[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 61 (Wednesday, April 10, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2680-S2681]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Unanimous Consent Request--S. 4093

  Mr. BUDD. Mr. President, it has been more than 6 months since Hamas 
committed heinous acts of evil against innocent civilians. It was the 
worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust.
  Tragically, the attack included the murder and kidnapping of U.S. 
citizens. For the hostages still being held in Gaza, the terror 
continues. The hostages are being deprived of food, water, and 
medicine. They are being subjected to unbearable violence, abuse, and 
torture by Hamas terrorists.
  Think about the pain, the uncertainty, and the fear that has gripped 
the families day after day for more than 180 days. This is personal for 
Americans, but it is particularly important to those of us in North 
Carolina.
  One of our fellow citizens is among those still being held, Keith 
Siegel. Seeking the release of hostages demands strength, demands moral 
clarity. We demand it from our own leaders, and we should require it 
from our major allies.
  I believe it is time for our Nation to reexamine whom we can count on 
to be on our side and who stands on the side of the terrorists.
  The State of Qatar, for example, hosts Hamas leaders in their capital 
of Doha. Now, initially, Qatari officials claimed that they were 
exercising leverage on Hamas. Then, they publicly stated thereafter 
that they don't have any leverage. And now, they are promoting a cease-
fire, regardless of the release of the hostages.
  After 6 months, the patience of the United States has run out. The 
truth is that Qatar does have significant leverage over Hamas. They 
have the ability to expel these terrorists if they don't release the 
hostages or at least engage in reasonable negotiations.
  In fact, last month, a bipartisan group of Senators stated clearly 
that ``if Hamas refuses reasonable negotiations, there is no reason for 
Qatar to continue hosting Hamas' political office or any of its members 
in Doha.''

  After multiple more than fair offers from Israel, Hamas has refused 
to accept any deal or even show flexibility on terms. The truth is that 
Hamas is not interested in releasing the hostages, and Qatar seems 
equally uninterested in forcing them to do so. It is time that we hold 
nations like Qatar accountable for their dithering and for their 
stalling.
  Since 2022, Qatar has enjoyed ``Major Non-NATO Ally'' status. This 
designation is a privilege that nations like Qatar must continuously 
earn.
  Failure to take action against Hamas is beginning to look like tacit 
support for a foreign terrorist organization designated by the United 
States. This is not acceptable behavior for a Major Non-NATO Ally.
  That is why I introduced a bill this week to require the Secretary of 
State to formally certify four things: One, whether it is in the 
national interest of the United States for Qatar to maintain its 
designation as a Major Non-NATO Ally; two, whether Qatar has exerted 
any and all leverage it has over Hamas to secure the release of the 
U.S. hostages from Gaza; three, that Qatar does not directly or 
indirectly support--financially or otherwise--acts of international 
terrorism or foreign terrorist organizations, including Hamas; and, 
four, that Qatar has expelled or agreed to extradite to the United 
States any individuals bearing responsibility for the terror attack on 
October 7, 2023.
  If the Secretary of State cannot make the certification in good 
faith, then the President is required to immediately terminate the 
designation of the State of Qatar as a ``Major Non-NATO Ally.''
  I don't introduce this bill lightly. It is not where I started with 
this relationship, but it is a reflection of where we are today as a 
result of the repeated warnings that Members of Congress have given to 
Qatar about the liability of continuing to host Hamas.
  Since October 7, I have engaged privately and publicly with Qatar. At 
times, I have even thanked them, including for the November hostage 
deal, which included the release of some U.S. citizens. But I have also 
been clear about expectations for Qatar's relationship with Hamas and 
mediation of a hostage crisis moving forward.
  You see, the United States expects its allies to use all leverage and 
exert all possible pressure to secure the release of our citizens when 
they are taken hostage.
  At the beginning of this year, I told the Qataris that time is up and 
the United States will be watching. It is now long past time, and we 
have been watching closely. The time for talking is over, and the time 
for action is now. If we don't see action, then Qatar must face 
consequences.
  At the end of the day, the bill represents another step toward 
securing the freedom of our fellow Americans. It is my sincere hope 
that this Chamber can speak with one voice in solidarity and assure 
these families that we are indeed doing everything to bring their loved 
ones home.
  So as in legislative session and notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask 
unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate 
consideration of S. 4093, which is at the desk; I further ask that the 
bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to 
reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. MURPHY. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, I agree 
with the Senator from North Carolina that our priority as a nation and 
as a Senate should be negotiating the release of the hostages that 
Hamas currently holds. But the surest way to guarantee that those 
hostages never get released is to pass this resolution.
  I get it. We may not like the fact that we have to be negotiating 
with a terrorist organization. We may not like the fact that someone in 
the region has to be the conduit for those talks. But we don't live in 
a world of fantasy; we live in a world of reality.
  And the reality is, without Qatar playing a role, as they 
historically have, to try to unwind crises in the Middle East more 
broadly and specifically between Israel and Hamas, there is no existing 
alternative. If you don't want the hostages released, then pass this 
resolution.
  Further, with great respect for my colleague, I think this resolution 
is fundamentally dangerous when it comes to protecting broader U.S. 
interests in the region.
  We have 10,000 Americans right now based in Qatar, mostly at Al Udeid 
Air Base. That airbase allows the United

