, we said that we need to protect Israel's Qualitative 
Military Edge and Israel's inherent right to defend itself, and also 
recognize that the Israeli-Palestinian peace process can

[[Page H1642]]

only be achieved and advanced through direct negotiations without 
preconditions.
  Finally, we said that the President must maintain foreign aid to 
Israel, as well as funding for Iron Dome and other Israeli-made 
antimissile defense systems.
  In a nutshell, we've urged the President to use this as a time to 
highlight our relationship with the Nation of Israel because it makes 
all the sense in the world, and it's a foundation upon which prosperity 
can happen.

                          ____________________