January 9, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H157 

available to consumers. So we ought to 

be providing enough aid to all of the 

States to make sure that they can, if 

anything, increase employment on 

those areas of public employment that 

are truly useful to their citizens. 

What we may need to do also is provide some formula by which we can 

provide the money to local governments rather than just to the State 

governments. I would suggest payments to each school district based on 

the number of full-time students and 

payments to whichever entity of local 

government provides police protection 

based on the number of residents they 

are protecting. 

I want to thank this House for giving 

me an hour of time to express these 

views. Even with all of this time, as 

I’ve said, I have not presented all of the 

evidence in support of these positions. 

That’s why I hope my colleagues will 

visit Bradsherman.house.gov to look at 

the additional arguments in favor of 

these positions. 

I yield back to the Chair. 

f 

ISRAEL 

The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. 

HIRONO). Under the Speaker’s announced policy of January 6, 2009, the 

gentleman from Arizona (Mr. FRANKS) 

is recognized for 60 minutes. 

Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Madam 

Speaker, the most fundamental purpose for any government is its national 

defense and the protection of its citizens. I stand here today in heartfelt 

support for Israel and for its right to 

defend its innocent citizens from the 

attacks of a relentless enemy that 

seeks its destruction. The conflict unfolding in Israel’s heartland today is 

not unfamiliar to the Israeli people. 

b 1630 

Since its establishment in 1948, the 

tiny State of Israel—22 of which would 

fit into our State of California—has 

faced enemies on every side that openly oppose its right to exist and work 

actively to bring about its destruction. 

Indeed, Israel has never known a reality where its very existence was not 

threatened by this insidious ideology 

called jihad; an ideology so sinister as 

to make men and women leap for joy at 

killing their own children in order to 

be able to kill the children of others, 

whether that means flying commercial 

airplanes into the World Trade Center 

or sending a Qassam rocket into the 

side of a bus carrying small school children in Israel. 

Madam Speaker, in Imperial China, 

there was a terrible form of execution 

known as death by a thousand cuts. It 

was an unspeakably cruel demonstration meant to terrify observers into 

submissions. Israel is fighting to stop 

the ‘‘death by a thousand cuts’’ strategy used by Hamas to inflict constant, 

incessant destruction and terror on the 

Israeli citizens; and the nation of Israel 

has acted nobly for the sake of innocent Israelis, as well as innocent Palestinian civilians to justly refuse to 

allow the bloodletting to continue. 

Hamas was designated as a foreign 

terrorist organization by the United 

States in 1995. And it is a known proxy 

of the Iranian regime which openly 

seeks to see Israel wiped from the face 

of the Earth. The governing charter of 

Hamas openly calls for the destruction 

of the State of Israel, with the goal of 

raising the banner of jihad over every 

square inch of the State of Israel. 

And still, Madam Speaker, time after 

time, Israel has acted in good faith and 

has extended gestures of goodwill towards its Palestinian neighbors and 

Hamas, including its complete disengagement from the Gaza Strip in 2005 

and its commitment to target only 

military installations of its enemies 

despite the routine attacks against its 

own women and children on almost a 

daily basis. 

Madam Speaker, in all of its conflicts, Israel seeks to minimize civilian 

casualties; Hamas has sought to maximize them. Hamas has broken every 

cease-fire agreement and every honorable rule of war by deliberately embedding their terrorist militants and 

weapons caches in the homes of private 

citizens, and in schools, and in hospitals, and mosques; and Hamas has repeatedly used innocent Palestinian civilians as human shields while they deliberately target Israeli civilians. 

There is no moral equivalence here, 

Madam Speaker. Hamas and Israel are 

guided by two completely opposite philosophies: One is committed to equality and human dignity under God, and 

one is committed to a totalitarian ideology of hatred and intolerance; one is 

devoted to protecting innocent human 

life, and one commands its destruction. 

When a cease-fire agreement was 

reached between Israel and Hamas last 

June, Hamas used that opportunity to 

build up its stockpiles of rockets and 

weapons that now threaten approximately one million Israelis. And now, 

Madam Speaker, in a struggle for peace 

and survival, Israel is once again forced 

to carry out defensive action against 

Hamas in order to stop the terrorizing 

of its innocent civilians. 

And once again, once again, Madam 

Speaker, certain members of the international community are calling on 

Israel to ‘‘exercise restraint.’’ 

Madam Speaker, if 6,000 rockets had 

fallen on an American city over a space 

of four years, what would we say to 

anyone who called upon us to restrain 

ourselves in the effort to protect our 

own citizens? If those same members of 

the international community who so 

harshly criticize Israel for the defensive actions had to suffer for 1 week— 

just 1 week—under these indiscriminate incessant attacks against their 

families and their loved ones as Israel 

has done for decades, Madam Speaker, 

I would submit that the layers of 

Hamas would have been made ashes 

once and for all long ago. 

Madam Speaker, Charles 

Krauthammer recently wrote in the 

Washington Post something I wish 

every world leader could understand. 

