Washington Forum 2011: Congressional Remarks
Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA)
Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) represents California’s 28th district. Rep. Berman serves on the Foreign Affairs Committee, where he was Chairman in the 110th and 111th Congresses and is currently a ranking member. He sponsored the Hezbollah Anti-Terrorism Act of 2011 to ensure that U.S. taxpayer dollars are not used to fund terrorist entities in Lebanon, and for other purposes. Rep. Berman is an effective legislative veteran who is considered one of the leading voices on immigration and foreign policy in the House. Rep. Berman has also been one of the strongest congressional supporters of Israel, sponsoring the Anti-Boycott Act in the House this year, which prohibits American individuals and organizations from actively boycotting Israeli goods.
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Full transcript available here.
Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH)
Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OH), a fifteen year veteran of the House of Representatives, serves Ohio’s first district. Rep. Chabot is a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and in 2011 was named the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia. Congressman Chabot has been a leader in efforts combat efforts to isolate and delegitimize Israel at the United Nations. Rep. Chabot is sponsoring legislation to leverage U.S. contributions to the United Nations to persuade international bodies to refuse to accept the membership of an independent Palestinian state outside of a negotiated peace process.
Full transcript available here.
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY)
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Global Narcotics Affairs as well as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development. After 9/11, Sen. Menendez earned national recognition for his leadership in reforming the country’s intelligence, security, and public health systems and for fighting to establish an independent commission to investigate the terrorist attacks on our country. Most recently, he co-authored with Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) an amendment to sanction the Central Bank of Iran, which the Senate passed unanimously.
Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), first elected to Congress in 1988, represents New York’s 17th Congressional District. Rep. Engel serves on the Foreign Affairs Committee and chairs the Congressional Israel Allies Caucus. He was the author of the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003 under which President Obama recently imposed additional sanctions due to the Assad regime’s violence against its people. In 2008, Rep. Engel was the lead Democratic sponsor of a resolution condemning the Palestinian rocket attacks on Israeli civilians by Hamas. He has also worked to achieve official U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel and is at the forefront of Congressional efforts to oppose unilateral Palestinian statehood initiatives at the United Nations.