[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 50 (Thursday, March 21, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H1299-H1300]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          THE CLOCK IS TICKING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, we have less than 25 hours until we adjourn 
for 2 weeks. We will go home. We will see our families. We will see our 
constituents. Nobody on the front lines of Ukraine will be going home 
in 25 hours. That is a privilege that our Ukrainian and Israeli allies 
do not have, and I would say those who are at risk in Gaza do not have.
  If the Speaker agrees that we should move forward, that we need to 
secure

[[Page H1300]]

the aid that Ukraine so desperately needs, why hesitate? Why put this 
off?
  Putin won't in his quest to conquer Ukraine. Hamas won't in its 
mission to destroy Israel. We cannot afford to delay in our defense of 
freedom and democracy.
  Madam Speaker, the clock is ticking. May it sound in our ears as 
loudly as the Russian salvos that batter the trenches in Ukraine, the 
missiles that slam against the Iron Dome in Israel, and yes, the bombs 
that fall on the helpless.
  Madam Speaker, the tens of thousands of Ukrainian children abducted 
by Russia don't get to adjourn their captivity, neither do the 134 
hostages held in captivity in Gaza, nor do those who are craving 
humanitarian relief in Gaza.

  When Russian troops encircled the city of Avdiivka last month, the 
Ukrainian defenders within didn't get to pack up and head home for 2 
weeks. No, the city fell so quickly that hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers 
were trapped even before they received the order to withdraw. Why? One 
soldier who made it out explained: It was the lack of ammunition, no 
question.
  There are 435 of us that sit in this body that can send that 
ammunition today, or at the latest tomorrow, yet we fail to act. This 
is not a partisan issue. This is an American issue. The world relies on 
America to be its leader, to bring stability where stability can be 
accomplished, to bring safety and freedom where it is achievable.
  Madam Speaker, let us act. Let us act together with the over 300 
votes with respect to Ukraine and some 400 votes with respect to 
Israel. That is the American majority that we represent. Not 
Republicans and Democrats, but America that is willing to stand not 
only for its own freedom but for the freedom of others around the 
world.
  I was at the Elton John concert last night. It was a wonderful 
concert by a wonderful musician. He stood and said to us at the end of 
that concert: As I was growing up as a teenager and in my early 20s, 
all of my heroes were American.
  He was talking about the spreading of American music throughout the 
world and particularly to his home country of England.
  America has been the hero in coming to the aid of those in Europe and 
other places in the world whose freedom was at risk. Yet we remain 
silent in the sense of voting to pass a bill that was passed by 70 
Members of the United States Senate, Republican and Democrats, all 
Americans, saying: We are here, we are coming, and we will stay 
steadfast to defend you, your people, and your freedom against the 
aggressors who would undermine freedom's holy light.
  We are America. We have a responsibility that no other nation has, 
and it is to be that city on the hill, to be that beacon, to be that 
torch of liberty, and to be that country that will respond in a timely 
fashion to defend freedom here and around the world.
  Let us act before we leave this town.

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