Sixth District Perspectives with Congressman Ben Cline – April 26, 2024

The House was back in session last week, with an extra day of session on Saturday to finish out the week. House Republicans brought forward various separate spending bills to address ongoing conflicts around the world. In addition to funding, we also considered several measures to demonstrate our support of Israel and take action against Iran. I also had the pleasure of recognizing some of Virginia’s Sixth District student-athletes. As always, I enjoyed meeting with organizations, businesses, and friendly faces in D.C. and back home. As we finish a district work week, followed by four consecutive weeks back in session, I will continue fighting for the best interests of Virginia’s Sixth District and our great Nation.

Supporting Our Allies

The Biden administration’s weakness on the global stage has only emboldened our adversaries, which has in turn only escalated violent conflicts worldwide. Under this administration, we’ve witnessed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s alarming threats against Taiwan, and most recently, Iran’s unprecedented direct assault on Israel. The challenges facing Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine are distinctly separate, demanding separate responses and separate votes on spending bills to address them individually.
Israel stands as our foremost ally in the Middle East, and they are currently fighting the Hamas, Houthi, and Hezbollah terror groups, as well as Iran – the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. I voted in support of providing military aid to Israel to help them in their fight against these terror groups and ensure their nation continues to exist.
At the beginning of this year in his New Year’s address, Chinese President Xi made a troubling declaration that he aims to take action against Taiwan. I also voted in favor of providing Taiwan with military aid to help deter Chinese aggression and preserve peace in the region.

Regarding my vote against additional Ukraine funding, I condemn Russian aggression and pray for peace in the region. However, we have already given over $100 billion to Ukraine without sufficient accountability from the Biden administration as to where the money has gone. While financially supporting our allies can sometimes be in America’s best interest, we must exercise fiscal responsibility and demand some accountability for American tax dollars from this Administration.

To assist Ukraine, I voted for the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act, which gives the president the authority to confiscate Russian sovereign assets frozen in America and transfer them to assist in Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts. This legislation also prohibits the release of funds to sanctioned Russian entities until Russia withdraws from Ukraine and agrees to provide compensation for harm caused by this unprovoked war. This bill has passed the Senate and has been signed into law.

America’s Broken Border

Last week, I also voted in favor of H.R. 3602, the End the Border Catastrophe Act, which would have fixed our broken asylum system, hired more Border Patrol agents, and provided them with the resources they need while reinstating Trump-era policies like Remain in Mexico, and forced the Biden administration to resume the border wall. Unfortunately, the bill failed to get the ⅔ majority required by leadership to pass under suspension of rules.

We need strong, common-sense border security measures to protect the American people. For years now, House Republicans have been calling on President Biden to secure America’s border. We have not only been trying to negotiate with President Biden to fix the problem, but we also passed legislation, like H.R. 2, which has been deemed the strongest border security bill that has passed Congress, and it has been over in the Senate since last year.

Failure To Hold Mayorkas Accountable

Unfortunately, the Senate voted down both articles of impeachment against DHS Secretary Mayorkas after the House sent over articles of impeachment last week. We did our job in the House by passing the articles of impeachment, and I am disappointed that Democrats in the Senate unanimously voted to bypass their constitutional duty and hold a trial. Secretary Mayorkas has lied to Congress and ignored his statutory responsibility to secure our nation’s borders. Every day that Mayorkas has been at his job, Americans are less safe. He deserved to be held accountable.
Joe Biden and Mayorkas’ policies have effectively rolled out the welcome mat for millions of illegal immigrants to enter our country unchecked. Among those entering are people on the terrorist watch list, only a fraction of whom have been apprehended. This leaves an unknown number of people who have successfully entered our country. House Republicans will continue to force this issue, bring legislation to the floor, and pressure the Senate to take up this critical issue.

Watch my interview on WSET, where I discussed my disappointment with the Senate dismissing the Mayorkas impeachment trial.

Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversaries
I voted favor H.R. 8028, the 21st Century Peace Through Strength Act, which also included H.R. 7521, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. As you might remember, the House passed this TikTok bill in March, a crucial step in safeguarding our nation’s security and ensuring that the American people are not targets of foreign manipulation, surveillance, or targeting through online applications like TikTok. The bill prohibits marketplaces—like app stores and web hosting services—from hosting applications controlled by foreign adversaries of the United States. It offers ByteDance, which owns TikTok, a specific window to divest, or the application will face a prohibition in the U.S.

The new bill includes some small but important changes from the bill in March that strengthen the bill’s fight with judicial scrutiny and extend the length of time given to ByteDance to divest. This legislation is crucial to protect the well-being and national security of the American people and our country from foreign adversaries.
Standing with our Ally, Israel

This week, we took significant legislative steps to reaffirm our unwavering support for Israel and to hold Iran accountable for its actions. The measures we’ve passed, alongside other crucial pieces of legislation ignored by Leader Schumer in the Senate, offer a robust strategy to address the threats posed by Iran.

These measures, which I supported, include:
• H.R. 6046, the Standing Against Houthi Aggression Act, which redesignates the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization after the Biden Administration removed them from the list.
• H.R. 6323, the Iran Counterterrorism Act, requires Iran to cease support for acts of international terrorism as a condition for the President to waive secondary sanctions and provides for a congressional review process for national security interest waivers of these sanctions.
• H.R. 4691, the Iran Sanctions Relief Review Act, provides for tighter congressional oversight of any Administration attempt to weaken sanctions imposed on Iran.
• H.R. 5947, which ensures Iran cannot gain access to funds that could be used to support terrorism, including funding the Biden Administration has tried to make available to the Iranian regime.
By supporting Israel’s defense efforts, imposing sanctions on Iranian leaders, severing their financial lifelines, and targeting their allies and terrorist networks, we’re sending a clear message. Our commitment to Israel’s security and our determination to counter Iran’s malign activities remain steadfast.

Recognizing Sixth District Student-Athletes

I was pleased to congratulate the Christendom College women’s basketball team on winning the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Division II National Championship in Petersburg, Virginia. The Christendom Crusaders won the trophy by scoring 76-65 in the championship game against Johnson and Wales Charlotte, bringing home the first women’s basketball national title in school history. Congratulations to all of these champions whose hard work paid off.

Watch my floor speech recognizing Christendom College’s Women’s Basketball Team.

Another outstanding performance by Sixth District athletes was the Blue Ridge Christian girls’ basketball team, which won the Virginia Association of Christian Athletics, VACA, State championship. The team had a tremendous performance throughout the season, finishing 18-2 and going on to win the championship, their second VACA title in 3 years.

Watch my floor speech congratulating Blue Ridge Christian’s Girl’s Basketball Team.

Meeting on the Hill

Meeting with the American Academy of Pediatrics was a pleasure to discuss ways to ensure important access to care for children in the Sixth District.

It was great to meet Crystal Cupp, who works with Christians United for Israel. We discussed the recent attacks on Israel and how we can continue to support our ally.

I enjoyed meeting local representatives from the National Beer Wholesalers Association and learning more about the challenges to the industry, including the shortage of commercial drivers.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your Congressman. If my office can ever be of assistance, please get in touch with my Washington office at (202) 225-5431.

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