Calvert Remarks During Floor Consideration of H.R. 8034, 8035, and 8036, a Series of Security Supplemental Bills

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer House Resolution 8034, the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2024. This bill provides $26.38 billion to fortify America’s support of our Israeli allies and defend our troops in the region.

It is part of a larger package of three security supplemental appropriations acts before us for Israel, Ukraine, and the Indo-Pacific. All three are essential to deter our adversaries.

There are moments where action is optional. A convenience but not a necessity. A choice. This is not one of those moments.

The world is in chaos, Americans have been killed, and our allies and partners are dying on the front lines every day.

Ukraine is entering its third year of war to repel Russia’s invasion, while forced to conserve their munitions and choose which areas to defend. Israel is avenging its innocent civilians who were murdered, raped, brutalized, and taken hostage by Hamas while defending its country from a barrage of Iranian missiles.

Indo-Pacific nations face China daily with strength and resolve, knowing they are likely next.

The United States is not on the sidelines of these conflicts. Our servicemembers are under daily attack in the Red Sea, standing watch along NATO’s eastern flank, and being routinely challenged in the Indo-Pacific. Five American flag-draped coffins have returned home in the past six months.

When we go to war, we go in with what we have. There is no time to forge new alliances, no ability to reconstitute abandoned production lines, and no hidden reserve of fully trained and ready troops.

This is the situation our allies and partners in Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, and other Indo-Pacific nations face today. It is a situation we ourselves may face sooner than we think.

Xi, Putin, Khamenei, and terrorist leaders will not back down unless met by a strong and resolute America, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our constellation of allies and partners. These bills provide the funding necessary to defeat and deter our enemies.

While the bills carry the names of other countries there is one nation that I care about above all others—and that is ours. These conflicts have exposed the fragility of our defense industrial base and the dire need to invest in the factories, shipyards, and assembly lines that manufacture the instruments of our national defense.

In recognition of this fact, over $59 billion across these bills goes into our defense industrial base, including $3.3 billion to supercharge our submarine industrial base; $29.5 billion to replenish our stocks of U.S. defense systems and services provided to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan; and $1.13 billion to expand procurement and development of artillery and critical munitions.

Each conflict has unique needs addressed by these bills, including: $5.2 billion to replenish Israel’s Iron Dome and David’s Sling and procure Iron Beam missile defense systems; $542 million for unfunded priorities expressly requested by the INDOPACOM Commander; and $13.8 billion to directly procure U.S. capabilities for Ukraine.

Our service men and women across the globe are being tasked to operate at a wartime tempo to track, respond, and engage emerging threats. These bills provide the resources necessary to support their operations with $11.3 billion for current U.S. operations in Europe; and, $2.4 billion for our forces in the Middle East who are under daily attack.

Mr. Speaker, we have been complacent far too long as our allies, partners, and our own servicemembers have been under attack. This Congress has a solemn obligation to our military to provide them with the resources they need to deter and win our nation’s wars.

Douglas MacArthur once said that “the history of the failure of war can almost be summed up in two words – too late.” When conflict occurs, we will fight with what we have and who is with us.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to vote ‘yes’ on these bills to ensure our military readiness and reinvigorate American defense industry. I encourage them to vote ‘yes’ to reinforce our Israeli, Ukrainian, Taiwanese, and Indo-Pacific allies and partners. I encourage them to vote ‘yes’ so that future generations may write of what we did here today, “they weren’t too late.”

Thank you and I reserve the balance of my time.