With Congress agreeing to a temporary truce in the battle over funding the federal government and President Donald Trump’s proposal for a wall on the southern border, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., scored a win as the U.S. Senate passed a bill he championed focusing on the Middle East.
At the start of the month, Rubio paired up with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and U.S. Sens. Cory Gardner, R-Col., and James Risch, R-Idaho, to unveil the “Strengthening America’s Security in the Middle East Act.”
“This legislation would make improvements to defense and security assistance provisions in the Middle East, bolster the U.S.-Israel strategic alliance by authorizing security assistance to Israel over a 10-year period pursuant to the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding, reauthorize the United States-Jordan Defense Cooperation Act of 2015, provide new authorities for sanctions against Syria’s Assad regime and its supporters, and empower state and local governments in the United States to counter the anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement’s discriminatory economic warfare against the Jewish state,” Rubio’s office noted.
The Senate passed the bill on a 74-19 vote on Monday with Rubio and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., voting for the proposal. Senate Democrats put the bill on the backburner until the federal government was reopened.
Rubio, who sits on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, has been critical of recent developments from the Trump administration when it comes to Middle East policy, including the president’s call to withdraw American forces from Syria.
After his bill was passed, Rubio said he was glad to see the legislation moved forward and urged U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to move it through the House.
“I commend my colleagues for putting politics aside and supporting this critical bill of bipartisan measures that will keep America and our allies safer and more secure,” said Rubio. “It is in America’s national security interests to ensure that our allies in the Middle East like Israel and Jordan remain secure amid the region’s growing destabilizing threats posed by Iran and Syria’s Assad regime. Additionally, this bill will hold the Assad regime and its supporters accountable for the continued human rights violations against the Syrian people. I look forward to the U.S. Senate passing this bill in the coming days and urge Speaker Pelosi to quickly take it up in the House.”
Scott voted for the bill and he jabbed the Democrats for holding the bill up during the shutdown.
“Florida has maintained a strong relationship with Israel for many generations. As governor, I took a stand against discrimination and prohibited state agencies and local governments from contracting with companies boycotting Israel. I was proud to support Senator Rubio’s Strengthening America’s Security in the Middle East Act of 2019 tonight and will continue to advocate for strengthening the security of our strongest ally, Israel. Supporting Israel should never be a partisan issue, and I was shocked Chuck Schumer held this bill up. I’m glad the Democrats saw the light and finally allowed this bill to move forward,” Scott said on Monday.
