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Washington, D.C. – Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul delivered the following remarks at the Full Committee markup in support of H.R. 8437, the “Maintaining Our Ironclad Commitment to Israel’s Security Act.” Chairman McCaul emphasized the critical need to ensure Congress is appropriately notified and consulted on any pause delay in arms shipments to Israel. This includes the weapons the Biden administration unilaterally paused as Israel continues its war against the Hamas terrorists responsible for the October 7th massacre – the single largest murder of Jews since the Holocaust – and as they hold Americans and Israelis hostage. 

WATCH HERE.

— Remarks as delivered — 

Recently, we’ve learned that the administration’s ironclad commitment to Israel is not in fact, ironclad.

In an about-face, the Biden administration is now withholding critical arms necessary for Israel to win this war.

This administration wants to dictate how Israel executes the war they were thrust into.

President Biden said, “If they go into Rafah I’m not supplying the weapons. Period.” That would be similar for us to say during World War II, my father’s war, “You can invade all the way up to Berlin, but you can’t go into Berlin to finish the job.”

President Biden’s decision to withhold weapons, [weapons] the ranking member and I signed off on, and were approved and appropriated by Congress, is tantamount to an arms embargo.

Israel is in a fight for its very existence and this administration’s public break with Israel has only made negotiations and victory more difficult.

This decision was made without consulting Congress. We had to learn about it from the media and then President Biden’s CNN interview.

Congress had a long standing role in appropriating and overseeing security systems and arms sales to Israel.

Just last month, we passed a massive assistance package for Israel which was requested by the administration. There were new conditions applied on this aid to Israel, and certainly none related to Rafah.

The president’s policy is circumventing congressional intent. That’s why I introduced this bill, the “Maintaining Our Ironclad Commitment to Israel Security Act,” to make sure that Congress has oversight of any changes the administration makes to previously approved arms sales to Israel.

This bill requires the administration to notify Congress if they are going to make any changes to existing arms sales to Israel, and it gives Congress an opportunity to consider a joint resolution of disapproval regarding those changes.

Red lines are meant for our enemies. Red lines are not meant for our allies and our friends. But that’s precisely what this administration is doing to Israel.

And what a terrible message to send to our allies, [and an] even more dangerous message that we’re sending to our adversaries.

We need to stand with our partner Israel and keep our commitments the way Congress intended and therefore, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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