Legislative Round-Up: June 16, 2017

Produced by the Foundation for Middle East Peace in cooperation with Americans for Peace Now, where the Legislative Round-Up was conceived

  1. Bills, Resolutions & Letters
  2. Iran Sanctions Bill in the Senate - Details
  3. Hearings
  4. On the Record

 

1.Bills, Resolutions & Letters

(LEGISLATING SUPPORT FOR SETTLEMENTS AT THE EXPENSE OF FREE SPEECH) HR 2856: Introduced 6/8 by McHenry (R-NC) and 7 bipartisan cosponsors, “To provide for nonpreemption of measures by State and local governments to divest from entities that engage in commerce-related or investment-related boycott, divestment, or sanctions activity targeting Israel, and for other purposes.” As indicated in McHenry’s press release touting introduction of the bill, this is a House version of S. 170, introduced 1/17 by Rubio (R-FL) and having 37 cosponsors (25 Republicans, 12 Democrats) and on which no action has been taken since introduction. Like S. 170, HR 2856 fundamentally has nothing to do with supporting or defending Israel, and everything to do with defending and promoting settlements. For full analysis of S. 170, see the January 27th edition of the Round-Up.

**UPDATE** ON FAUX-PRO-ISRAEL, PRO-SETTLEMENTS BILLS: HR 1697, S. 720, and S. 170: All three of these bills – which (a) conflate Israel and settlements, (b) seek to legislate U.S. support for settlements, and (b) would sacrifice Constitutionally-protected free speech on the pretext of defending Israel (bad enough) but in reality to quash opposition to settlements – continue to quietly gather bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. Not coincidentally, all three also feature on AIPAC’s website as priorities in AIPAC’s 2017 legislative agenda (HR 2856, the new House companion to S. 170, is sure to join them there soon). Also, both Senate bills were offered as amendments this week to S. 722 (discussed in Section 2, below) – and as noted in the discussion of HR 10 (below), a related amendment was offered and then withdrawn for that bill. Update on where things stand on these three pieces of freestanding legislation:

  • HR 1697, “The Israel Anti-Boycott Act” was introduced 3/23 by Roskam (R-IL) and Vargas (D-CA) (along with Zeldin, R-NY, and Sherman, D-CA), in the context of AIPAC’s 2017 Washington Policy Conference AIPAC. For full analysis of this faux-pro-Israel measure see this previous edition of the Round-Up. As of 6/16, the bill has 211 cosponsors.
  • 720, “The Israel Anti-Boycott Act,” was introduced 3/23 by Cardin (D-MD) and Portmen (R-OH), also in the context of AIPAC’s 2017 Washington Policy Conference AIPAC. For full analysis of this faux-pro-Israel measure see this previous edition of the Round-Up. As of 6/16, the bill has 39 cosponsors.
  • 170, the “Combating BDS Act of 2017,” was introduced 1/17 by Rubio (R-FL). For full analysis of this faux-pro-Israel measure see this previous edition of the Round-Up. As of 6/16, the bill has 38 cosponsors.

(DEFENDING ISRAEL’S QME) HR 2833 (pdf of text is here): Introduced 6/8 by Schneider (D-IL) and Tenney (R-NY), “To require the President to assess the effects of the sale or export of major defense equipment to countries in the Middle East on the qualitative military edge of Israel, and for other purposes.” Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. HR 2833 seeks to expand the requirements added to US law in 2014, when Congress passed S.2673, the “United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014,” which became Public Law 113-296. Among other things, that law amended Section 36(h) of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2776(h)) to add explicit Israel/QME-related requirements (applicable through the present day) with respect to determination for the sale or export of major defense equipment: “(A) a detailed explanation of Israel's capacity to address the improved capabilities provided by such sale or export; (B) a detailed evaluation of-- (i) how such sale or export alters the strategic and tactical balance in the region, including relative capabilities; and (ii) Israel's capacity to respond to the improved regional capabilities provided by such sale or export; (C) an identification of any specific new capacity, capabilities, or training that Israel may require to address the regional or country-specific capabilities provided by such sale or export; and (D) a description of any additional United States security assurances to Israel made, or requested to be made, in connection with, or as a result of, such sale or export.” Schneider press release is here; Tenney press release is here. One notable element of HR 2833 is the requirement that the President “seek to consult with appropriate officials of the Government of Israel for information regarding Israel’s qualitative military edge” before making the determination required under the law.

