July 12, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 117 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E909]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





        NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020

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                               speech of

                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 10, 2019

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2500) to 
     authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2020 for military 
     activities of the Department of Defense and for military 
     construction, to prescribe military personnel strengths for 
     such fiscal year, and for other purposes:

  Mr. ENGEL. Madam Chair, I rise to support the amendment offered by 
Mr. Malinowski. I'm horrified that the humanitarian crisis in Yemen--
the worst such crisis in the world, according to the United Nations--
has gone on this long.
  The crisis has been exacerbated by the ongoing conflict between the 
Saudi-led coalition and Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. Since 2015, the 
Saudi-led coalition has undertaken 18,000 airstrikes, and far too many 
of these have killed innocent civilians. In fact, more Yemeni civilians 
are killed or wounded in their own homes than anywhere else.
  That is why I am co-sponsoring this amendment, to prohibit the sale 
of all air-to-ground munitions to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab 
Emirates for one year. It is our obligation to make sure the United 
States is not enabling civilian deaths.
  I thank the gentleman for his leadership in offering this amendment.

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