[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 24 (Friday, February 9, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S600]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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 SENATE RESOLUTION 554--CALLING FOR THE URGENT DELIVERY OF SUFFICIENT 
       HUMANITARIAN AID TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF CIVILIANS IN GAZA

  Mr. WELCH (for himself, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Sanders, Mr. 
Merkley, Ms. Smith, Mr. Booker, Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Warnock, 
Ms. Warren, Mr. Warner, Mr. Schatz, Ms. Stabenow, Ms. Klobuchar, and 
Mr. King) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 554

       Whereas the population of the Gaza Strip, an estimated 
     2,200,000 people, are classified as in crisis or worse with 
     respect to levels of acute food insecurity as reported by the 
     Integrated Food Security and Nutrition Phase Classification;
       Whereas, according to the World Food Program, an estimated 
     1,700,000 people are facing potential imminent starvation in 
     Gaza;
       Whereas women habitually eat last and least in times of 
     heightened food insecurity;
       Whereas the World Health Organization reports that a lack 
     of adequate medical supplies, food, water, and fuel have 
     severely compromised an already under-resourced health system 
     in Gaza;
       Whereas, according to the World Health Organization, there 
     are only 16 partially functioning hospitals in Gaza;
       Whereas the World Health Organization has recorded an 
     increased risk of preventable diseases, diarrhea, and acute 
     respiratory infections in Gaza;
       Whereas the water and sanitation systems in Gaza have been 
     severely damaged or destroyed, and the United Nations has 
     reported that more than 96 percent of the available water 
     supply in Gaza is unfit for human consumption;
       Whereas there has been extensive damage to other critical 
     infrastructure in Gaza, impeding the delivery of humanitarian 
     aid;
       Whereas improvements to the deconfliction process are 
     needed in Gaza to allow humanitarian organizations to safely 
     carry out their missions delivering aid to individuals most 
     in need;
       Whereas the United States has helped lead the humanitarian 
     response in Gaza and is the largest single-state funder of 
     humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people;
       Whereas, prior to the conflict that began in 2023, an 
     average of 500 trucks carrying fuel, commodities, and private 
     sector goods entered Gaza every working day;
       Whereas the number of aid trucks entering Gaza has fallen 
     to an average drastically below 500 per day;
       Whereas the opening of Kerem Shalom crossing was a welcome 
     step in facilitating an increase in aid delivery into Gaza;
       Whereas the process of inspections of aid trucks seeking 
     entry to Gaza remains inefficient, creating substantial 
     delays in the delivery of aid; and
       Whereas United States officials have worked to increase 
     access for aid trucks and to alleviate the humanitarian 
     crisis in Gaza, but far more needs to be done: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate urgently calls on the 
     administration of President Joseph R. Biden, in coordination 
     with United States allies and partners within the 
     international community, to help facilitate a dramatic 
     increase in humanitarian aid to prevent starvation and 
     disease in Gaza by--
       (1) streamlining the inspection of trucks entering Gaza;
       (2) increasing the access points for aid deliveries into 
     Gaza;
       (3) ensuring the distribution of adequate fuel to hospitals 
     and humanitarian organizations in Gaza;
       (4) ensuring the ability of humanitarian organizations to 
     deliver aid safely and urgently in Gaza;
       (5) expanding the number of safe shelters and food 
     distribution locations for displaced people in Gaza;
       (6) supporting efforts to restore water supply lines; and
       (7) working to secure the additional funding necessary to 
     support the humanitarian response.

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