Members on the Record (Automated) for Sat January 21, 2023

Israel - Palestine

Bennet (D-CO) 01/20/2023: Twitter thread – “Our visit to @yadvashem in Israel was deeply personal to me — my mother and her parents survived the Holocaust. We must never forget the millions of lives lost, shattered, and changed forever. Link to image Unchallenged hate can become unspeakable evil, and we must do everything in our power to fight antisemitism and hate in all its forms.”

Syria

Malliotakis (R-NY-11) 01/20/2023: Retweet of @RepCicilline – “Under Erdogan's leadership, Turkey continues to threaten Greece with missiles, hold up NATO membership for 🇸🇪 and 🇫🇮, put US troops at risk in Syria, and disregard human rights and democratic norms. This behavior should not be rewarded with new F-16s. Link to quoted tweet”

Iran

Cardin (D-MD) 01/21/2023: Tweet – “The Iranian People exemplify bravery as they protest the Government of Iran, which unsurprisingly ranks as one of the worst human rights violators in the world. A 15-minute defense for an illegitimate death-sentence is outlandish and cruel. Iran protests: 15 minutes to defend yourself against the death penalty... | bbc.com”

Green (R-TN-7) 01/20/2023: Twitter thread – “42 years ago, the Iranian Hostage Crisis came to an end and all 66 Americans were finally home. It's not a wonder that they were freed only minutes after President Reagan was inaugurated. /1 It's a firm reminder that when the United States has weak leadership, our adversaries are emboldened. /2”

Meng (D-NY-6) 01/20/2023: Tweet – “FFS why doesn't the GOP just rewrite the Chinese Exclusion Act. TY @GeneforTexas @BenChouTX for speaking up against this racist bill. God help our constituents who are awaiting their American citizenship and who wouldn't be able to buy a home. Link to quoted tweet.@GregAbbott_TX wants to strip Chinese, Korean, Iranian, and Russians who don't have citizenship from buying a home. People who have lived here for years, work jobs, and have a green card will no longer be able to buy a home. Join us Monday at Houston City Hall at noon. (Link to twitter.com)”

Murphy (D-CT) 01/20/2023: Tweet – “I met today with Connecticut Iranian-American leaders about how the United States can continue to stand for the right of the Iranian people to protest without fear of reprisal. Link to image”

Saudi Arabia

Casten (D-IL-6) 01/21/2023: Twitter thread – “Earlier this month, the @HouseGOP passed a bill on the House floor to raise US oil prices. They are about to tee up another one this week, again designed to transfer $ from US consumers to US oil drillers. Thread below from the last one. Let's talk about the next one: Link to quoted tweetThe @HouseGOP this week is going to release a bill this week that is designed to raise the price of oil. Let's explain why. Thread: 1/ Here's a summary of the mischief they are up to this week. Their bill would say that if we release any oil from the strategic petroleum reserve, we also have to increase oil & gas exploration on federal lands. House GOP's new rules make it easier to sell off public lands, encourage drilling... | kunc.org 2/ First, and least significantly... oil and gas are two different things. Releasing oil from reserves and drilling for more gas to make up the shortfall is like adding turkey to your shopping list because you ran out of milk. But the point isn't logic. It's just extractive 3/ Second, thanks to @SecGranholm for making the point that these bills only raise the price of gasoline at the pump. Exclusive: U.S. energy chief warns Republicans that oil bill would raise pump prices... | reuters.com 4/ But it's important to also raise a larger point about the Strategic Petroleum Reserve ("SPR"). It was created in 1975 in response to the 1st OPEC price shocks to provide a domestic buffer against future global market volatility / supply constraints. 5/ But the conditions for which it was created changed in October 2019. That's when the US - for the first time - became a net oil exporter. We've remained one since. Link to image 6/ That means that for the last 4 years, we have not one but TWO tools we could use to protect us from global volatility. We could release oil from the SPR OR we could reduce exports and prioritize US oil for US use. 7/ As an economic matter, both are equivalent. A barrel added to domestic supplies is a barrel we don't have to import and an additional barrel of supply, easing domestic prices. Moreover, the volume we export today is WAY bigger than the amount we can release from the SPR. 8/ However, the politics changed in 2019. Prior to that point, releases from the SPR were seen primarily as a benefit from US consumers. Since then it has ALSO been seen as a reduction in revenue available to US oil exporters. 9/ To state the obvious: every American is an energy consumer while a tiny minority are oil exporters. The greater good is always to lower US energy prices. But - as I noted before - @HouseGOP leadership is beholden to the exporters. Link to quoted tweet8/ But @HouseGOP leadership wants high oil prices. Mr. McCarthy is from Bakersfield, CA's oil producing center. Mr. Scalise represents all those gulf coast producers. Their district's economies go up with the price of oil. 10/ The energy policy of the @HouseGOP isn't that complicated. They want to raise oil & gas company revenue by raising the price of oil. 11/ And they aren't particularly subtle about it. In April 2020, they threatened to pull US troops out of Saudi unless they curtailed production to raise oil prices. Link to quoted tweet4/ In response, a group of @GOP Senators introduced a bill to pull US troops out of Saudi Arabia unless they slashed oil production. On the logic that this would raise oil prices and provide welfare to the neediest amongst us - the US oil sector. (Bill would remove U.S. troops from Saudi Arabia in 30 days... | reuters.com) 12/ Trump carried out the threat, the Saudis delivered and the @GOP celebrated. Trump plays key role in brokering historic oil deal... | foxbusiness.com 13/ And now they are cranky. Because Biden used the SPR to lower oil prices. They are CLAIMING this is about our precious, domestic, apple-pie-smelling crude and our need to keep it local. But that's all BS, since they aren't doing anything to curtail exports. 14/ And the bill they are dropping this week would not only raise prices (by limiting the ability to make draws from the SPR) but would also increase exportable oil (by increasing drilling on public lands). 15/ The math is straightforward. The policy goals are as obvious as the policy implications. But rest assured that the @GOP spin this week won't be honest about either. Call 'em on it. /fin Link to reply@SeanCasten @HouseGOP A simple policy of releasing oil when prices are above $100 a barrel and replace if prices fall to 50 a barrel. It could fund expansion of the reserve and reduce risk for the industry and consumers. Oil $ is likely to be more volatile as we switch to EVs and investment declines. @mdad8200 @HouseGOP Indeed, and my friend @FrankPallone has a bill that does that. If the @HouseGOP cared about markets and consumer prices they'd be expediting it to the floor. Pallone Introduces the Buy Low and Sell High Act, New Legislation to Keep Gas Prices Falling... | pallone.house.gov”

