WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representative Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) issued the following statement on her vote on the Israel supplemental bill:

The people of Pennsylvania's Sixth Congressional District send me down to Washington each week to make thoughtful choices and to take difficult votes on behalf of our community, Commonwealth, and country. Today was no exception.

As the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, a veteran, and now a Member of Congress, I am appalled by the heinous atrocities committed by the terrorist organization Hamas on the Israeli people and other civilians. I grieve with the families who have lost loved ones in Israel, and in Gaza and the West Bank. And I am deeply concerned for those working on the increasingly desperate humanitarian situation within the region, particularly those who are working to free the hostages held by Hamas. 

Let me be clear – Hamas is a terrorist organization that has killed and harmed thousands of people – Israelis, Palestinians, and many others. Fighting against these terrorists, I support Israel’s right to self-defense, and a targeted effort to destroy Hamas’ grip on the region and to hold their leaders accountable. There can be no lasting and durable peace with Hamas in power. 

That being said, after very careful deliberation, I voted against today’s insincere, deliberately narrow, intentionally polarizing, and cynically incomplete proposal to support Israel and the region.

Below are some of the many reasons why I made this difficult vote on this specific bill:

• This bill does not contain any humanitarian support at all. There must be a complete response to this situation, not simply a military one. America has always supported humanitarian and diplomatic efforts in combination with military aid. 

• This bill does not contain any support for other parts of the world that are equally and simultaneously being challenged in the existential fight for democracy and global safety. This bill aids Israel and Israel alone, which defies what President Biden correctly asked of us as a legislative body to support. There is no consideration for the needs of Ukraine, Taiwan, nor our own domestic borders. The President requested that our vote be on all of these issues. I worry that not connecting these obviously related threats will result in some going completely unaddressed and unfunded which will result in a more dangerous world, and more danger for Americans.

• This bill creates an enormous expense for the American people.  It increases the budget and our deficit, contrary to how it is being sold by its authors - authors who falsely purport an interest in reducing the debt and deficit have done the exact opposite with this legislation. To be clear, as drafted, this assistance for Israel is not paid for. Procedurally, both the Senate and the President have indicated this bill is a non-starter. It is a waste of precious time to go through this exercise in legislative futility. Time matters here. 

I took this vote with a heavy heart, knowing that Israel needs further support. And knowing that Palestinians and Israelis are under acute dangers and stressors. It is my intention to support a more complete request for funding for both Israel, Ukraine, the southern border, and other requirements that will make the world and America a safer place. I look forward to taking that vote, once this deeply flawed bill is inevitably and appropriately announced ‘dead on arrival’ in the Senate.

Houlahan is an Air Force veteran, an engineer, a serial entrepreneur, an educator, and a nonprofit leader. She represents Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District, which encompasses Chester County and southern Berks County. She serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. She is the recipient of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Abraham Lincoln Leadership for America Award which “recognizes members who demonstrate the bipartisan leadership and constructive governing necessary to move our country forward” and the Congressional Management Foundation’s 2022 Democracy Award for best Constituent Services in Congress.

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