District of Columbia--111th Congress (2009-2010)
House First
Session (2009)
Representative |
H.Res. 867 |
Moran/ Inglis Letter | McDermott/ Ellison Letter | H.Res. 1765 |
2009 Total |
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Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-Delegate) |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0 |
House Second Session (2010)
Representative |
H.Res.
1391 |
H.R. 5501 |
Poe/Peters Letter |
2010 Total |
Overall Total |
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Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-Delegate) |
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|
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
1 |
House
1. Capps
Letter. Comment: This letter
expresses concern about the breakdown of civilian infrastructure, including
electricity, medical care, water, and sewage treatment, in the Gaza Strip due
to
2. H.Res.34. Title:
“Recognizing
3. H.Res.66. Title: “Expressing the sense of the
House of Representatives concerning the humanitarian crisis in
4. H.Con.Res.29. Title:
“Expressing the sense of Congress that the United Nations should take immediate
steps to improve the transparency and accountability of the United Nations
Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in the
5. Olver
Letter. Comment: This letter
acknowledges the acute humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and urges the
6. H.Res.130. Title:
“Expressing support for the appointment of former Senator George Mitchell as
Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, and for other purposes.” Comment:
President Obama’s appointment of Senator George Mitchell was applauded by many
analysts who view him as an even-handed mediator, especially compared with many
previous Bush and Clinton appointments to similar positions. The resolution quotes Senator Mitchell on the
resolvability of conflicts and points to his experience in successfully
brokering peace in
7. H.Con.Res.111. Title:
“Recognizing the 61st anniversary of the independence of the State of Israel.” Comment:
Where should we start with this resolution chocked full of hyperbolic gushy sentiments
about how
8. Hoyer
Letter. Comments: This AIPAC-initiated “Dear Colleague” letter to President
Obama urges him to “take into account the risks” Israel will take in signing a
peace agreement with the Palestinians, as if Palestinians face no risks in
signing an agreement with an Israeli government that consistently violates
human rights, international law, and even previous agreements it has
signed. The letter is also premised on
the biased notion that only Palestinians and Arabs bear responsibility for
bringing about peace, and that Israel is free of any responsibility to take
steps in that direction. The letter
reads as if these Representatives are stuck in some parallel universe where
Palestinians are occupying
9.
H.Res.867. Title: “Calling on the President and the Secretary of State to
oppose unequivocally any endorsement or further consideration of the ‘Report of
the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict’ in multilateral
fora.” Comment: This resolution condemns the Goldstone Report as
“irredeemably biased and unworthy of further consideration or legitimacy” and
instructs the Obama Administration to oppose consideration or endorsement of
the Goldstone Report. The resolution is
replete with inaccurate information about and misleading characterizations of
the Goldstone Report and undermines the commitment of the
11. McDermott/Ellison
Letter. Comment:
This “Dear Colleague” letter to
President Obama draws attention to the devastating humanitarian consequences of
12. H.Res.1191.
Title: “Urging the expedient relocation of the United States Embassy in
Israel to Jerusalem.” Comment: This resolution attempts to
pre-judge the negotiation over the final status of Jerusalem by insisting that
the United States move its embassy there. It also declares Jerusalem “the
undivided capital of the State of Israel,” thereby ignoring Israel’s disregard
for the UN Partition Plan arrangement for Jerusalem as a “corpus separatum” and
its illegal 43-year military occupation of Palestinian East Jerusalem. Scoring: -2 sponsor, -1 cosponsor. Last
Major Action: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs,
3/18/2010.
13. Hoyer/Cantor
Letter. Comment: This
AIPAC-inspired “Dear Colleague” letter attempts to exert pressure on the Obama
Administration to paper over its policy differences with Israel and solve them
“quietly, in trust and confidence” instead of correctly confronting it over
continued settlement expansion. The letter also attempts to downplay the Obama Administration’s policy
disagreements with Israel, referring to Israel’s intransigence on expanding
settlements as a mere “misunderstanding”. Scoring: -2 sponsor, -1 cosponsor. Last
Major Action: Sent to Secretary of State with 334 signatures, 3/26/2010.
14. H.Res.1241.
Title: “Supporting the right of Israel to defend itself against
terrorists and the Israeli construction of new security fences along the border
of Egypt.” Comment:
This resolution justifies Israel’s construction of apartheid walls/fences both
in the occupied Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip, even though the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) deemed Israel’s wall in the West Bank to
be illegal. Scoring: -2 sponsor, -1
cosponsor. Last Major Action: Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, 4/13/2010.