Turkey

Cornyn (R-TX) 01/20/2023: Tweet – “If Turkey Blocks Sweden and Finland, Will NATO Boot Turkey? If Turkey Blocks Sweden and Finland, Will NATO Boot Turkey?... | bloomberg.com”

Hern (R-OK-1) 01/21/2023: Tweet – “Turkey has a $500,000 bounty on @EnesFreedom's head for speaking out against their authoritarian regime. Only silence from Biden. He MUST immediately take concrete action to hold Turkey accountable for putting a bounty on Enes Kanter. Enes Kanter Freedom issues daring declaration to Turkey over $500k bounty: It might cost me 'everything'... | foxbusiness.com”

Libya

Swalwell (D-CA-14) 01/20/2023: Retweet of @amanbatheja – “Echoes of Benghazi Inquiry in House GOP Approach to Biden's Classified Documents House GOP Plan on Biden Classified Documents Echoes Benghazi... | time.com”

United Arab Emirates

Cruz (R-TX) 01/20/2023: Tweet – “.@BIZPACReview: ‘Americans are watching': Ted Cruz warns UAE over US prisoner ‘rotting' and about to die without intervention ‘Americans are watching': Ted Cruz warns UAE over US prisoner ‘rotting' and about to die without intervention... | bizpacreview.com”

Cruz (R-TX) 01/21/2023: Tweet – “ICYMI: Ted Cruz warns UAE 'Americans are watching' as doctor says imprisoned US citizen has only weeks to live   Ted Cruz warns UAE 'Americans are watching' as doctor says imprisoned US citizen has only weeks to live... | foxnews.com”

Merkley (D-OR) 01/20/2023: Tweet – “Greta Thunberg is right. It's absurd and obscene to hold a climate conference in the UAE. World leaders are failing their responsibility to our health and planet, which is obvious given we are burning more fossil fuels now than at any time in the past. In Davos, a Skirmish Over the Role of Oil States at Climate Talks... | nytimes.com”

Horn of Africa

Norton (D-DC-0) 01/20/2023: Tweet – “If DC's crime is comparable to Somalia's, then FBI data shows 38 states have higher crime rates than Somalia. With increased resources for law enforcement and senators to advocate for funding for community projects addressing crime, #DCStatehood would likely lower crime rates. Link to quoted tweetFox host describes Washington, DC as "basically a third [world country], Somalia, just a crime-ridden mess." Another host: "If you're not going to behave, DC is never going to be a state." (Link to twitter.com)”

Pakistan

Cornyn (R-TX) 01/21/2023: Retweet of @DerekJGrossman – ““Indians see China as India's ‘greatest military threat.' 43 percent of respondents named China, while only 13 percent cited Pakistan, India's long-standing rival. Strikingly, 22 percent of respondents said the United States was India's greatest threat.”👀China Has Become India's Greatest Threat... | foreignpolicy.com”

Jewish, Anti-semitism

Casten (D-IL-6) 01/21/2023: Tweet – “Neat blast from the past here that an old HS friend dug up. From 1988(ish?) when @dcgmentor - one of my favorite teachers - connected a bunch of us to Marty Glickman so we could better understand how antisemitism in 1930s America still rippled through. Thanks, Mr. Greene! Link to image”

Cárdenas (D-CA-29) 01/20/2023: Tweet – “I met with @jfcsorg, a cornerstone of social service in Los Angeles since 1854. It was great to get a behind-the-scenes look at how Jewish Family Service LA helps those in need, and I look forward to continuing to work with their team to make the Valley a better place. Link to image”