(ANNUAL JERUSALEM DAY FARCE) S. Res. 176: Introduced 5/24 by McConnell (R-KY) and 7 bipartisan cosponsors (5 Democrats, 2 GOP), “A resolution commemorating the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem.” Passed 6/5 by a vote of 90-0 – demonstrating once again that there are some things on which Congress can manage to act in a bipartisan manner (even if those things are by no measure genuinely good for Israel or the U.S.). For more fun and games, see this piece in the Free Beacon: “Chuck Schumer Teams with Ted Cruz to Demand Moving Israel Embassy to Jerusalem

($$ FOR ISRAEL ANTI-TUNNELING) HR 2914: Introduced 6/15 by Schneider (R-IL) and Donovan (R-NJ), “To authorize assistance for anti-tunnel defense capabilities for Israel.” Referred to House Foreign Affairs. Schneider press release is here.

(NEW IRAN SANCTIONS – BALLISTIC MISSILES, HUMAN RIGHTS, TERROR) S. 722: Introduced 3/23 by Corker (R-TN) and Menendez (D-NJ) and having 57 bipartisan cosponsors, the “Countering Iran’s Destabilizing Activities Act of 2017.” Amended on the Senate floor the week of 6/12, passed by the Senate 6/15 with a new title, “An Act to Provide Congressional Review and to Counter Iranian and Russian Governments' Aggression,” by a vote of 98-2 (only “no” votes were Sanders, I-VT and Paul, R-KY). Details in Section 2, below. AIPAC strongly backed the bill; AIPAC’s statement commending the Senate’s passage of S. 722 is here.

(DISAPPROVING OF KSA ARMS DEAL) S. J. Res. 42: Introduced 5/25 by Paul (R-KY), Murphy (D-CT) and Franken (D-MN), “A joint resolution relating to the disapproval of the proposed export to the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of certain defense articles.” On 6/13, the Senate held a vote on whether to discharge the bill from the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (effectively a vote on the resolution itself). That vote failed by a vote of mostly (but not entirely) party-line vote of 47-53; the fact that 47 Senators voted “yes” was seen as a strong signal to Saudi Arabia and to the Trump Administration. Paul’s press release following the vote is here. McConnell’s (R-KY) floor statement opposing the measure is here. Floor consideration of the measure is here and here.

(CONCERN FOR YEMEN, ETC) S. Res. 114:  Introduced 4/5 by Young (R-IN) and 6 bipartisan cosponsors, “A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate on humanitarian crises in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen.” On 6/5, placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders.

(CONCERN FOR YEMEN) HR 2795: Introduced 6/7 by Bass (D-CA) and 5 Democratic cosponsors, “To increase coordination among relevant Federal departments and agencies to address United States security and humanitarian interests in Yemen, and for other purposes,” aka, the “Yemen Security and Humanity Act.” Referred to House Armed Services Committee.

(TURKEY  - THIS IS **NOT** OK IN DC) H. Res. 354: Introduced 5/24 by Royce (R-CA) and having 45 bipartisan cosponsors, “Condemning the violence against peaceful protesters outside the Turkish Ambassador's residence on May 16, 2017, and calling for the perpetrators to be brought to justice and measures to be taken to prevent similar incidents in the future.” Passed 6/6 under suspension of the rules by a vote of 397-0.

(ACCOUNTABILITY FOR SYRIA WAR CRIMES) S. 905: Introduced 4/7 by Cardin (D-MD) and having 19 cosponsors (of which 3 are GOP, all of whom were original cosponsors), the “Syrian War Crimes Accountability Act of 2017.” Placed on the Senate Calendar 6/12.

(ACCCOUNTABILTY FOR IRAQ & SYRIA WAR CRIMES) HR 390: Introduced 1/10 by Smith (R-NJ) and having 47 bipartisan cosponsors, the “Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act of 2017.” Passed by the House 6/6 by voice vote, under suspension of the rules. Referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