[[Page S2681]]

States of America to project power and to protect our interests 
throughout the region.
  It is naive to think that you can pass a resolution downgrading our 
status with Qatar without there being an impact on that base, our 
personnel there, and our ability to use that base as a means to protect 
our interests around the region.
  Qatar is the third largest customer of U.S. defense systems in the 
world. There are a lot of American jobs at stake when it comes to our 
relationship with Qatar. And the Qataris, over and over again, respond 
when America is in crisis. They housed more than 70,000 Afghans during 
the evacuation of our forces and of Afghan allies. Almost nobody else 
in the world would do that. But the Qataris said yes because the United 
States asked them.
  They are an imperfect ally. They are an imperfect ally. This is a 
repressive regime with a bad history on human rights and worker rights, 
but they are a critical ally.
  But more to the point of the Senator's resolution, the Senator's main 
critique is that Qatar hosts Hamas, a terrorist organization. I can 
understand why some bristle at that notion of an ally of the United 
States playing host to Hamas. Qatar plays host to Hamas because they 
were requested to do so by the United States. Hamas established an 
office there because the United States asked them to do that in 2012 
because we knew we needed an ability to talk to Hamas.
  Qatar played a contributing role in Egypt-led negotiations to get a 
cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in 2014, 2019, and 2021. Why? 
Because we were able to talk to Hamas through their presence in Qatar.
  And yes, Qatar has been a conduit to send money to Hamas. A lot of 
people may bristle at that notion, as well--our ally Qatar sending 
money to the Hamas political organization inside Gaza, as they have 
done for years. Qatar did that at Israel's request. Israel approved, in 
a security Cabinet meeting in 2018, an arrangement whereby Qatar, 
through their relationship with Hamas, would send money into Gaza ``in 
coordination with security efforts to return calm [in] villages of the 
south, but also to prevent a humanitarian disaster'' in Gaza. That was 
the Israeli position.
  So I understand the discomfort of an ally having a relationship with 
Hamas. It has come at the request of the United States and at the 
request of Israel and is absolutely vital to protecting our ability to 
get hostages out.
  If you want to make sure those hostages never leave, then cut off 
Qatar's role as an intermediary. You want to fundamentally harm U.S. 
interests in the region, you want to shut down our airbase, you want to 
eliminate the ability of Qatar to help us again when we are in need, as 
we were as we evacuated Afghanistan--then downgrade their status.
  For those reasons, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The Senator from North Carolina.
  Mr. BUDD. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Connecticut. That 
was beautiful, articulate. It was a beautiful articulation of all the 
reasons to support my bill.
  You see, this week, some of the hostages' families are in Washington 
to meet with leaders from all branches of government. I have met with 
them many, many times, and every time I come away deeply moved by the 
strength and resilience that they are showing in the space of an 
unspeakable evil.
  I let them know that not only are all levels of our government 
working to bring their loved ones home safely, but that I would do 
everything in my power to make it happen. Sometimes that means being 
direct, even with friends like Qatar. Sometimes, that means making 
allies uncomfortable.
  But the truth of the matter is that friends are honest with one 
another. So this is more than about just a bilateral relationship 
between two nations. This is about the well-being of U.S. citizens and 
a native of my home State, North Carolina.
  While the Senate won't be able to pass this today because of the 
objection, it is my hope that we can work through the committee process 
to get this bill across the finish line. But, more importantly, while 
Qatar has done less than hoped and expected, and other allies like 
Egypt have thankfully stepped up to fill the unfortunate void, let this 
bill be a tool to move the hostage negotiations forward and secure the 
release of all the hostages being held in Gaza.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.