Van Hollen Statement for the Record on S. Res. 504

Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) released the following statement on his vote on S.Res. 504. 

In the aftermath of the horrific October 7th terrorist attack, Israel not only has the right, but also a duty to its people, to defend itself and pursue the objectives of ending the military threat posed by Hamas and returning all the hostages unharmed. I support those goals, and therefore do not and would not support a resolution to terminate all U.S. military assistance to Israel.

That’s why I’d like to begin by making clear what S. Res. 504 is NOT about. It is NOT about cutting off U.S. security assistance to Israel. Anyone who says otherwise has not read the resolution.

So what does this resolution do? The very first line of the resolution states that its purpose is “requesting information on Israel’s human rights practices.” The resolution goes on to seek information on “alleged violations of internationally recognized human rights” including violations related to Israel’s military operations and the “denial of basic humanitarian needs” like food, water, medical care, fuel, and shelter.

While these are not simple questions, the resolution simply asks questions. And while I understand that some may be uncomfortable asking questions about the conduct of a close partner, we have a duty to the American taxpayers to get the facts. Israel is the largest annual recipient of U.S. security assistance, totaling more than $39 billion over the past 10 years alone. The United States is not a bystander to this conflict, and the American people deserve honest answers about how our assistance is being used. The report should provide a full picture of what is happening, including how Hamas’ despicable tactic of hiding among the civilian population impacts the prosecution of the war, and any other information that the Administration deems important.

As I have repeatedly said, Israel’s war against Hamas is just, but it must be waged justly. President Biden, Secretary Blinken and officials across the Biden Administration have also made this point clear. For example, Secretary Blinken has repeatedly stated that the “daily toll on civilians in Gaza, particularly children, is far too high” and called upon the Netanyahu coalition to put a “clear plan in place that puts a premium on protecting civilians” and to get “more humanitarian assistance to people who so desperately need it in Gaza.” 

These entreaties have been rebuffed time and time again by Prime Minister Netanyahu and his ultra-extremist coalition that includes the likes of Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir. Despite statements from the Israeli Defense Forces that their operations have shifted to a more “targeted phase,” there were still between 112 to 151 Palestinians reportedly killed in Gaza each day last week. This truth is only underscored by the Sunday Washington Post headline: “Despite U.S. pressure on Israel, casualty count in Gaza remains high.”

The death toll has now reached over 24,000, two thirds of them women and children, with another 60,000 wounded. Meanwhile, the humanitarian catastrophe is getting worse, not better. The Netanyahu government initially declared a full siege of Gaza, and then for months refused to open the main Kerem Shalom crossing. It still refuses to open the northern Erez crossing to get assistance to the desperate people trapped there. Indeed, the water pipeline to northern Gaza has been shut off since Oct. 7th.

I visited the Rafah crossing about ten days ago and witnessed the many obstacles to getting more aid to over two million people in desperate need. People in Gaza are on the verge of starvation, children are having limbs amputated without anesthesia, sewage is piling up in the streets, and waterborne diseases have broken out. International NGOs who have operated in conflict zones for decades have said they have never witnessed a humanitarian disaster as terrible as Gaza.

It is painfully evident that there is a big gap between what U.S. officials have requested of the Netanyahu government and the actions taken by his coalition. This further justifies why we need answers from the Administration to the fundamental questions posed by this resolution. We owe it to American taxpayers to better understand how the support we have provided is being used. Some of the very questions raised in this resolution are those we’ve already sought answers to. While I appreciate the dialogue we have had with members of the Administration about the situation in Gaza, to date we have received no written responses to our letters on the conflict.

If this resolution were to be adopted, the process under Section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 gives the Biden Administration thirty days to answer the questions posed. That statute requires the report within thirty days and the only reason for the timetable set forth in statute is to ensure that the Senate gets those answers within a reasonable time frame. It is simply not credible to say that the Biden Administration would fail to meet that deadline and trigger a cut-off of assistance.

Concerns have been raised that, if passed, and once the Administration submits the required report within thirty days, the underlying statute, 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act, allows any senator to file a subsequent resolution to cut off security assistance provided to Israel under the Foreign Assistance Act. While it’s worth noting that such a resolution would not apply to air defense systems authorized under the National Defense Authorization Act, like the Iron Dome systems, I would oppose such a blanket attempt to cut off assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act.

I do believe that the United States should require ALL recipients of U.S military assistance to abide by certain principles and meet certain standards. That is why Senators Kaine, Schatz, Durbin and I, together with ten of our Senate colleagues, have proposed an amendment to President Biden’s national security supplemental request that would apply equally to Ukraine, Israel and any other recipient of such assistance and require that each recipient: 1) use any U.S. weapons provided with these funds in accordance with international humanitarian law; 2) cooperate with U.S. efforts to provide humanitarian assistance in conflict zones where U.S.-provided weapons are being used; and 3) submit a report to the Congress on the extent to which these standards are being met, and the extent to which the recipients have adopted U.S. policies and mechanisms to reduce civilian casualties in conflict. These standards and simple accountability measures should apply to all recipients of U.S security assistance worldwide, and I will be pressing further on this issue when the Senate takes up President Biden’s supplemental request.

For now, the business before the Senate is S. Res. 504, and I see no reason to oppose a measure requiring a report seeking facts and information. We have a duty to the American people to get answers to the questions set forth in this resolution.