(NO U.S. BANKING FOR IRANIAN DUAL NATIONALS & OTHERS? [among other things]) HR 10: Introduced 4/26 by Hensarling (R-TX) and having 7 cosponsors (all GOP), the “Financial CHOICE Act of 2017.” Passed by the House 6/8 by a party-line vote of 233-186. As noted in the May 5 edition of the Round-Up, Section 511 of the bill would permit the Federal Government to “formally or informally request or order a depository institution to terminate a specific customer account or group of customer accounts or to otherwise restrict or discourage a depository institution from entering into or maintaining a banking relationship with a specific customer or group of customers” if said customer is “(C) is an agency of the government of Iran, North Korea, Syria, or any country listed from time to time on the State Sponsors of Terrorism list” or “(D) is located in, or is subject to the jurisdiction of, any country specified in subparagraph (C)”; or “(E) does business with any entity described in subparagraph (C) or (D), unless the appropriate Federal banking agency determines that the customer or group of customers has used due diligence to avoid doing business with any entity described in subparagraph (C) or (D)…” NOTE: Buck (R-CO) offered an amendment (subsequently withdrawn) to HR 10, entitled “ Stop Anti-Israel Subsidies,” that “Prevents the Export-Import Bank from offering their services to countries that do not recognize the State of Israel, have a policy in support of the boycott, divest, and sanctions (BDS) movement, or have a politically motivated policy to delegitimize Israel.

(KEEP HEAT ON ARGENTINA OVER AMIA BOMBING) S. Res. 18: Bipartisan resolution introduced 1/23 by Sen. Coons (D-DE) and three cosponsors (now having 6 cosponsors), “reaffirming the United States-Argentina partnership and recognizing Argentina's economic reforms.” The resolution states (among other things) that the Senate “encourages the Government of Argentina to continue to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the 1994 bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) in Buenos Aires, as well as the January 2015 death of AMIA special prosecutor Alberto Nisman.”

(CONDEMNING TERROR ATTACKS, INCLUDING IN IRAN) S. Res. 188: Introduced 6/8 by Corker (R-TN) and Cardin (D-MD), “A resolution condemning the recent terrorist attacks in the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Indonesia, Egypt, Iraq, Australia, and Iran and offering thoughts and prayers and sincere condolences to all of the victims, their families, and the people of their countries.” Agreed to by the Senate by Unanimous Consent 6/8.

 

2.Iran Sanctions Bill in the Senate - Details

Introduced 3/23 by Corker (R-TN) and Menendez (D-NJ) and having 57 bipartisan cosponsors, S. 722 was born as the “Countering Iran’s Destabilizing Activities Act of 2017.” NIAC’s 6/6 memo articulating concerns about S. 722 (as it headed to the floor) is here. Passage of S. 722 was one of AIPAC’s legislative priorities, with the bill introduced in connection with AIPAC’s 2017 policy conference (see discussion in the 3/31/17 edition of the Round-Up).

The Senate was set to debate and pass S. 722 the week of 6/5, but delayed consideration following terror attacks in Iran and to address Democrats’ demands that Russia sanctions be added to the bill (6/7 floor discussion is here). The week of 6/12 the Senate took up S. 722 on the floor. Over the following days 33 amendments were offered to the bill. Of these, only 4 were considered and adopted – SA 232, adding Russia sanctions to the bill; SA 255, re-naming the bill to reflect the added Russia focus; SA 250, providing an exception to measures in the bill for NASA; and SA 240, to “reaffirm the strategic importance of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty to the member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and its contribution to maintaining stability throughout the world.” With those amendments adopted, the Senate moved 6/15 to pass S. 722 by a vote of 98-2 (only “no” votes were Sanders, I-VT and Paul, R-KU). Many, many senators spoke on the Senate floor this week on S. 722 – for text of remarks, see: June 12;  June 13 – here & here; June 14; June 15 – here and here.

As noted above, only 4 out of 33 amendments were considered/adopted. However, it is worth reviewing a number of the other amendments that were offered, as they provide useful insight into (a) existing freestanding legislative initiatives – some entirely unrelated to Iran and two related, in fact, to Israel/settlements – that some senators intend to keep trying to pass, either on their own or attached to any handy legislative vehicle (often with bipartisan backing); and (b) forthcoming freestanding legislative initiatives.

