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member of the formulation commitealks about the situation in gaza mid war discusses his most recent meeting with israeli prime minister netanyahu stressed the importance of movin siblings out prior to a military action heoes on to say he told the i really a leader you don't just have the right to defend the israieople against hamas y have the obligation. you have to g after them but ha t finish the job and go into profit here's the center of his remarks. >> madam president come to the floor today to speak for a few moments about the pressing matters of americans held hostage or wrongfully detained. and about a specific positive development to make sure when they are released and freed, they are welcomed home in a positive meaningful way. some are twin 30 and 40 americans wrongfully detained

abroad. they range all over the condors countries there held i've met was repeatedly rachel and jon of the parents of hirsch gold org poem american israeli tendon music festival on israel badly injured, and kidnapped by hamas terrorists and dragged in these tunnels. ryan corbett has been held in afghanistan for years and ngo worker abducted by the taliban. has been held in china not yet imposed and of course a wall street journal reporter whose mother i met with recently and enjoined with his family and continuing to pray and work for release.

there is recently been a positive step forward. something disturbing how it long welcome home hostages. >> the senate will be in order progress jason is it "washington post" reporter was taken prisoner and iran ultimately served a year end a half part 544 days. the first thing jason got from the u.s. government when he returned home? it was a tax bill with the fines and penalties for his failure to file and pay his taxes on time. jason came to meet with me recounted toin meet when he pointed up to the irs it was front page news in the "washington post" he was

unjustly imprisoned. of course he could not pay his taxes on time. they said we would like to help you but congress needs to act. to stop imposing tax penalties on american hostages. today i'm here to celebrate my dear friend republican senator and i have introduced the senate has now passed a bill with a catchy title stop tax penalties with american hostages. it cleared unanimously, thank you. we now await house action. this is the latest in a number of actions several of us has taken together. there is now a national hostage wrongful detainee recognize last year signed into law by president biden venice march 9. were also working on legislation to repair the credit score of

the sortd wrongfully imprisonedd held hostage or detained. if you spend years and a russia or iran are being held captive in afghanistan or in gaza and you're not making payments on your bills your credit score suffers. so it senator tillis and i are hoping to move the fair credit for american hostages act. let me conclude by saying this. we have to do more together to deter hostage taking. to research of the united states thosera who've been wrongfully detained. to cooperate or cost our government. i am grateful he biden administration has increased its focus on this urgent moral issue. and that 47 wrongfully detained americans have been brought home so far under the present administration. but frankly, all of us should be working together to hold in our prayers and thoughts those who are hostages. those who are wrongful detainees under loved ones and those who work together. senator rounds and i have been happenrecent weeks.

congress as a whole will in coming days. thank you madame president bucks mof the center yield for question? >> madam president a great deal of respect for the senator from delaware we work well together on the judiciary committee. the up operate in good faith even though we have and sometimeshave differences of op. i know he spends a lot of time thinking about national security and foreign relations affairs he has traveled the world and knows more leaders of the different countries around the world than i ever will. i do know that since he shares the concerns about the status particularly citizens who are hostages in gaza i would like to get some idea from him what his thoughts are about the administration pause on weapons

delivery to gaza and israel. let me predicate this by saying i remember back when of course we were concerned about al qaeda and falluja where the marines taught a terrible battle and he said there's a conflict there's going to be civilian casualties and the goal is to minimize those casualties. likewise in places like most for isis madets its last stand in iraq.et i would like to get some idea from the senator if he would be so kind to share with me what his thoughts are about what israel is supposed to do and rafah. to add a spot satisfy the concerns about civilian collateral damage but also in a way that allows israel to eliminate the terrorist threat. >> madam president pressured the opportunity to speak to what the pressing concern for so many of

