[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 17 (Monday, January 28, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S687-S688]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            THE MIDDLE EAST

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, later this afternoon, the Senate will 
hold its fourth cloture vote on a package of important foreign policy 
legislation that was introduced back on January 4. For weeks, Senate 
Democrats have effectively filibustered this legislation and blocked it 
from moving forward.
  At first, my colleague the Democratic leader said his party was 
simply opposed to considering any other business during the partial 
government shutdown, but then just a few days later, he actually sought 
to move ahead with a foreign policy vote of his own. In other words, 
though Senate Democrats were filibustering this pro-Israel legislation 
with the thin excuse that they didn't want to take up any other 
business, it turns out it was just the pro-Israel legislation that was 
actually off-limits.
  While Senate Democrats were filibustering this legislation, by the 
way, the Democratic House had no problem considering one component of 
it, which it passed by voice vote.
  So I remain curious as to the real reason why the Democrats insisted 
on filibustering these critical bills. Maybe we will get a better 
explanation this week, assuming Democrats finally drop the filibuster 
and allow this body to get back to work. This is an important piece of 
legislation. It comes at an urgent time.
  For the past 8 years, the world has seen a despotic regime wage 
brutal war upon its own people. The conflict in Syria has taken more 
than 400,000 lives and driven more than 5.6 million civilians to flee 
the country, straining the capacity of nations in the region, as well 
as Europe, to deal with the refugee and humanitarian fallout. Bashar 
al-Assad and his cronies have paved the way for the persistent terror 
of the Islamic State and invited the chaotic influence of foreign 
powers, especially Iran and Russia.
  Of course, this is a region that already contends with persistent--
persistent--instability, including Iran's meddling, financial support 
for terror, and explicit threats against Israel, but the legislation at 
hand addresses these challenges actually head-on. It tells our ally 
Israel that our commitment to its security is ironclad. It tells our 
partners in Jordan that we have their backs as they grapple with the 
flow of refugees and other ongoing effects of the Syrian crisis. It 
makes a crystal clear statement to the Syrian regime and those who abet 
it: Your brutality needs to end.
  Here is how the legislation accomplishes all that: It makes sure the 
United States walks the walk when it comes to supporting Israel by 
authorizing military assistance, loan guarantees, and teamwork on 
missile defense.
  Another bipartisan provision would preserve communities' rights to 
combat the destructive BDS movement by ensuring that States and local 
governments can choose not to funnel taxpayer dollars to companies that 
push anti-Israel boycotts.
  With respect to Jordan, the bill before us reauthorizes legislation 
to deepen our cooperation with this key regional partner, which has 
faced grave challenges from the chaos that continues to unfold in its 
neighbor to its north.
  With respect to Syria, this legislation includes the bipartisan 
Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act. As I mentioned earlier, this 
passed the House on a voice vote just last week.

[[Page S688]]

  It would create new pathways to hold accountable the individuals and 
institutions that have tortured and murdered countless Syrian civilians 
over the course of the civil war. It would ensure that unless the 
Syrian regime shifts course and ends its brutality, the nation's major 
industries and financial institutions would pay a heavy price due to 
American sanctions.
  So if it weren't obvious, these are critically important issues, and 
none of them have been put on pause because the Democrats' political 
strategy has blocked this body from taking action.
  Due to the Democrats' filibuster, Israel, Jordan, and the innocent 
people of Syria have already had to wait 24 days for the Senate to 
proceed to these largely noncontroversial and widely supported 
bipartisan bills.
  I hope our colleagues across the aisle don't keep them waiting much 
longer.

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