  • Amdt. 223: Offered by Sasse (R-NE), to require “an assessment of Iran's cyber capabilities, cyber force structure, and hostile cyber activities targeting the United States, United States interests, the interests of allies and partners of the United States, and interests of Iran's regional neighbors, including an assessment of the acquisition, development, and deployment by Iran of cyber personnel and capabilities.”
  • Amdt. 230: Offered by Heller (R-NV), to add to the bill the full text of the “Iran Ballistic Missile Sanctions Act” (S. 15).
  • Amdt. 231: Offered by Cornyn (R-TX), with Blumenthal (D-CT), Coons (D-DE), Rubio (R-FL), Portman (R-OH), and Warner (D-VA) cosponsoring, to add to the bill the full text of the “Mahan Air and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2017” (S. 1011).
  • Amdt. 236: Offered by Rubio (R-FL), to add to the bill Section 104 of S. 138, requiring a report on Iranian activities in Iraq and Syria.
  • Amdt. 237: Offered by Rubio (R-FL), to add to the bill Section 102 of S. 138, requiring the President to impose sanctions “with respect to certain foreign persons threatening peace or stability in Iraq and Syria.”
  • Amdt. 238: Offered by Rubio (R-FL) – with cosponsors Portman (R-OH), Fischer (R-NE), Markey (D-MA), Graham (R-SC), Nelson (D-FL), Young (R-IN), Wicker (R-MS), Coons (D-DE), Blumenthal (D-CT), Capito (R-WV), Moran (R-KS), and Heller (R-NV) – to add to the bill the full text of S. 170, the misleadingly-titled “Combating BDS Act of 2017.” This bill seeks to legislate support for Israeli settlements, at the expense of constitutionally-protected free speech. For full analysis of this faux-pro-Israel measure see this previous edition of the Round-Up.
  • Amdt. 239: Offered by Rubio (R-FL), to add to the bill the full text of S. 420, the “Iran Terror-Free Skies Act of 2017.”
  • Amdt. 241: Offered by Cardin (D-MD) – with cosponsors Portman (R-OH) and Rubio (R-FL) – to add to the bill the full text of S. 720, the misleadingly-titled “Israel Anti-Boycott Act.” This bill would legislate that for the purposes of US law, settlements are indistinguishable from Israel, and seeking to bar U.S. companies from differentiating between Israel and settlements. For full analysis of this faux-pro-Israel measure see this previous edition of the Round-Up.
  • Amdt. 243: Offered by Sullivan (R-AK), to impose a “prohibition on certain transactions with Iran” and to block “property with respect to foreign financial institutions that facilitate certain transactions with Iran.” The text of this amendment is similar to provisions in S. 227, Senator Rubio’s (R-FL) “Iran Nonnuclear Sanctions Act of 2017.”
  • Amdt. 244: Offered by Sullivan (R-AK), to impose “prohibition on certain transactions with Iran and blocking of property with respect to foreign financial institutions that facilitate certain transactions with Iran.” The text of this amendment is similar to provisions in S. 227, Senator Rubio’s (R-FL) “Iran Nonnuclear Sanctions Act of 2017.”
  • Amdt. 245: Offered by Cruz (R-TX), to add to the bill the text of S. 67, the “IRGC Terrorist Designation Act.”
  • Amdt. 246: Offered by Toomey (R-PA) to require a “report on book entry transfers conducted by financial institutions in connection with assets of the government of Iran.”
  • Amdt. 247: Offered by Gardner (R-CO) – with cosponsors Coons (D-DE) and Warner (D-VA) – to impose “mandatory sanctions with respect to Iran relating to significant activities undermining United States cybersecurity.” This appears to be an amped-up version of last year’s S. 2756, Sen. Rounds’ (R-SD) “Iran Cyber Sanctions Act of 2016.”
  • Amdt. 248: Offered by Perdue (R-GA) – with cosponsor Casey (D-PA) – to require a “semiannual report on Iran and North Korea nuclear and ballistic missile cooperation.” This is an amped-up version of a requirement included in S. 227 and similar bills.
  • Amdt. 253: Offered by Lankford (R-OK) as a substitute for the entire bill.
  • Amdt. 254: Offered by Moran (R-KS), to impose “restrictions on certain payments relating to claims brought before the Iran-United States claims tribunal.” This is the text of Moran’s S. 2452, introduced in the last Congress (in his floor statement he promised to introduce this again as free-standing legislation).

 

3.Hearings

6/27: Policy Impact Communications has issued an invitation to a “special forum and preview of a new documentary about Iran. Hosted by the Honorable Orrin Hatch, President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate and Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, the forum will bring together leading experts on U.S.-Iranian relations to discuss failures, successes, and policy prescriptions for the future.” The event, to be held in the Capitol Visitor Center, will include presentation of the film, “TRUE IRAN: THE GLOBAL JIHAD – A new documentary featuring The Hon. Bob Corker, Chairman, U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.” The forum will feature a who’s who of Iran hawks: Lt. Col. (ret.) Bill Cowan; Michael Doran (Hudson Institute); Reuel Marc Gerecht (FDD); Cmdr. (ret.) Christopher Harmer; Emanuele Ottolenghi (FDD); Mohsen Sazegara; and Valerie Szybala.

