[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 178 (Monday, October 30, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5222-S5223]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Supplemental Funding

  Madam President, on the supplemental, tomorrow morning, the Senate 
Appropriations Committee will hear testimony from Defense Secretary 
Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken about why Congress 
must pass President Biden's supplemental request--with aid for Israel, 
Ukraine, the South Pacific, and humanitarian help for Gaza--and do so 
quickly.
  Right now, America faces an unavoidable moment of truth. Democracy 
and freedom are under attack around the globe in ways we have not seen 
since the end of the Cold War. We must pass the President's 
supplemental as soon as we can, with bipartisan support, for a simple 
and important reason: It will make the world safer for the United 
States, our allies, and our democratic values.
  In the Middle East, Hamas and its allies, like Iran and Hezbollah, 
seek nothing less than the total annihilation of Israel, the only 
democracy in the Middle East and the only Jewish

[[Page S5223]]

State on Earth. In Europe, Putin continues his onslaught against the 
Ukrainian people with the goal of not just subjugating Ukraine but 
reasserting Russia as a world power along the lines of the old Soviet 
Union. In the South Pacific, China's aggression continues to magnify, 
increasing military activities off the coast of Taiwan, ramming into 
Philippine Coast Guard ships, and having near misses with an American 
B-52 bomber over international airspace. That is what the Chinese 
Government is doing, and this is all in just the past few weeks.
  And in Gaza we must ensure that humanitarian aid gets to civilians 
who need it urgently. This is one of the things that I pushed strongly 
for President Biden to include in his supplemental request.
  All of these challenges share one thing in common: They directly 
impact--directly impact--America's national security, America's 
democratic values, and the international world order that has allowed 
democracy to take root. The way forward is exceptionally clear: We must 
pass the President's supplemental request, which has funding for 
Israel, Ukraine, and the South Pacific, while also providing critical 
humanitarian aid for Gaza.
  America does not have the luxury of burying our head in the sand or 
leaving our friends to fend for themselves. If we want the world to 
remain a safe place for freedom, for democratic principles, and for 
America's prosperity, we must defend against those who are working hard 
to undermine us. So we need to pass this supplemental as soon as we 
can.
  We need to work with our colleagues in the House to ensure all these 
forms of aid make it to the President's desk. We must not succumb to 
the false allures of isolationism that the hard right now professes, 
because the only thing that will achieve is to make America less safe.