S350 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE January 13, 2009 

not have rights to participate in financial opportunities for themselves and 

their families. 

And so we look at Hamas and have to 

ask: Does it really care about the people of Gaza or is it simply dedicated to 

its terrorist ways? For the answer we 

can review how Hamas conducts itself. 

Once again, I, as a human being, as a 

person who cares about life and family, 

I am distressed to see the loss of life 

that is taking place in Gaza and in 

Israel. People are injured and frightened to go out of their homes—and yet 

even their home can be a place where 

misery prevails. 

But Hamas has attacked Israel, firing 

rockets, and even now, when it is perhaps possible to get a cease-fire, they 

insist on continuing rocket firing. 

We have seen the opinions of countries around the world as they look at 

this situation. Instead of just criticizing Israel, why isn’t it said that 

Hamas is a terrorist organization that 

wants to take away people’s rights, 

that wants to permit their innocent 

citizens to be used as decoys—in 

schools and mosques and other places— 

to try to hide the militants who are firing rockets into Israel? 

Hamas starts by saying they don’t 

recognize the right of the State of 

Israel to exist, but Israel has that right 

and shall defend that right. She has 

built a society from the sands, a society that flourishes, not just on the economic side, but on the scientific and 

research side. They have figured out 

how to grow crops in areas that were 

arid, and how to develop the technology that Israel is known for. 

The practice of medicine is another 

thing that Israel is known for. There is 

a facility in Israel that I helped fund, 

in memory of my father who died as a 

very young man—43 years old—from 

cancer. There is a scientist who lived 

in New Jersey and was a professor at 

our principal institution, Rutgers University. 

And he asked if I would help fund a 

laboratory and a facility there that did 

cancer research. I said yes. That was 

some time ago. I know they have Arab 

students there and they have Arab professors there and they all cooperate in 

helping people maintain good health. 

We have all seen stories in the paper 

about the young Arab child who came 

to Israel, brought by her father, to 

have a heart transplant. In this way 

Israeli science reaches out to people of 

all nations and all religions. 

Israel has a right to exist, and a right 

to exist in peace, and would be more 

than willing to bring in the countries 

surrounding Israel to participate in 

programs for peace as it has with medicine. But there cannot be real peace 

without security. Israel is taking appropriate action to ensure the security 

of its people, and to ask them to do less 

is unfair. 

It is impossible to say to them that if 

we had rockets falling on Boston, we 

would not respond or if we had rockets 

falling on Newark, NJ, we would not 

respond. 

I can tell you, as a resident of New 

Jersey where we have a 2-mile strip 

that is said by the FBI to be the most 

dangerous 2-mile strip in the country 

for a terrorist attack, we are constantly on the alert. We have boats 

there, we have guards all over the 

place, and we make sure we are ready 

to defend ourselves. 

Not only is Israel defending itself, as 

we would, against deadly aggression, it 

is also putting a stop to the psychological warfare that has become a daily 

part of life for the people in southern 

Israel. Innocent civilians live with constant fear that a rocket might kill 

them, their children, or destroy their 

home. 

Israel, like the United States, is determined to protect and safeguard its 

people. After 9/11, America sought to 

eliminate threats to our country from 

Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida. Now 

Israel is seeking to eliminate threats 

from ongoing terrorist attacks. 

We cannot kid ourselves about the 

strategy that Hamas used to gain 

power in Gaza. Hamas built up its 

image among the Palestinian people by 

painting itself as a social service provider. But if they really cared about 

the Palestinian people, they would not 

use them as human shields, and they 

would not use the rooftops of homes to 

launch rocket attacks. 

The events of the past few weeks illustrate to the world that terrorist 

groups cannot be permitted to go on 

menacing the free world with terror attacks and there are no countries that 

are safe from this kind of assault. 

Hamas has shown that it cares more 

about destruction than about improving the lives of the people of Gaza. 

Hamas leaders have chosen to ignore 

the fact that their people are suffering 

in poverty and instead have focused exclusively on hurting Israel. 

So we ask Hamas: Stand up; show 

that you do care about your people and 

stop attacking Israel’s citizens. 

There will be tense days ahead in 

Israel and Gaza, and I am deeply concerned about the loss of innocent life, 

the pain of losing a family member, 

and injuries that may last for a lifetime. 

To put a stop to the loss of innocent 

life, Hamas must come to its senses 

and pursue a cease-fire that is sustainable and durable. 

