OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Three Major Crises

Floor Speech

Date: May 19, 2021
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Employment and Affirmative Action Foreign Affairs

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Mr. KUSTOFF. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I would like to recognize my friend and colleague from Louisiana (Mr. Johnson), a great leader. I thank him for organizing this evening.

Mr. Speaker, I want to address two different fronts of President Biden's policies, both of which are failing the American people.

The April jobs report showed that the economy added less than 270,000 new jobs. That is disappointing, and it was an underperformance from the 1 million jobs that economists expected.

It really should be no surprise to anyone because the enhanced unemployment benefits that were approved by Congress, against all of our objections, under President Biden's initiative have truly disincentivized people from going back to work.

Then, on the second front, we have seen over the past week or so Hamas continue to launch thousands of rockets at Israel, aiming to kill as many innocent lives as possible.

Let me be clear: I strongly condemn these attacks. Everybody on this side of the aisle strongly condemns those attacks. We fully support Israel's unequivocal right to defend herself and her citizens.

Yet, President Biden has taken a weak approach, demonstrating to terrorist organizations that his administration won't stand up for one of our greatest nations, greatest friends, and greatest allies, and that is Israel.

America's support of our strongest ally in the Middle East, it should never be quiet. That sends a terrible message to the rest of the world.

Ultimately, we need a government that is more efficient, more effective, and accountable.

We need to get people back to work. We must reopen our economy, lower taxes, and get our children back in school.

Lastly, we have to show the rest of the world that our support for Israel will never waver, that we stand strong in defending the Jewish state together as one.

You know, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once said, and I will paraphrase: If Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no Israel. I think that pretty much sums it up.

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