Lawler (R-NY-17) 01/20/2023: Tweet – “My office has been in direct contact with the FAA and has been working to get to the bottom of this terrible accident. Doina and I extend our deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this terrible tragedy. UPDATED 11:50AM: Victims of Plane Crash Being Flown By Hatzolah Air To Cleveland For Levaya - The Yeshiva World”

Raskin (D-MD-8) 01/20/2023: Tweet – “The GOP consorts with pathological liars, antisemites, Holocaust deniers, Proud Boys, Putin, Orban, child molesters, and election deniers, but the news that George Santos performed as a drag queen will quickly make him a pariah in the party that pickets drag shows. Link to quoted tweetGeorge Santos has claimed that reports of him performing in drag are “categorically false.” But in a 2011 Wiki post under an alias name, he appears to have confirmed that he participated in drag shows as a teen and claimed to win several pageants. (George Santos appears to admit drag queen past in Wiki post... | politico.com)”

Swalwell (D-CA-14) 01/21/2023: Retweet of @jamie_raskin – “The GOP consorts with pathological liars, antisemites, Holocaust deniers, Proud Boys, Putin, Orban, child molesters, and election deniers, but the news that George Santos performed as a drag queen will quickly make him a pariah in the party that pickets drag shows. Link to quoted tweet”

Torres (D-NY-15) 01/21/2023: Twitter thread – “OUTRAGEOUS: Waseem Awadeh might get only six months in prison for his role in an antisemitic gang assault against Joseph Borgen who sustained a concussion after being brutally beaten in NYC. Six months despite saying he would commit the hate crime again if he could. Waseem Awadeh has ZERO remorse for committing an antisemitic hate crime. 'I would do it again': Suspect accused of pummeling NYC Jewish man...... | nypost.com”

Afghanistan

Bacon (R-NE-2) 01/20/2023: Twitter thread – “Then we had the disgraceful and botched withdrawal from Afghanistan. Our Allies were shocked and our enemies emboldened. Link to quoted tweetTwo years ago today, America took its seat back at the table. Today, we're ready to win the competition for the 21st century.   Link to reply@RepDonBacon As I said in my letter to you, Congress must investigate all 20 years of our war in Afghanistan. That would include why the Government of Afghanistan simply fled. @JimHarroldOmaha Removing our air and logistics support over a 2-week period after depending on them for 2 decades is the reason. Biden did this over the dissent of the C/JCS. Most veterans are still sick over it.”

Clyde (R-GA-9) 01/20/2023: Tweet – “Today marks two years of total failure under Joe Biden: ❌ Soaring crime ❌ Depleted SPR ❌ Woke military ❌ Fentanyl crisis ❌ Record inflation ❌ Weaponized DOJ ❌ Weakness on world stage ❌ Wide open southern border ❌ Botched Afghanistan withdrawal Americans deserve better.”

Garcia (R-CA-27) 01/20/2023: Twitter thread – “This is heartbreaking. Our police officers go thru so much to keep our communities safe, and their line of work sometimes results in issues they need help with. Please pray for this officer's family. Homicide detectives investigating shooting at Saugus shopping center... | signalscv.com This officer was a Marine veteran who served two tours in Afghanistan. This also underlies issues related to veteran suicide. We need more support for these vets, like peer to peer support. If you are vet & are having these types of challenges, please seek help. These challenges can be overcome.”

Gonzales (R-TX-23) 01/21/2023: Tweet – “17 months ago my team helped save Shamim and his family from near certain death. He went from fighting along side US troops in Afghanistan to working at .@SASshoemakers. Our asylum process needs major overall but abolishment would mean turning away families like this. 🚫 HR29 Link to image”

McCaul (R-TX-10) 01/20/2023: Tweet – “It's an honor to be the first Texan to chair @HouseForeignGOP. I spoke with @TexasMonthly about my plans to combat the #CCP's malign influence, hold the Biden admin accountable for its chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, secure our border, & so much more:Michael McCaul Talks Aid to Ukraine and the Withdrawal From Afghanistan... | texasmonthly.com”

McCaul (R-TX-10) 01/20/2023: Tweet – “.@TexasMonthly: “Michael McCaul is the most powerful Texan in the House.” Check out this new article featuring Michael and his priorities for the 118th Congress! Michael McCaul Talks Aid to Ukraine and the Withdrawal From Afghanistan... | texasmonthly.com”

Other - Middle East

Raskin (D-MD-8) 01/21/2023: Tweet – “Putin's thug state calls Olesya Krivtsova, a 19-year old student peace activist, a “terrorist” like al-Qaeda & wants to send her to prison for 10 yrs for online statements opposing war on Ukraine. Please repeat the name of this freedom fighter everywhere. After classmates snitch, Russia charges 19-year-old war critic as terrorist... | stripes.com”

Swalwell (D-CA-14) 01/21/2023: Retweet of @RepRaskin – “Putin's thug state calls Olesya Krivtsova, a 19-year old student peace activist, a “terrorist” like al-Qaeda & wants to send her to prison for 10 yrs for online statements opposing war on Ukraine. Please repeat the name of this freedom fighter everywhere. After classmates snitch, Russia charges 19-year-old war critic as terrorist... | stripes.com”