He said, ‘‘Some geopolitical conflicts 

are morally complicated. The IsraeliGaza war is not. It possesses a moral 

clarity not only rare, but excruciating.’’ 

Madam Speaker, I could not agree 

with those words more. 

If the beleaguered Jewish people have 

learned anything in their struggles for 

survival over the millennia against enemies who have sought their complete 

annihilation, it is, as one Holocaust 

survivor said, ‘‘When someone says 

they intend to kill you, believe them.’’ 

Madam Speaker, consider some of 

the things that terrorist enemies of 

Israel have said they intend to do to 

Israel. 

Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah stated, ‘‘We 

have discovered how to hit the Jews 

where they are most vulnerable. The 

Jews love life, so that is what we shall 

take from them. We will win because 

the Jews love life, and we love death.’’ 

Wael al-Zarad, a Hamas Cleric, said, 

‘‘As Muslims, our blood vengeance 

against them will only subside with 

their annihilation . . .’’ 

And Egyptian Cleric Safwat Higazi 

gave this mandate to jihadists on 

Hamas television. He said, ‘‘We say to 

you: Dispatch those sons of apes and 

pigs to the Hellfire on the wings of the 

Qassam rockets. Jihad is our path . . . 

This is our strategic option, and not 

peace. . . . They [the Jews] deserve to 

be killed. They deserve to die. You 

should not care if you hit a man, 

woman, or a child. . . . Destroy . . . everything . . .’’ 

Madam Speaker, those are horrifying 

words even when we hear them here in 

the safe enclaves of our own homes and 

work places of America. But for the 

people of Israel, such words mean terror and death. 

Madam Speaker, America’s enemies 

and Israel’s enemies in this war are the 

same. Both of us face the reality of 

radical Islamic jihadists who would see 

our nations wiped from the face of the 

Earth if they could. Both of our nations have been struck deeply, and 

Israel, in its case, has been repeatedly, 

by any stretch of imagination, has 

been struck by this same ideology time 

and time again; the same ideology that 

murdered Olympic athletes in 1972, 

that took American hostages in Iran, 

that murdered Marines in their barracks in 1993, that bombed the World 

Trade Center in 1993, that bombed Riyadh in 1995, the Khobar Towers in 

1996, the embassy in 1998, the USS Cole 

in 2000. And then, Madam Speaker, this 

murderous, hellish ideology massacred 

nearly 3,000 Americans on September 

11. 

And this enemy makes little distinction between those who support Israel 

and Israel itself, and for that reason, 

Madam Speaker, we must realize that 

an attack on Israel is an attack on 

America and freedom itself. 

Listen to the words of Sheikh Ahmad 

Bahr, acting speaker of the Palestinian 


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H158 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE January 9, 2009 

Legislative Council. He said, ‘‘Allah 

willing, America and Israel will be annihilated . . . kill them all, down to 

the very last one.’’ 

Madam Speaker, any policy of the 

United Nations or the United States 

must articulate three concepts as prerequisites reached to any agreements 

reached between Israel and Hamas. 

First, it must reject any moral equivalence between the goals of Hamas and 

Israel. Secondly, it must place the 

blame for this current conflict squarely 

on the shoulders of Hamas, and third, 

it must clearly restate that America’s 

commitment to the State of Israel remains unshakable. 

We stand with Israel not as Republicans, Madam Speaker, not as Democrats, but as Americans and fellow 

members of the human family, equal 

heirs of those unalienable gifts of God 

we call life, liberty, and the pursuit of 

happiness; these basic human freedoms. 

We stand with the innocent people of 

Israel who have been terrorized on a 

daily basis, some for as long as they 

can remember. And we also, Madam 

Speaker, stand with those courageous 

Palestinian souls who also long for 

freedom and peace with their Israeli 

neighbors. 

Madam Speaker, President Harry 

Truman, who formally recognized the 

State of Israel only 11 minutes after 

Israel had declared its independence, 

said, ‘‘I had faith in Israel before it was 

established, I have faith in it now. I believe it has a glorious future before it— 

not just another sovereign nation, but 

as an embodiment of the great ideals of 

our civilization.’’ 

Madam Speaker, we recognize those 

words to be true and believe that the 

cause of liberty will prevail in the land 

of Israel as it has so many times before 

and that Israel indeed does have a glorious future before it. 

Throughout its history, the hand of 

God has been upon Israel, and today we 

join in the solidarity with the State of 

Israel, and its people, with the innocent Palestinians, and with all of who 

love peace, and we pray for the peace of 

Jerusalem. 

Thank you, Madam Speaker. 

f 

LEAVE OF ABSENCE 

By unanimous consent, leave of absence was granted to: 

Mr. JONES (at the request of Mr. 

BOEHNER) for today on account of attending a friend’s funeral. 

Mr. TIAHRT (at the request of Mr. 

BOEHNER) for today on account of official business. 

f 

SPECIAL ORDERS GRANTED 

By unanimous consent, permission to 

address the House, following the legislative program and any special orders 

heretofore entered, was granted to: 

(The following Members (at the request of Ms. WOOLSEY) to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material:) 

Ms. WOOLSEY, for 5 minutes, today. 

