Raskin Statement on Massie Amendment #8 to the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Today, Representative Jamie Raskin (MD-08) released the following statement on Massie Amendment #8 to the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act:

"The Republican Majority is advancing a foreign assistance budget bill that slashes humanitarian assistance, undercuts American diplomacy and dramatically reduces our soft power.

"Meantime, the Majority advanced a classic 'Gotcha' Amendment to this bill, introduced by Representative Massie, which was designed not to promote peace or save civilian lives in the Middle East but simply to try and split Democrats.

"All the voting options here were, of course, designedly bad and therefore each one was minimally defensible in its own way. This Amendment, even though it was clearly going to fail, was still a bad way to make complicated foreign policy judgments and to organize a reset of American policy toward the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"The problem for me is that a 'No' vote will be characterized as a vote for the status quo and for supporting Netanyahu and his war of mass destruction and displacement in Gaza, which has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians and brought mass disease, hunger and suffering to the Palestinian people. This war was brought in response to the appalling terrorist attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which involved the murder of more than 1,200 Israelis and the brutal capture of more than 250 hostages, including family members and loved ones of my constituents. But voting 'No' was indigestible for reasons I have been repeatedly spelling out ever since it became clear that Netanyahu's prosecution of the war in Gaza-which was properly justified at inception as an operation to disarm and disable Hamas-was becoming a cauldron of civilian atrocities and human rights violations, some of them involving the families of my own constituents. A constituent from the Gaithersburg area lost dozens of members of her family to a bombing attack on their family compound in Gaza City, and my constituent Chef José Andrés lost ten of his colleagues with World Central Kitchen to armed attacks. I have done everything in my power to move Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government away from policies that implicate them-and us-in mass human rights violations and shameful actions, but they have not engaged in serious dialogue with me or other Members of Congress.

"A 'Present' Vote would also be justifiable under these circumstances because this whole amendment is plainly a political trick designed to divide the Democrats with full knowledge it will not pass. But voting 'Present' in this context could be seen by millions of people as a refusal to take a position on furnishing more weapons for Netanyahu's war in Gaza and the violent chaos being perpetrated by settlers on the West Bank. It could also be read as indifference to the catastrophic folly of the Iran War that was the joint project of President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman. I am not neutral on the violence engulfing the Middle East. We must advance the cause of peace.

"So I came to a 'Yes' vote to register my profound objection to providing billions of dollars of more weaponry and support to the Netanyahu government which has been shockingly reckless and deliberately indifferent towards human life and international human rights and humanitarian law governing the proper treatment of civilians in a military conflict.

"This, to be sure, is also not an ideal solution. Although the Massie Amendment does not affect defensive weapons systems like Iron Dome and David's Sling (which would be disqualifying in my mind), its blunt-instrument language potentially cuts some funding for valuable non-military diplomatic programs. I support these programs and believe we need to dramatically expand them and revitalize them as many of them have, in large part, been defunded by the Trump Administration. I reject Congressman Massie's nativist, categorical opposition to foreign aid and extremist rhetoric.

"But our funds and our weapons have been used in shameful violence and human rights violations against Palestinians by the government of Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has brought terrible isolation to Israel in the process. I am a passionate champion of democracy, national security and peace for all the people of Israel, as I am a passionate champion of democracy, security and peace for all the Palestinians. For the sake of everyone involved, I believe that we cannot blithely allow these dynamics of war and violence to continue. We need a reset in this relationship. There is a titanic struggle taking place on earth today between democracy and authoritarianism. As we fight to defend democracy, basic human rights and the rule of law in America, we must work to defend democracy, basic human rights and the rule of law all over the world, including amongst our closest allies."

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