1. Bills, Resolutions & Letters
2.
Hearings
3. On the Record
1. Bills, Resolutions, Letters &
Other
As noted in last week’s Round-Up, this past
weekend was AIPAC’s annual policy conference, followed by its lobby days which saw thousands of conference
attendees on the Hill promoting AIPAC’s legislative agenda. That agenda comprised asks of Congress in 5
areas:
AIPAC Legislative Agenda Item #1:
Counter Iran's Regional Aggression (HR 1698 and S. 722)
AIPAC ask: “In both chambers of Congress, lawmakers
have introduced bipartisan bills to respond to Iran’s malign behavior in the Middle East. The Iran Ballistic
Missiles and International Sanctions Enforcement Act (H.R. 1698), authored by House Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed
Royce (R-CA) and Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY), aims to strengthen sanctions targeting Iran’s ballistic missile
activity and illicit arms transfers. Similarly, the Countering Iran’s Destabilizing Activities Act of 2017 (S.722),
authored by Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) Chairman Bob Corker (R-TN), Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and
SFRC Ranking Member Ben Cardin (D-MD), bolsters sanctions across an array of activities in response to Iran’s
dangerous activities in the region.”
Comment: The substance of these bills was covered in last week’s Round-Up. As of this writing (at 10am on
3/31/17), HR 1698 has 92 cosponsors (53 GOP, 39 Dems, plus Royce, R-CA, who is the sponsor), and S. 722 has 28
cosponsors (15 GOP, 13 Dems, plus Corker, R-TN, who is the sponsor). Also see analysis from the Arms Control
Association: Sanctions Bill Poses
Risk for Iran Deal; also see: Al-Monitor
3/29: Congress cautiously takes on Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
AIPAC Legislative Agenda Item #2:
Support Direct Negotiations, Not Imposed Solutions (H. Res. 11, S. Res. 6)
AIPAC ask: “Please thank your representative for supporting H. Res. 11 and thank your senators for cosponsoring S. Res. 6.”
Comment: It appears that AIPAC has given up on getting the Senate
to pass S. Res. 6, which had 78 cosponsors (plus Rubio, R-FL, the sponsor). H. Res. 11, which had 134 cosponsors
(plus Royce, R-CA, the sponsor), was passed by the House 1/5/17 by a vote of 342 - 80, with 4 voting “Present.” For
background on what happened with S. Res. 6, see the 1/13/17 edition of the Round-Up; for background on what
happened with H. Res. 11, see the 1/6/17 edition
of the Round-Up.
AIPAC Legislative Agenda Item #3:
Support Security Assistance for Israel (Durbin-Young
Letter)
AIPAC ask: “Please urge your members of Congress to support
full funding of annual security assistance to Israel—$3.1 billion—as well as $600 million in missile defense
funding. Additionally, please urge your senators to sign a bipartisan letter authored by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL)
and Todd Young (R-IN) [to SAC and SAC/ForOps leaders] expressing support for robust funding for the Fiscal
Year 2018 International Affairs Budget.”
Comment: The Durbin-Young letter reflects AIPAC’s longtime
position that supporting aid for Israel requires supporting robust overall foreign aid. In the past, this position
was used to push back against arguments that Israel was getting too big a piece of the foreign aid pie. The
response given was that the problem wasn’t that Israel’s piece wasn’t too big but that the pie was too small. This
position has been challenged in recent years, and never more so than in the current year, by those who want to
inflict huge cuts on foreign aid overall, but promise to preserve aid to Israel. And thus you get an AIPAC-backed
letter supporting robust foreign affairs funding (and not mentioning Israel at all).
AIPAC Legislative Agenda Item #4:
Oppose the Delegitimization of Israel (S. 720, HR 1697,
Rubio-Coons letter)
AIPAC ask: “From the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to the
broader Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, Israel is under assault. Currently, Congress is working
on several initiatives to stand with Israel. Please urge your members of Congress to cosponsor the Israel Anti-Boycott Act and urge senators to sign the Rubio-Coons letter to the U.N. Secretary General demanding an end to
the U.N.’s anti-Israel bias.”
