Legislative Round-Up-June 28, 2024

Produced by the Foundation for Middle East Peace. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

  1. Bills & Resolutions

  2. Letters

  3. Hearings & Markups

  4. Israel/Palestine in 2024 Elex/Politics

  5. Selected Media & Press releases/statements

This week’s round-up was guest-written by Haydn Welch and Sheridan Cole, advocacy officers at the Middle East Democracy Center, with contributions by Lara Friedman.

1. Bills & Resolutions

(Well-Being of Refugees) H.Res.1314 and S.Res.743: Introduced 6/21/24 by Lieu (D-CA) and 58 cosponsors in the House and Cardin (D-MD) and 22 cosponsors in the Senate, “Reaffirming the importance of the United States promoting the safety, health, and well-being of refugees and displaced persons in the United States and around the world.” H.Res.1314 referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Judiciary Committee; S.Res.743 referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. [The text notes that approximately 75 percent of the population of Gaza have been internally displaced.] Also see: press release – Rep Lieu and Sen Cardin Lead Bicameral Resolution Supporting Refugees Worldwide

(Shielding IDF From Accountability) H.Res.1323: Introduced 6/26/24 by Burchett (R-TN) and cosponsored by Moskowitz (D-FL), Lawler (R-NY), and Gottheimer (D-NJ), “Rejecting the United Nations decision to place the Israel Defense Force on a list of child’s rights abusers.” Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. Also see: press release – Rep. Burchett introduces bipartisan resolution defending IDF against UN condemnation

FY25 SFOPs – House
Lara’s full analysis/summary of the Middle East-related details of the FY25 SFOPs bill and the accompanying report is available here.

>>State-of-play: On 6/28, the House of Representatives passed the FY25 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act in a heavily lopsided vote of 212 – 200, with only one Democrat (Gluesenkamp Perez D-WA), voting in favor.

>>Amendments of Note That Were Adopted

  • Amendment from Moskowitz (D-FL) that prohibits funds being made available for the State Department to cite statistics obtained from the Gaza Health Ministry. The amendment passed 269 – 144, with 62 Democrats joining Republicans to adopt the amendment.

    • See also: Tlaib (D-MI) 6/27/24 X-post and floor speech condemning the amendment. [“It’s disgusting that my colleagues would support legislation to prohibit U.S. officials from even citing the Palestinian death toll. They want to erase the Palestinians who are living, and now they are trying to erase the Palestinians who are dead. This is genocide denial.”]

    • The Intercept 6/27/24: 62 Democrats Join 207 Republicans in Vote to Conceal Gaza Death Toll

  • Amendment from Connolly (D-VA) that “increases and decreases funding by $5 million to support civil society in Tunisia and express concern for Tunisia’s authoritarian trajectory and an intensified crackdown against political opponents which has dissolved parliament, annulled the existing constitution, and disbanded the independent judicial system.” The amendment was passed en bloc.

  • Amendment from Waltz (R-FL) that prohibits funds from SFOPs appropriations bill being used to support the Gaza aid pier. The amendment passed 209 – 200.

  • Amendment from Ogles (R-TN) that prohibits the use of funds from being used to administer or enforce National Security Memorandum 20, which “directs the Department of State to seek assurances from partners involved in conflict and receiving U.S. military grant assistance that they would abide by U.S. and international law.” The amendment passed 216 to 197.

FY25 Defense Appropriations – House

>State-of-play: On 6/28, the House of Representatives passed the FY25 Defense appropriations bill in a similarly lopsided vote, 217 – 198, with five Democrats voting in favor.

>Amendments of Note That Were Adopted

Amendments from Ogles (R-TN) that recommends that the U.S. Army and the Defense Security Cooperation Agency “should not participate in the Eurosatory exhibition or any international defense exposition that restricts or threatens to restrict the full participation of Israeli-owned companies.” Both amendments were passed en bloc.

2. Letters

3. Hearings & Markups

6/26/24:The House Committee on Education and the Workforce’s Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a hearing entitled, “Combating Workplace Antisemitism in Postsecondary Education: Protecting Employees from Discrimination.” Witnesses included Mark Rienzi, President and CEO of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, Professor Brian Keating of the University of California, San Diego, Melissa Emrey-Arras, the Director of Education, Workforce, and Income Security at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, and Professor Dafna Golden of Mt. San Antonio College. [Excerpt from Rep Kiley R-CA)’s opening statement: “College may be out for the summer for the most part, but the rise of antisemitism remains a grave risk to students, faculty, and American higher education…It cannot be tolerated.”] NOTE: Witness Brian Keating, in response to a question from Rep. Stefanik (R-NY), recommended the banning of masks and “full head gear and covering” as a tool to address rising antisemitism on campuses.