us i will reflect on my last in-person meeting with prime minister netanyahu defense minister and israel several weeks out so i made the visit to a number in the region but i spoke directly to this i believe what i am saying also reflects the views of the administration. of course unites states strongly behind israel and its defense andef security. secretary of defense often when asked the same question about what it might mean there were pauses review of weapons deliveries and what that might mean. i said the administration of united states remains an ironclad retains an ironclad commitment to israel's security and defense was used to residens demonstrated a few weeks ago when we work together with israel, with the uk, with france, with saudi kingdom and jordan to provide their defense

against certain missiles and drones launched at israel by iran. what is it we are saying with regard to rafah. you don't just have the right to defend the israeli people against hamas. you have the obligation after october 7 you have to restore a sense of security and deterrent against this terrorist organization that massacred more juice, or civilians, 1200 people of a wide range of backgrounds of fact. it is the worst date for juice since the holocaust. many are still held captive are from a dozen different nations, languages and religions you have to go after them you have to finish the job. you have to go into rafah and go after the four remaining battalions and you have to secure gaza and make sure hamas does not reemerge as a fighting force that can ever threaten israel again. and, given that there are a million civilian refugees who flown down to the bottom of gaza

and are up against the hard border with egypt given egypt will not allow any of them into egypt, you have to provide a pathway for civilians to leave rafah before you go in at scale with the ground campaign to minimize civilian injuries and death. if there are 10,000 or so hamas fighters remaining in rafah if the multiplier to use a crashed term has been too: one civilian death for every mosque fighters killed to contemplate 20 or 30,000 more civilian deaths in rafah is your comp contemplate a horrible outcome. but it is not acceptable to leave hamas in control of the segment and capable of returning so what is that i am hoping and expecting israel will do? to relocate all of these civilians north in gaza, screen

them so none of the leaders of hamas or fighters escape. to provide for humanitarian aid and for shelter in another part of god's up or get into the tunnel secure the release of hostages if possible and finish the job. that is difficult. but in myvo view, doable. for us to ignore the consequences of using american weapons at scale in a very heavily did concentrated placers a million refugees t there becae they were told to move south as they carried out their justified campaign over the last six months would be to undertake a tragic loss of a life that is needless. madam president i'm inclined to yield unless the senator has a question. >> madam president, i appreciate the comments are my friend and colleague from delaware. i amg reassured by his commitmet to make sure israel will have

the capacity to eliminate the terrorist threat which is of course an existential threat. hamas the proxy about ron wants to wipe israel off the map this is not a conflict of choice it's an existential fight by the israeli people and of course no one with any civilian casualties collateral damage and from the news reports that i read and see it looks to me like the israelis are trying to provide a safe passage for many of the refugees who, as the senator says have moved south but now they're up against the hard border of egypt with nowhere else to go. my hope is, as he said they will be given safe passage if they can b to some place where they will not be in harm's way but again to me the bottom line is we have to give israel the flexibility they need to

eliminate the threat we would ask for nothing less if it were us as it has been in places in the past. and so i appreciate the senator for responding and again i am reassured by his comments. but i hope, i hope we are never so arrogant or so full of hubris as we think we can dictate or micromanage a conflict in a foreign country thousands of miles away when they are in the fight for their life. thank you very much i appreciate my colleague. >> if i could just extend my remarks briefly and then conclude. there is another path bipartisan group of us have worked hard to support and i hope is i still possible. this is a path forward which i also discussed directly with prime minister netanyahu was given real life just two weeks ago, three weeks ago when i iran attacked israel.

israel's defense against these iranian missiles and drones was primarily provided by missile systems and israeli jets but also by the cooperation and assistance of the saudi's, jordanians, americans, and the british. there is another path forward or ending hamas in gaza and the region is the joint project of the saudi's, the egyptians the jordanians. and there is an end to the conflict. it was exactly that prospect that helped precipitate the attack of october 7 yes it's a hateful terrorist organization dedicated to eradicating israel and killing jews. but the timing, the timing of the attack was very closely aligned to win a final next step and saudi/israel reconciliation was about to move forward. they have been determined to