Comment: The substance of these bills was covered in last week’s Round-Up. As of this writing (at 10am on
3/31/17), S. 720 has 15 cosponsors (11 GOP, 4 Dems, plus Cardin, D-MD, the sponsor); HR 1697 has 50 cosponsors (31
GOP, 19 Dems, plus Roskam, R-IL, the sponsor). NOTE: On AIPAC’s website, the page promoting these bills fails to
mention anywhere that the real goal/impact of the legislation is not preventing BDS targeting Israel but rather
legitimizing/protecting/promoting settlements (consistent with the way AIPAC has presented all of the conflation
bills thus far, other than briefly in 2015, when its website referenced “Israel and her territories” – a reference
that was quickly removed – happily, there was a screen shot!).
The Rubio-Coons letter, for its part, praises UN Ambassador Nikki Haley recent criticism of the UN for anti-Israel
bias. The letter goes on to endorse many of the demands AIPAC and other right-wing groups have been making for
years, including the demand to shut down Palestinian-focused entities at the UN and threatening UNESCO, UNRWA, and
the UNHRC if they do not change their evil pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel ways.
AIPAC Legislative Agenda Item #5:
Fight the Boycott of Israel (HR 1697, S.
170)
AIPAC ask: “Israel has long been targeted with economic
warfare, and Congress has a proud history of defending the Jewish state from such attacks. Please press your
lawmakers to fight the boycott of Israel. Specifically, please urge your members of Congress to cosponsor the Combating BDS Act of 2017 and to cosponsor the Israel Anti-Boycott Act.”
Comment: HR 1697 was covered in last week’s Round-Up and, as noted
above, currently has 50 cosponsors (31 GOP, 19 Dems, plus Roskam, R-IL, the sponsor). S. 170 was introduced 1/17/17
and has 32 cosponsors (21 GOP, 11 Dems, plus Rubio, R-FL, the sponsor); the substance of S. 170 was covered in
detail in the 1/27/17 edition of the Round-Up.
NOTE: AIPAC’s page pushing these bills fails to mention anywhere that the real goal/impact of the legislation is
not preventing BDS targeting Israel but rather
legitimizing/protecting/promoting settlements.
*****
(HONORING SHIMON PERES) H.
Res. 137: Introduced 2/16 by Cicilline (D-NH) and currently having 48 cosponsors (39 Democrats, 9
Republicans), “Honoring the life of Shimon Peres.” Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Passed by HFAC 3/29; Cicilline press release is
here.
(15th ANNIVERSARY OF [THE US & ISRAEL DISMISSING] THE ARAB PEACE INITIATIVE) H. Res. 231: Introduced 3/28 by
Hastings (D-FL), “Celebrating the importance of the 15th Anniversary of the Arab Peace Initiative as a
meaningful effort by Arab countries to the commitment of peace in the Middle East.” Referred to the House
Committee on Foreign Affairs. Hastings’ statement introducing the resolution is here;
press release is here.
*****
LETTERS
(BEWARE OF ONE-STATE OUTCOME) Price-Connolly
letter: On 2/28 Reps. Price (D-NC) and Connolly (D-VA) began circulating a Dear Colleague seeking
cosigners on a letter to President Trump, warning of the dangers of a one-state outcome. As of 3/24, the letter was
sent to President Trump with 191 signers, including nearly all House Democrats, plus Jones (R-NC) and Duncan
(R-TN). Price press release is here. Connolly press
release is here. During AIPAC,
Minority Leader Pelosi (D-CA) read the text of the letter from the dais, as part of her address to the
conference. As reported widely in the media, J Street was the moving force behind the letter. NOTE: In a
really great piece of reporting, Aaron Magid at the
Jewish Insider provides insight into some of the Democrats who declined to sign the letter: Gottheimer (D-NJ)
said he didn’t sign the letter because it was “partisan”; Vargas (D-CA) – who, it is worth recalling, is the lead
House Democrat pushing for legislation to, in effect, make it U.S. policy to support/defend/promote settlements by
legislating that settlements are part of Israel – rejected the letter because he said opposes putting pressure on
Israel; and Waters (D-CA) didn’t sign because she refuses to write to or meet with Trump.