4. Israel/Palestine in 2024 Elex/PoliticsNew York

Missouri

  • Politico 6/27/24: The Squad could lose a second member. It’s not the warning sign you may think. [“Notably, both AIPAC and DMFI passed on spending in Rep. Summer Lee’s (D-Pa.) race, the first member of the Squad to face a primary challenge this year. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) crushed her primary opponent on Tuesday. And most members of the Squad didn’t even draw a challenger, including Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) — though there was a recruitment effort — and Greg Casar (D-Texas). Neither group has indicated that they’re jumping into Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-Minn.) primary, where she faces Don Samuels, a former member of the Minneapolis City Council who came close to unseating her in the midterms.”]

  • Axios 6/26/24: All eyes on Cori Bush after fellow “Squad” member’s ouster [“Unlike Bowman, Bush hasn’t been endorsed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) or his top deputies, Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.). Those endorsements are forthcoming, two House Democratic leadership sources told Axios, with one saying they will happen “eventually.”]

  • USA Today 6/26/24: Will Cori Bush be ousted like Bowman? New poll shows her opponent leading by one poin

5. Selected Media & Press releases/statements

Netanyahu & The Hill

Congressional Visits to Israel

  • Landsman (D-OH) 6-24-24: Landsman Returns from Bipartisan Congressional Visit to Israel [“The major military operations in Gaza are likely coming to an end within weeks, and Hamas’ military and governing capabilities appear to have been effectively destroyed. Ending Hamas’s reign will allow Israel and the Palestinians to move forward in peace. The remaining priority must be to get every hostage home and ensure the surge in humanitarian aid gets to every corner of Gaza.”]

  • The Hill 6-26-24: Netanyahu meets with Fetterman: ‘Israel has had no better friend’

    • See also: The New Yorker 6-24-24: John Fetterman’s War; Isaac Herzog 6-25-24: X-post, Netanyahu 6-26-24: X-post [“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US Senator John Fetterman, and thanked him for his visit and his consistent support of Israel. The PM told the Senator that his standing up to pro-Palestinian demonstrators, while waving an Israeli flag, was courageous and heart-warming.”]

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s Visit to DC

  • Washington Post 6-26-24: U.S. war aid of $6.5 billion discussed during ‘productive’ Gallant visit [“In the early weeks of the conflict, emergency shipments to Israel were expedited aboard U.S. military aircraft. In a few instances at the end of last year, the administration also invoked emergency authorities to bypass Congress in order to approve the sale of arms and ammunition to Israel, a move that prompted objections from some Democratic lawmakers about the fast-rising civilian death toll in Gaza as Israel stepped up its bombing campaign and ground operations.”]

  • Reuters 6-26-24: Israeli defense chief says progress made on munitions supply in US talks [“‘During the meetings we made significant progress, obstacles were removed and bottlenecks were addressed, in order to advance a variety of issues, and more specifically the topic of force build-up and munition supply that we must bring to the State of Israel,’ Gallant said in a statement.”]

  • Yoav Gallant 6-23-24: X-post [“Great discussion with Senator @LindseyGrahamSC about the importance of ongoing U.S. support as we work to bring the hostages home, continue dismantling Hamas capabilities and defend our northern border against Hezbollah. Thank you Senator, for standing with Israel.”]

  • Yoav Gallant 6-25-24: X-post [“Thank you Leader @SteveScalise for standing with Israel and for the warm welcome from the Chairmen of the House Committees. Your leadership and friendship is critical to the U.S. – Israel relationship.”]

  • House Foreign Affairs Committee Majority 6-25-24: X-post [“CHM @RepMcCaul: ‘I had a productive meeting today with Israeli Defense Minister @yoavgallant. We discussed Iran’s role as the head of the snake, backing terror proxies in the Middle East & I reiterated the importance of strong U.S. deterrence through support for our ally Israel.’”]

Pro-Israel Lobbying

Other stuff