Mr. DEFAZIO, for 5 minutes, today. 

Ms. KAPTUR, for 5 minutes, today. 

Mr. DOGGETT, for 5 minutes, today. 

Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, for 5 

minutes, today. 

Mr. KUCINICH, for 5 minutes, today. 

(The following Members (at the request of Mr. PRICE of Georgia) to revise 

and extend their remarks and include 

extraneous material:) 

Mr. NEUGEBAUER, for 5 minutes, 

today. 

Mr. PRICE of Georgia, for 5 minutes, 

today. 

f 

ADJOURNMENT 

Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Madam 

Speaker, I move that the House do now 

adjourn. 

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 4 o’clock and 40 minutes 

p.m.), under its previous order, the 

House adjourned until Tuesday, January 13, 2009, at 12:30 p.m., for morninghour debate. 

f 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS, 

ETC. 

Under clause 8 of rule XII, executive 

communications were taken from the 

Speaker’s table and referred as follows: 

41. A letter from the Acting Assoc. Gen. 

Counsel for General Law, Department of 

Homeland Security, transmitting a report 

pursuant to the Federal Vacancies Reform 

Act of 1998; to the Committee on Oversight 

and Government Reform. 

42. A letter from the Attorney-Advisor, Department of Homeland Security, transmitting a report pursuant to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998; to the Committee on 

Oversight and Government Reform. 

43. A letter from the Deputy White House 

Liaison, Department of Justice, transmitting a report pursuant to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, to the Committee on 

Oversight and Government Reform. 

44. A letter from the Deputy White House 

Liaison, Department of Justice, transmitting a report pursuant to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, to the Committee on 

Oversight and Government Reform. 

45. A letter from the Program Manager, 

Center for Medicare Management, Department of Health and Human Services, transmitting the Department’s final ‘‘Major’’ 

rule—Medicare Program, Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Benefits Programs: Negotiated Pricing and Remaining 

Revisions [CMS–4131–FC] (RIN: 0938–AP24) received January 7, 2009 pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

801(a)(1)(A); jointly to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means. 

f 

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES ON 

PUBLIC BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS 

Under clause 2 of rule XIII, reports of 

committees were delivered to the Clerk 

for printing and reference to the proper 

calendar, as follows: 

[Omitted from the Record of January 3, 2009] 

Mr. BERMAN: Committee on Foreign Affairs. Legislative Review Activities of the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs for the 110th 

Congress (Rept. 110–939). Referred to the 

Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union. 

PUBLIC BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS 

Under clause 2 of rule XII, public 

bills and resolutions of the following 

titles were introduced and severally referred, as follows: 

By Mr. BRIGHT: 

H.R. 361. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a 1-year extension of the increased expensing of certain depreciable business assets and the special depreciation allowance for certain business 

property; to the Committee on Ways and 

Means. 

By Mr. BOSWELL (for himself, Mr. 

LOEBSACK, Mr. BERRY, Mr. BRALEY of 

Iowa, and Mrs. EMERSON): 

H.R. 362. A bill to amend title XVIII of the 

Social Security Act to provide for temporary 

improvements to the Medicare inpatient hospital payment adjustment for low-volume 

hospitals and to provide for the use of the 

non-wage adjusted PPS rate under the Medicare-dependent hospital (MDH) program, and 

for other purposes; to the Committee on 

Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of 

such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. 

By Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (for herself, 

Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. ROYCE, 

and Mr. MCCOTTER): 

H.R. 363. A bill to amend the United States 

International Broadcasting Act of 1994 to reorganize United States international broadcasting, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. 

By Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (for herself, 

Mr. ROYCE, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts, Mr. 

FORTENBERRY, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr. BOOZMAN, and Mr. WILSON of 

South Carolina): 

H.R. 364. A bill to restrict nuclear cooperation with the United Arab Emirates, and for 

other purposes; to the Committee on Foreign 

Affairs. 

By Ms. BORDALLO (for herself, Mr. 

BROWN of South Carolina, Mr. FARR, 

Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. 

PALLONE, Mr. INSLEE, Mrs. 

CHRISTENSEN, and Ms. SHEA-PORTER): 

H.R. 365. A bill to direct the President to 

establish a program to develop a coordinated 

and comprehensive Federal ocean and coastal mapping plan for the Great Lakes and 

coastal state waters, the territorial sea, the 

exclusive economic zone, and the continental 

shelf of the United States, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 

Science and Technology, for a period to be 

subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned. 

By Mr. FARR (for himself, Mrs. CAPPS, 

Ms. BORDALLO, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Mr. 

MCINTYRE, and Mr. EHLERS): 

H.R. 366. A bill to establish the national 

ocean exploration program and the national 

undersea research program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to direct the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish and maintain an undersea 

research program, and for other purposes; to 

the Committee on Science and Technology, 

and in addition to the Committee on Natural 

Resources, for a period to be subsequently 

determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. 

By Mrs. CAPPS (for herself, Mr. FARR, 

Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. 


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