(TRUMP'S & THE CORRUPT IRAN-LINKED OLIGARCH) Brown-Cardin-Feinstein letter: On 3/30
Senators Brown (D-OH), Cardin (D-MD) and Feinstein (D-CA) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin,
Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and FBI Director James Comey calling for a federal investigation into whether
President Trump’s business dealings in Azerbaijan may have violated anti-corruption and sanctions laws, and may
have served as a channel for money-laundering and other illicit activities tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps (IRGC). Press release is
here.
(US MILITARY ENGAGEMENT IN YEMEN)
Pocan et al letter: This week Reps. Pocan (D-WI), Amash (R-MI), Lieu (D-CA) and Jones (R-NC) are seeking
cosigners on a letter to President Trump expressing “serious concern over reports that your administration is
actively considering ‘direct support for the anti-Houthi coalition’ of militaries led by Saudi Arabia in
Yemen.” The letter warns [bolding in the original text] that “Engaging our military against Yemen’s
Houthis when no direct threat to the United States exists and without prior congressional authorization would
violate the separation of powers clearly delineated in the Constitution. For this reason, we write to request that
the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) provide, without delay, any legal justification that it would cite if the
administration intends to engage in direct hostilities against Yemen’s Houthis without seeking congressional
authorization.” The letter goes on to ask for the OLC to provide legal opinions regarding other Trump
Administration actions, statements and policies vis-à-vis Yemen. For more on this letter/issue, see: Congress
raises alarm over US confrontation with Yemen's Houthis (Al-Monitor
3/30).
*****
OTHER
(ONCE AGAIN STATING THAT OneVoice WAS CLEARED OF WRONG-DOING) Senate Report
115-12: On 3/28/17 the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs issued a report reviewing
the Committee’s activities during the 114th Congress. The report includes a section on the investigation
and July 2016 report by the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations into allegations of misuse of U.S. funding by
the NGO OneVoice. The report reiterates the findings that: “OneVoice Israel fully complied with the terms of its
State Department grants” and “The Subcommittee found no evidence that OneVoice spent grant funds to
influence the 2015 Israeli elections.”
2. Hearings
4/5: The House Committee on oversight and government
Reform’s Subcommittee on National Security will hold a hearing entitled, “Assessing the Iran Deal.” As of
this writing no witnesses have yet been announced.
4/5: The
House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats will hold a hearing
entitled, “Turkey’s Democracy Under Challenge.” Scheduled witnesses are: David Phillips,
Columbia University; Mehmet Yuksel, People’s Democratic Party in Turkey; Ali Cinar, Turkish Heritage Organization;
and Naz Durakoglu, Digital Forensic Rese,
4/4: The House Financial
Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade and Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance
will hold a joint hearing entitled, “Increasing the Effectiveness of Non-Nuclear Sanctions Against Iran.”
Scheduled witnesses are: Behnam Ben Taleblu, FDD; J. Matthew McInnis, AEI; Emanuele Ottolenghi, FDD; and [token
non-far-right-winger] Suzanne Maloney, Brookings Institution. NOTE: Based on the title of the hearing, it is
probable that it will deal with HR 1698,
the new AIPAC-backed Iran sanctions bill introduced last week by Royce (R-CA) and currently having 64 cosponsors
(and lobbied heavily by AIPAC this week), and which was referred to a number of House committees, including
Financial Services.
3/30:
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing entitled, “The Road Ahead: U.S. Interests, Values, and the
American People.” Witnesses were: former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former National Security
Advisor Steve Hadley, who (unusually) submitted a joint statement.
3/29: The House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa held a hearing
entitled, “Testing the Limits: Iran’s Ballistic Missile Program, Sanctions, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps.” Witnesses were: Kenneth Katzman, Congressional Research Service; Michael Eisenstadt, WINEP; and
Elizabeth Rosenberg, CNAS. Video of the hearing is here.
Ros-Lehtinen’s (R-FL) statement is
here. Unusually, as of this writing, no written testimony has been posted for any of the witnesses.
3/29: The House Armed Services Committee held a hearing entitled, “Military Assessment of the Security
Challenges in the Greater Middle East.” The sole witness was General Joseph Votel, Commander, US Central
Command (statement).