15. H.Con.Res.270.
Title: “Calling on the United States
Government to investigate the case of Tristan Anderson, a United States citizen
from Oakland, California, who was critically injured in the West Bank village
of Ni'lin on March 13, 2009, and expressing sympathy to Tristan Anderson and
his family, friends, and loved ones during this trying time.” Comment: This resolution
calls on the Obama Administration “to undertake a full, fair, and expeditious
investigation” into Israel’s shooting of U.S. peace activist Tristan Anderson,
and to work with Israel “to ensure that any incident of this kind never occurs
again”. Scoring: +2 sponsor, +1
cosponsor. Last Major Action:
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, 4/28/2010.
16. H.Con.Res.271. Title:
“Commemorating the 43rd anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem.” Comment: This resolution audaciously
“congratulates the residents of Jerusalem” on the 43 years of Israel’s illegal
military occupation of East Jerusalem. Perhaps the Members of Congress who
sponsored this resolution are so ignorant of reality that they don’t realize
the Palestinian residents of Jerusalem would not want to be “congratulated” for
being subjected to Israeli military occupation. Scoring: -2 sponsor, -1 cosponsor. Last Major Action:
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, 4/29/2010.
17. Kind/Delahunt
Letter. Comment: While the
choice of language in this “Dear Colleague” letter leaves a lot to be desired
from the perspective of human rights and international law, it is significant
in that it quotes Gen. David Petraeus, Commander of CENTCOM, as stating that
U.S. and Israeli interests do not always align and that U.S. pressure on Israel
is needed to achieve peace. Scoring: +2 sponsor, +1 cosponsor. Last
Major Action: Sent to the President with 61 signatures, 5/27/2010.
18. H.R.5327. Title: United States-Israel Rocket and
Missile Defense Cooperation and Support Act. Comment: This resolution
authorizes the expenditure of more than $200 million in additional military aid
to Israel for an anti-missile defense system, despite Israel’s repeated
violations of the Arms Export Control Act and misuse of U.S. weapons. Although technically a “defensive”
weapon, the “Iron Dome” missile defense system would also increase Israel’s
offensive capabilities, making it more cost-free for it to attack without fear
of return missiles. Scoring: -2 sponsor, -1
cosponsor or yes vote, 0 not voting, +1 present vote, +2 no vote. Last Major Action: Passed the House 410-4
(Roll Call Vote #284),
5/20/2010.
19. H.Res.1391.
Title: Congratulating Israel for its accession to membership in the
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Comment: Israel’s
accession to membership in Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) was unwarranted based on its human rights record, and a
major blow to international efforts to isolate and de-legitimate Israel’s
military occupation and apartheid policies toward Palestinians. This resolution congratulates Israel
for joining the OECD. Scoring: -2 sponsor, -1 cosponsor. Last
Major Action: Passed the House 418-0 (Roll Call Vote #320),
5/28/2010.
20. H.R.5501. Title: America Stands with Israel Act. Comment: This resolution brashly declares
support for “Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza”—an illegal act of collective
punishment according to the 4th Geneva Convention. It advances spurious and debunked
claims that the Gaza Freedom Flotilla organizers have ties to Al-Qaeda (would
Israel really just let Al-Qaeda members go free after capturing them? C’mon.) The resolution also opposes any international accountability
for Israel’s illegal attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. Scoring: -2 sponsor, -1 cosponsor. Last Major Action: Referred to the House
Committee on Foreign Affairs, 6/10/2010.
21. Poe/Peters
Letter. Comment: This “Dear Colleague” letter
justifies Israel’s attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla and its illegal blockade
of the occupied Palestinian Gaza Strip. It urges President Obama “to thwart international condemnation” of
Israel, providing it carte blanche to violate international law as it chooses. Scoring: -2 sponsor, -1
cosponsor. Last Major Action: Send to the President with 329 signatures,
6/17/2010.
22. H.Res.1765. Title: Supporting a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and condemning unilateral measures to declare or recognize a Palestinian state, and for other purposes. Comment: Rushed to the floor of the House for a vote before the text was even made public, this resolution paternalistically sets a timeline for Palestinian freedom by condemning Palestinian efforts to achieve statehood and insisting that Palestinian self-determination be granted only with Israeli consent. Scoring: -2 sponsor, -1 co-sponsor. Last Major Action: Passed the House by voice vote, 12/15/2010.