6/22: The House Homeland Security Committee is convening an all-day “Capitol Hill National Security Forum.” Full schedule (and link to attend) is here.

6/21: The House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa will hold a hearing entitled, “Grading the Egyptian and Tunisian Enterprise Funds.” Scheduled Witnesses (so far) are: James Harmon, Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund; and Bowman Cutter, Tunisian-American Enterprise Fund.

6/15: The House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa held a hearing entitled, “Russia’s Strategic Objectives in the Middle East and North Africa.” Witnesses were:  Vladimir Kara-Murza, Open Russia (statement); Anna Borshchevskaya, WINEP
(statement); Brian Katulis, CAP (statement). Video of the hearing is here. Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) opening statement is here.

6/15: The House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade held a hearing entitled, “Foreign Military Sales: Process and Policy.” Tina Kaidanow, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs (statement) and Vice Admiral Joseph Rixey, Director of U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (statement). Video of the hearing is here.

6/14: The Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs held a hearing entitled, “Ideology and Terror: Understanding the Tools, Tactics, and Techniques of Violent Extremism.” Witnesses were: Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Hoover Institution (statement); Asra Nomani,

Muslim Reform Movement (statement); John Lenczowski, Institute of World Politics (statement); and Michael E. Leiter, Former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (no written statement posted). Statements from Chairman Johnson (R-WI) and Ranking Member McCaskill (D-MO) are here and here, respectively. Video of the hearing is here. It is worth noting that Ayaan Hirsi Ali has been named by the Southern Poverty Law Center an “anti-Muslim extremist” and Nomani is an outspoken self-identified Muslim/woman/immigrant supporter of Trump (for some additional background reading on both, see: Bill Maher and Fox News’s Muslim feminism: How Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Asra Nomani embrace the soft Islamophobia of Western expectations). In addition, Lenczowski’s “Institute of World Politics” launched its new Capitol Speaker series on 12/5/16 with an event entitled, “Islamic Jihad and the Role on National Security Law,” featuring Sebastian Gorka and the National Review’s Andrew McCarthy. The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) published its own statement for the record, among other things expressing dismay “that the topic of addressing violent extremism is being discussed with a narrow-scope focus almost exclusively on the Muslim community” and noting that “just as no conversation on violent extremism should single out the Muslim community, no high-level conversation on Muslims should be held without authentic representatives from the community itself.”

Tillerson on the Hill: SecState Tillerson testified before House and Senate authorizers (SFRC/HFAC) and appropriators this week. In each outing he used the same statement, weighing in at barely 4 pages of text (and consequently very very very light on actual substance).  With respect to Israel-Palestine, the most notable thing in these hearings was his statement to Senators on 6/13 that the Palestinians had ceased payments to families of prisoners – a statement that he apparently made in error and that he then had to walk back in a hearing in the House Foreign Affairs Committee the following day (see: Tillerson flip-flops on Palestinian prisoner payments).

  • 6/14: The House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing entitled “The FY 2018 Foreign Affairs Budget.” The sole witness was Secretary of State Tillerson (statement). Video of the hearing is here.
  • 6/14: The House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs held a hearing entitled “Department of State - Budget Hearing.” The sole witness was Secretary of State Tillerson (statement). Video of the hearing is here.
  • 6/13: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing entitled, “Review of the FY 2018 State Department Budget Request.” The sole witness was Secretary of State Tillerson (statement). Video of the hearing is here.
  • 6/13: The Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing entitled, “Hearing to Review the FY2018 Budget for the U.S. Department of State.” The sole witness was Secretary of State Tillerson (statement). Video of the hearing is here.

6/13: The House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa held a hearing entitled, “Challenges and Opportunities for the U.S.-Saudi Relationship.” Witnesses were: former US ambassador to KSA Joseph Westphal (statement); former State Department Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Gerald Feierstein (statement); Karen Elliott House, Harvard University (statement); Tom Malinowski, former State Department Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State (statement). Video of hearing is here. Ros-Lehtinen’s (R-FL) opening statement is here.

