[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 172 (Thursday, October 19, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5112-S5113]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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     SENATE RESOLUTION 417--STANDING WITH ISRAEL AGAINST TERRORISM

  Mr. SCHUMER (for himself, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Risch, Ms. 
Baldwin, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. 
Booker, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Braun, Mrs. Britt, Mr. Brown, Mr. Budd, Ms. 
Butler, Ms. Cantwell, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Carper, Mr. Casey, Mr. Cassidy, 
Ms. Collins, Mr. Coons, Mr. Cornyn, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. Cotton, Mr. 
Cramer, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Daines, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Durbin, Ms. 
Ernst, Mr. Fetterman, Mrs. Fischer, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Graham, Mr. 
Grassley, Mr. Hagerty, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Hawley, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. 
Hickenlooper, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Hoeven, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. Johnson, Mr. 
Kaine, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. King, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Lankford, 
Mr. Lee, Mr. Lujan, Ms. Lummis, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Markey, Mr. Marshall, 
Mr. Menendez, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Moran, Mr. Mullin, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. 
Murphy, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Ossoff, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Paul, Mr. Peters, Mr. 
Reed, Mr. Ricketts, Mr. Romney, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Rounds, Mr. Rubio, Mr. 
Sanders, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Schmitt, Mr. Scott of Florida, Mr. Scott of 
South Carolina, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Sinema, Ms. Smith, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. 
Sullivan, Mr. Tester, Mr. Thune, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Tuberville, Mr. Van 
Hollen, Mr. Vance, Mr. Warner, Mr. Warnock, Ms. Warren, Mr. Welch, Mr. 
Whitehouse, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Wyden, and Mr. Young) submitted the 
following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 417

       Whereas on October 7, 2023, Hamas, an organization 
     designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist 
     organization, launched

[[Page S5113]]

     an unprecedented attack on Israel by air, land, and sea;
       Whereas this heinous assault took place just after the 50th 
     anniversary of the multi-front 1973 Yom Kippur War against 
     Israel and while Israeli Jews were preparing to celebrate 
     Simchat Torah;
       Whereas Hamas, which has long been supported by Iran, 
     launched thousands of rockets into southern and central 
     Israel;
       Whereas Hamas terrorists crossed the Israeli land border, 
     killing civilians and abducting hostages in more than 20 
     towns in southern Israel, including children and the elderly;
       Whereas the initial attack killed more than 1,300 Israelis 
     and injured thousands more;
       Whereas American citizens in Israel are among those killed 
     and abducted by Hamas since October 7, 2023;
       Whereas since October 7, 2023, Hamas is directly 
     responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians;
       Whereas expansion of this war to other fronts by Hezbollah, 
     Iran, or others would create an even more devastating 
     regional catastrophe;
       Whereas Iran has long provided hundreds of millions of 
     dollars in material support to Hamas and other terrorist 
     groups, such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad;
       Whereas since 1998, the United States Government has 
     supported successive Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) between 
     the United States and Israel, and in the MOU negotiated in 
     2016, the United States pledged to provide Israel with 
     $3,300,000,000 per year in foreign military financing and 
     $500,000,000 per year in missile defense funding for 10 
     years, which Congress has appropriated annually since 2018;
       Whereas section 513(c) of the Security Assistance Act of 
     2000 (Public Law 106-280), as amended by section 1273 of the 
     United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 
     2020 (subtitle H of title XII of Public Law 116-283), 
     authorized not less than $3,300,000,000 in foreign military 
     financing for Israel for fiscal years 2021 through 2028, in 
     accordance with such MOU;
       Whereas Congress has responded with emergency supplemental 
     appropriations beyond the terms of such MOU, when needed, 
     such as a $225,000,000 appropriation in 2014 to replenish 
     immediate Iron Dome interceptors after Hamas fired thousands 
     of rockets into Israel, and appropriations of an additional 
     $1,000,000,000 for the Iron Dome after the May 2021 conflict 
     during which Hamas launched more than 4,400 rockets into 
     Israel; and
       Whereas the United States will make every effort to prevent 
     Iran, Hezbollah, and others from entering the conflict 
     against Israel, including increasing credible regional 
     deterrence through the deployment of naval and air assets to 
     the Middle East:
       Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved,

     SECTION 1. SENSE OF THE SENATE.

       The Senate--
       (1) stands with Israel as it defends itself, including 
     Israeli efforts to diminish the threat posed by Hamas;
       (2) reaffirms Israel's right to self-defense, and is 
     committed to helping Israel safeguard its people from future 
     aggression;
       (3) calls on all countries to unequivocally condemn Hamas' 
     war on Israel, including Hamas' intentional targeting of, and 
     attacks against, civilians;
       (4) demands that Hamas immediately cease its attacks 
     against Israel and safely release all living hostages and 
     return the bodies of deceased hostages;
       (5) condemns Iran's support for global terrorism, including 
     its support for terrorist groups such as Hamas and 
     Palestinian Islamic Jihad;
       (6) calls on the United States to lead an international 
     effort to deprive Hamas of Iranian and other sources of 
     funding and lethal assistance that the terror group relies on 
     to threaten Israel;
       (7) warns against any other party hostile to Israel taking 
     advantage of the current situation;
       (8) reaffirms the United States' commitment to Israel's 
     security; and
       (9) stands ready to assist Israel with emergency resupply 
     or other security, diplomatic, and intelligence support 
     needs, both during the immediate crisis and in the near 
     future, including by accelerating delivery of defense 
     articles and systems.

     SEC. 2. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

       Nothing in this resolution may be construed as a 
     declaration of war or an authorization for the use of 
     military force.

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