Israel should be joined by nations 

around the world in pursuing a ceasefire because terror is ultimately possible in their own states and their own 

communities, whether it is in India, 

whether it is in France, whether it is in 

Spain, whether it is in the UK, or 

whether it is in America as we saw on 

9/11. 

There is only one way to bring real 

peace and real security to the Middle 

East: stop the rockets and get the people to the bargaining table. 

Negotiations are being attempted 

with Egypt’s active participation. We 

have to encourage these negotiations. 

And it has to be very clear to Hamas 

and other terrorist organizations that 

they are not going to win by killing 

people or by discouraging free thought 

and democratic values. 

f 

PROHIBITING THE SALE AND 

COUNTERFEITING OF PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURAL TICKETS 

Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I 

ask unanimous consent that the Rules 

Committee be discharged from further 

consideration of S. 60 and the Senate 

proceed to its immediate consideration. 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered. 

The clerk will report the bill by title. 

The legislative clerk read as follows: 

A bill (S. 60) to prohibit the sale and counterfeiting of Presidential inaugural tickets. 

There being no objection, the Senate 

proceeded to consider the bill. 

Mr. LAUTENBERG. I ask unanimous 

consent that the bill be read a third 

time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any 

statements related to the bill be printed in the RECORD. 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered. 

The bill (S. 60) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, was read 

the third time, and passed, as follows: 

S. 60 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in 

Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. PROHIBITION ON SALE AND COUNTERFEITING OF INAUGURAL TICKETS. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 25 of title 18, 

United States Code, is amended by adding at 

the end the following: 

‘‘§ 515. Prohibition on sale and counterfeiting 

of inaugural tickets 

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for 

any person to— 

‘‘(1) except as provided in subsection (b), 

knowingly and willfully sell for money or 

property, or facilitate the sale for money or 

property of, a ticket to a Presidential inaugural ceremony; 

‘‘(2) with the intent to defraud, falsely 

make, forge, counterfeit, or falsely alter a 

ticket to a Presidential inaugural ceremony; 

or 

‘‘(3) with the intent to defraud, use, unlawfully possess, or exhibit a ticket to a Presidential inaugural ceremony, knowing the 

ticket to be falsely made, forged, counterfeited, or falsely altered. 

‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—This section shall not 

apply to the sale for money or property, facilitation of such a sale, or attempt of such 

a sale, of a ticket to a Presidential inaugural 

ceremony— 

‘‘(1) that occurs after the date on which the 

Presidential inaugural ceremony for which 

the ticket was issued occurs; or 

‘‘(2) by an official presidential inaugural 

committee established on behalf of a President-elect of the United States. 

‘‘(c) PENALTY.—Whoever violates subsection (a) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both. 

‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term 

‘Presidential inaugural ceremony’ means a 

public inaugural ceremony at which the 

President-elect or the Vice President-elect 


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January 13, 2009 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S351 

take the oath or affirmation of office for the 

office of President of the United States or 

the office of Vice President of the United 

States, respectively.’’. 

(b) AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER ANALYSIS.— 

The chapter analysis for chapter 25 of title 

18, United States Code, is amended by inserting at the end the following: 

‘‘515. Prohibition on sale and counterfeiting 

of inaugural tickets.’’. 

f 

ORDERS FOR WEDNESDAY, 

JANUARY 14, 2009 

Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I 

ask unanimous consent that when the 

Senate completes its business today, it 

stand in adjournment until 9:30 a.m. 

tomorrow, January 14; that following 

the prayer and pledge, the Journal of 

proceedings be approved to date, the 

morning hour be deemed expired, the 

time for the two leaders be reserved for 

their use later in the day; that the Senate then resume consideration of S. 22, 

the lands bill, with time until 10:30 

a.m. divided equally and controlled between the two leaders or their designees; and that the cloture vote with 

respect to S. 22 occur at 10:30 a.m. 

I further ask that the filing deadline 

for second-degree amendments be 10 

a.m. tomorrow. 

The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered. 

PROGRAM 

Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, 

the manager of the bill was unable to 

reach an agreement to consider amendments today. As a result of this impasse, the Senate will proceed to a cloture vote on the bill at 10:30 tomorrow. 

f 

ADJOURNMENT UNTIL 9:30 A.M. 

TOMORROW 

Mr. LAUTENBERG. If there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it 

adjourn under the previous order. 

There being no objection, the Senate, 

at 7:38 p.m., adjourned until Wednesday, January 14, 2009, at 9:30 a.m. 


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