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Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, Saturday evening, Iran launched over 300 missile and drone strikes against Israel, the first direct attack against Israel from Iranian soil in history. For five harrowing hours, the sounds of explosions and sirens reverberated throughout the night in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and across the country. Tens of thousands of Israeli citizens barricaded themselves and braced for the worst. On that long night, all of us were on tenterhooks as the missiles from Iran came down.

I strongly condemn the attacks by the Iranian Government and urge them to refrain from escalating hostilities. What Iran did was dangerous, unjustifiable, and threatens to plunge the Middle East into a widespread war. So I strongly urge the Iranian regime to cease their reckless behavior from both its forces and those of its proxies.

Now, when the attack came, thank God, Israel was ready. Israel was ready because of the United States' ironclad commitment to its security.

The night of the attack, I was in touch with senior administration officials who told me that, with help from the United States, England, France, and some Arab nations, the overwhelming majority of all Iranian missiles and drone strikes were successfully intercepted.

The damage to Israel, thank God, was minimal. Only one serious casualty was reported. We pray for her recovery.

Today, above all, I breathe a sigh of relief for Israel--relief that injuries were minimal, relief that the damage was not worse. But, of course, it was no accident that Israel endured Iran's attack largely unscathed. On the contrary, Israel endured because America's support for Israel's security is ironclad. The success of Israeli missile defense, developed in cooperation with the United States and with U.S. funding, is a testament to the United States' longstanding security cooperation with Israel. It is why so few of Iran's missiles and drones ultimately hit their targets. So I commend the Israel Defense Forces, I commend President Biden and our military leadership and our brave Armed Forces, and I commend our partners who worked together with Israel to avert calamity.

Iran's reprehensible attack against Israel has made a few things very clear:

First, Israel is surrounded by adversaries who seek its destruction. We saw that on October 7. We saw it again this weekend. We dare not waver in our commitment to help Israel defend itself from these threats.

Second, the fact that so many nations came to Israel's aid, including some Arab nations, shows Iran is becoming more and more isolated. Iran's attack should be swiftly and universally condemned. Their attack risked provoking a wider conflict in the Middle East, and we cannot have that. So I am pleased that many nations banded together and held the line against the Iranian regime.

Third, Israel's attack underscores the best way to help Israel is for the House to swiftly pass the Senate's bipartisan national security supplemental. The House must rush to Israel's aid as quickly as humanly possible, and the only way to do that is passing the Senate supplemental ASAP. In fact, there is no reason for the House not to move on the Senate's supplemental as soon as today.

Yesterday, I got on the phone with the President, with Speaker Johnson, Leader McConnell, and Leader Jeffries and made it clear that the uncertainty and delay over the supplemental has to end. We all had consensus that we need to aid both Israel and Ukraine.

If House Republicans put the Senate supplemental on the floor, I believe it would pass today, reach the President's desk tonight, and Israel would get the aid it needs by tomorrow.

Let me say that again. If House Republicans put the Senate supplemental on the floor, I believe it would pass today, reach the President's desk tonight, and Israel would get the aid it needs by tomorrow.

If the House could finish the job by the end of the day, why wait?

Now, the Senate supplemental not only gives Israel the tools it needs to repel future attacks, but it also provides Ukraine the aid it needs against Putin. I spoke with the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine yesterday, who told me the situation in Ukraine is beyond desperate. With few air defenses, there is little stopping Russian drones from targeting Ukrainian powerplants and leaving more and more residents without electricity. And the danger here is that these power outages will become a long-term problem. She told me the equipment that was destroyed is so large--the kinds of transformers and other machineries--that it takes a long time to rebuild them and replace them.

The U.S. Ambassador reiterated President Zelenskyy's point that Ukraine will lose this war unless it gets the defense materials, the ammunition, and the anti-aircraft resources it needs immediately. Those powerplants are taken out because Ukraine is running out of the ability to defend itself from these vicious attacks.

At this treacherous moment for global security, it would be a grave mistake to think the conflict in the Middle East is unconnected to the conflict in Europe. That is why the best way to help Israel and to help Ukraine is to pass the Senate supplemental this week. I have called on Speaker Johnson to do that.

Enough with the delay. Enough with the uncertainty. Enough with promises to take action. I urge the House to get going today on the Senate supplemental. It is vital for the future of Israel, for the future of Ukraine, and for the future of the West and democracy.

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