A bipartisan array of U.S. lawmakers at a memorial for Sen. Daniel
Inouye pledged continued support of Israel's anti-missile defense
system.
Ten senators and at least seven members of the U.S. House of
Representatives paid tribute in speeches on Wednesday to Inouye, a
Hawaii Democrat who championed funding for Israel through his decades in
the Senate. Inouye died in December.
Among those addressing the event in the Russell Senate Building were
Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), the ranking member on the Senate Armed
Services Committee; Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), the chairman of the House
Foreign Relations Committee, and that committee's ranking Democrat, Rep.
Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.); and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), named to
replace Inouye by Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie.
They also each committed to sustaining funding for the Iron Dome
anti-missile system, which Israel said repelled upward of 80 percent of
the rockets launched into the country during Israel's Gaza Strip war
with Hamas last November.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) said she would soon join Rep. Susan
Davis (D-Calif.) in introducing additional funding for Iron Dome.
Schatz urged lawmakers to resolve an impasse over the budget that
threatens massive spending cuts in coming weeks, saying Iron Dome and
other programs could suffer.
"My colleagues must come together once again and protect funding for
critical programs such as this," he said. "The resources needed to
guarantee American and Israeli security cannot be subject to political
partisanship."
The event was organized by the Friedlander Group and chaired by
Robert Rechnitz, a Los Angeles-based real estate developer and
philanthropist.
Also speaking were Bill Thompson, a candidate for mayor in New York
City; Inouye's widow, Irene; James Woolsey, a former CIA director; and
Michael Oren, the Israeli ambassador to Washington.
http://www.jta.org/news/article/2013/02/28/3120761/lawmakers-pledge-iron-dome-support-at-inouye-memorial
Friday 1 March 2013
"Lawmakers" at Inouye memorial pledge Iron Dome support
Posted @ 18:43
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