6/12: The House Armed Services Committee held a hearing entitled, “The Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Budget Request from the Department of Defense.” Witnesses were: General Joseph Dunford , Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (statement); James Mattis, Secretary of Defense (statement); and David Norquist, Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer (no written statement published). Video of the hearing is here.

6/8: The House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing entitled, “Attacking Hezbollah’s Financial Network: Policy Options.” Witnesses were: Matthew Levitt, WINEP (statement); David Asher, FDD (statement); Derek Maltz, Pen-Link, Ltd. (statement); and Mara Karlin, Johns Hopkins University/SAIS (statement). Chairman Royce’s (R-CA) opening statement is here; video of the hearing is here. The committee posted a blog entry 6/9 entitled, “6 takeaways from yesterday’s hearing on Hezbollah.”

6/7: The House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Strategic Forces held a hearing entitled, “Fiscal Year 2018 Priorities and Posture of Missile Defeat Programs and Activities.” Witnesses were: Lt. Gen. James Dickerson (Commander, Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense, U.S. Strategic Command, and Commander, US Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Strategic Forces Command), statement; Todd Harvey (Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities, Department of Defense), statement; Barry Pike (Program Executive Officer, Army Missiles and Space), statement; and Vice Admiral James Syring (Director, Missile Defense Agency), statement. The statements of Mr. Harvey and Vice Admiral Syring included details of U.S. missile defense cooperation with Israel. Video of the hearing is here.

 

4.On the Record

[NOTE: This section leaves out the many many self-congratulatory statements regarding passage of the Iran sanctions bill in the Senate. Almost all senators said something, either on the floor, in a press release, in a tweet, or on FB. If you need info about what any particular senator said, Google is your friend].

Gillibrand (D-NY) 6/15: Statement on Senate Passage of New Sanctions on Iran and Russia (also bragging about support for the misleadingly-titled “Israel Anti-Boycott Act, S. 720.”

McGovern (D-MA) 6/13: Free Nabeel Rajab (Bahraini human rights activist)

Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) 6/7 (asserting erroneously – but when did facts matter? – that “there are efforts at the United Nations--at UNESCO and the Human Rights Council--that seek to erase all Jewish ties to Jerusalem.”)

Hoyer (D-MD) 6/7: Statement on the 50th Anniversary of the Reunification of Jerusalem

Kustoff (R-TN) 6/7: Kustoff Honors the 50th Anniversary of Jerusalem Reunification

Cardin (D-MD), 6/6: Supporting S. Res. 176

Jackson-Lee (D-TX) 6/6: Expressing concern over Mideast countries and Qatar

Messer (R-IN) 6/6: In 50th Anniversary of the Reunification of Jerusalem

Heller (R-NV) 6/6: Supporting S. Res. 176 (and calling for moving the embassy)

McConnell (R-KY) 6/5: Supporting S. Res. 176

Heller (R-NV) 6/5: Heller Commemorates 50th Anniversary of the Reunification of Jerusalem

Perdue (R-GA) 6/5: Senator David Perdue Commemorates 50th Anniversary Of Reunification Of Jerusalem

Schumer (D-NY) 6/5: SCHUMER ANNOUNCES PASSAGE OF SENATE RESOLUTION COMMEMORATING THE 50THANNIVERSARY OF THE REUNIFICATION OF JERUSALEM

DeSantis (R-FL) 6/1: Statement on Trump Failure to Move Embassy to Jerusalem

Franks (R-AZ) 6/1: Disappointment in Delay to Move Israeli Embassy

Zeldin (R-NY) 6/1: Statement on White House Announcement to Further Delay Move of U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem

Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) 6/1: In Visit to Israel, Ros-Lehtinen Led Delegation Expresses Support for Strengthening Bilateral Relations

Schumer (D-NY) 5/30: SCHUMER SPONSORS SENATE RESOLUTION COMMEMORATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE REUNIFICATION OF JERUSALEM

Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) 5/29: Ros-Lehtinen Led Congressional Delegation Concludes Visit to Jordan

Cole (R-OK) 5/29: Trump's Leadership on the Global Stage (cheering his trip to Mideast)

Duckworth (D-IL) 5/26: Duckworth Addresses AIPAC’s Chicago Gala, Underscores Importance of U.S.-Israel Relationship

Mast (R-FL) 5/26: Mast, Gottheimer, Royce, Engel Introduce Palestinian International Terrorism Support Prevention Act - Bipartisan Bill Sanctions Financial Backers of Hamas