Video of the hearing is here.
3/29: The
Committee on Homeland Security’s Counterterrorism and Intelligence Subcommittee held a hearing entitled,
“Terrorism in North Africa: An Examination of the Threat.” Witnesses were: Geoff Porter, North Africa Risk
Consulting, Inc. (Testimony);
Laith Alkhouri, Flashpoint (Testimony);
J. Peter Pham, Atlantic Council (Testimony);
and Frederic Wehrey, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Testimony).
Chairman King’s (R-NY) opening statement is here. Video of the hearing is
here.
3/28: The Senate
Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing entitled, “The View from Congress: U.S. Policy on Iran.”
Witnesses were: Michael Singh, WINEP (testimony); and Martin Indyk,
Brookings (testimony). Video
of the hearing is here. Corker
(R-TN) statement is
here; Portman (R-OH) statement is here;
Cardin (D-MD) statement is here.
3/28: The House Armed Services Committee held a hearing entitled, “Military Assessment of Russian Activities
and Security Challenges in Europe.” The sole witness was General Curtis M. Scaparrotti Commander, United States
European Command (statement).
Video of the hearing is here. General Scaparotti’s statement
covers a great number of developments in and related to the Middle East, including a fairly detailed discussion of
EUCOM’s mission to assist Israel (page 21).
3. On the Record
Messer (R-IN) 3/30: General Petraeus Meets with Republican Policy Committee on National Security, discussed
national security challenges in the Middle East, including in Syria and Iran, and efforts to combat radical Islamic
extremism.
Cotton (R-AR)
3/30: Floor statement on recent trip to Mideast [Slamming Obama’s Iran policy, praising Israel, etc…]
Feinstein
(D-CA) 3/30: Feinstein Opposes New West Bank Settlements
Farenthold
(R-TX) 3/29: Floor statement, “The Important Relationship Between the United States and Israel”
(endorsing/pitching all the AIPAC legislative asks)
Ros-Lehtinen
(R-FL) 3/29: Floor statement, “Anti-Semitism at the United Nations” – among other things, mischaracterizing the
UN Human Rights Council call for people to cease doing business with settlements as “a blacklist to target
individuals and entities that do business with Israel”
(emphasis added), slamming UNESCO, and citing “efforts to take Israel to the International Criminal Court or to
force Israel to agree to a one-sided peace plan” – all of which she describes as “the height of
delegitimatization.” She goes on to promise to “introduce a bill soon that addresses these problems at the
U.N…”
Buchanan (R-FL) 3/29: Buchanan Meets with Jewish Leaders on Anti-Semitism, Israeli-US Relations (AIPAC)
Peters (D-MI) 3/29: Peters Cosponsors Legislation to Recognize and Encourage U.S-Israel Economic
Partnership
Rounds (R-SD) 3/28: SASC Cyber Subcommittee Chairman Mike Rounds Hosts Informal Meeting with Israeli
Directorate
Ryan (R-WI) 3/28:
Highlight Reel of Speaker Ryan’s Remarks to AIPAC
Gottheimer (D-NJ) 3/27:
Gottheimer Addresses Importance of Bipartisan Support for Israel at AIPAC Policy Conference
McSally (R-AZ) 3/27: Rep. McSally Highlights Tucson’s Role in US-Israel Alliance at 2017 AIPAC Policy
Conference
Ryan
(R-WI) 3/27: FULL TEXT: Speaker Ryan’s Remarks at 2017 AIPAC Policy Conference
Ratcliffe
(R-TX) 3/27: Rep. Ratcliffe Speaks at AIPAC’s Annual Policy Conference [“Rep. Ratcliffe (R-Texas)
highlighted his ongoing legislative efforts to bolster U.S.-Israel cybersecurity cooperation today at AIPAC’s
Annual Policy Conference. He was joined by Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) on a panel moderated by AIPAC’s Assistant
Director of Policy & Government Affairs, Taylor Parker...”]
Hastings (D-FL) 3/24:
**MEDIA ADVISORY** Hastings to Speak at AIPAC Policy Conference