John Carter Pre-Approves Israeli Military Strike on Iran

Any who might be in need of a sure fire line guaranteed to make their more liberal friends heads explode should look no farther than Congressman Carter's opening paragraph ... enjoy. (WASHINGTON, DC) – Israel now has the right to pre-emptive military action against Iran, based on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s vow to use a nearly-completed nuclear arsenal to “annihilate” Israel, according to House Republican Conference Secretary John Carter (TX-31).

“Congress needs to send a very strong message to both Israel and Iran on this issue,” says Carter. “Iran has vowed to commit genocide against Israel, and has defied international law and United Nations resolutions to pursue acquisition of a functional nuclear weapon and the means to deliver it. This grants Israel a perfect right to undertake pre-emptive military action, and the United States Congress should pledge our support in advance for that action.”

Carter today co-sponsored a Resolution by fellow Texan Louie Gohmert (R-TX1) expressing support for the State of Israel’s right to defend Israeli sovereignty.

Carter also co-signed Gohmert’s letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) requesting that she invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress, to display American support for the right of Israel to exist.

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Resolution Summary:
Expressing support for the State of Israel’s right to defend Israeli sovereignty, to protect the lives and safety of the Israeli people, and to use all means necessary to confront and eliminate nuclear threats posed by the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the use of military force if no other peaceful solution can be found within reasonable time to protect against such an immediate and existential threat to the State of Israel….

Whereas, on October 26, 2005, at a conference in Tehran called ‘‘World Without Zionism’’, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated, ‘‘God willing, with the force of God behind it, we shall soon experience a world without the United States and Zionism’’; Whereas the New York Times reported that during his October 26, 2005, speech, President Ahmadinejad called for ‘‘this occupying regime [Israel] to be wiped off the map’’; Whereas, on April 14, 2006, Iranian President Ahmadinejad said, ‘‘Like it or not, the Zionist regime [Israel] is heading toward annihilation’’; Whereas, on June 2, 2008, Iranian President Ahmadinejad said, ‘‘I must announce that the Zionist regime [Israel], with a 60-year record of genocide, plunder, invasion, and betrayal is about to die and will soon be erased from the geographical scene’’; Whereas, on May 20, 2009, Iran successfully tested a surface-to-surface long range missile with an approximate range of 1,200 miles; Whereas Iran continues its pursuit of nuclear weapons; Whereas Iran has been caught building three secret nuclear facilities since 2002;...

Resolved, That the House of Representatives— condemns the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for its threats of ‘‘annihilating’’ the United States and the State of Israel, for its continued support of international terrorism, and for its incitement of genocide of the Israeli people; supports using all means of persuading the Government of Iran to stop building and acquiring nuclear weapons; reaffirms the United States’ bond with Israel and pledges to continue to work with the Government of Israel and the people of Israel to ensure that their sovereign nation continues to receive critical economic and military assistance, including missile defense capabilities, needed to address the threat of Iran; and expresses support for Israel’s right to use all means necessary to confront and eliminate nuclear threats posed by Iran, defend Israeli sovereignty, and protect the lives and safety of the Israeli people, including the use of military force if no other peaceful solution can be found within a reasonable time. ###

John L. Mica No BP Oil Spill Piggy Bank

John L. Mica TSA's SPOT Program

Washington, DC – Emergency legislation to ensure that funds remain available to the Coast Guard to respond to the Gulf oil spill was considered in the House today.

In that debate, U.S. Rep. John L. Mica (R-FL), the Republican leader of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said, “The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund will not be used as a piggy bank for BP or any responsible parties. BP must immediately pay its costs and reimburse the Trust Fund.”

Without this legislation, if the dwindling oil spill emergency fund is depleted, the Coast Guard will be forced to choose between maintaining its oil spill response activities in the Gulf of Mexico and cutting other activities such as search and rescue or drug law enforcement in other parts of the country. During the floor debate, Members of Congress were informed that BP would be paying its past-due account by the end of next week. As of yesterday, BP had failed to pay $69 million in oil spill cleanup costs billed to date by the government.

Mica said he would only agree with providing access to additional funds from the trust account with the assurance that BP and other parties would be held responsible for repayment.

A similar bill, H.R. 5499, was introduced in the House by Mica and other Members of Congress. The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has jurisdiction over the Coast Guard, the Oil Pollution Act and the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF).

Mica added, “Congress must also act to ensure the Coast Guard has adequate access to existing Trust Fund resources. Providing this authority will allow the Coast Guard to maintain its response actions and prevent the service from scaling back any of its operations.

“Earlier this year, the Administration proposed cutting the Coast Guard’s budget in the upcoming fiscal year. If this legislation is not enacted, the service will be forced to do more with even less in the current fiscal year,” Mica said.

The OSLTF is funded by a tax on the oil industry and currently has a balance of approximately $1.6 billion. The bulk of the OSLTF is used to pay claims, fund federal agencies to administer the Oil Pollution Act, and support research and development.

Within the OSLTF is the Emergency Fund, which can be used to pay for federal oil spill response costs without waiting for responsible parties to repay the fund. Current law limits the transfer of funds to the Emergency Fund to $150 million per year.

However, the Emergency Fund is diminishing. Because of the provisions of the current law, even as BP reimburses the OSLTF for the federal response costs, these additional reimbursements still will not be available to the federal emergency fund. The Office of Management and Budget has requested this emergency action in today’s legislation.

Both the Senate and House measures will allow the further transfer of funds, in addition to the $150 million annual transfer that has already taken place this year, from the OSLTF to the Emergency Fund. The bill would authorize the Coast Guard to access the fund on an as-needed basis, provided that each transfer was $100 million or less and that justification was provided to Congress. All funding used under this provision would be eligible for reimbursement by BP and would be at no cost to the taxpayers.

Without the authority provided in this bill, the Coast Guard will be required to cut back their operations once the emergency fund limit is reached. # # #

une 10, 2010 House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee 2163 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: (202) 225-9446 Fax: (202) 225-6782