releases: https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=A09B0F15-1536-4CE9-81F5-9E015165414F
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=A09B0F15-1536-4CE9-81F5-9E015165414F | VIDEO: Fischer Joins “Fox Report” to Discuss U.S. Support for Israel, Anti-Semitism on College Campuses, and Key Upcoming Hearing | 2023-10-30 | 2023 | 2023-10 | Republican | Senate | NE | Deb Fischer | F000463 | www.fischer.senate.gov | fischer | https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases | scraper | Senator Calls on Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas to Testify Before Key Appropriations Hearing: “He Needs to Be There.” WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, joined “Fox Report” with Jon Scott on Sunday to discuss the latest national security news including Israel’s response to Hamas’s brutal attacks and the importance of U.S. aid to Israel. During the interview, Senator Fischer called on every Member of Congress to recognize Hamas as a terrorist group. Senator Fischer expressed concern about reports of pro-Hamas activities and demonstrations on college campuses in the United States. Recently, Senator Fischer joined a letter urging U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to review and remove visa holders who participated in, or encouraged the spread of, pro-Hamas, pro-terrorist activity. In addition to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Fischer serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, which will hold a hearing this week to question Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken about President Biden’s national security supplemental request. During the interview, Senator Fischer called on Secretary Mayorkas to appear before the Appropriations Committee to defend the Biden administration’s funding request and outline its plans to address the border crisis. The annual number of encounters at the southern border set an all-time record during Fiscal Year 2023 at 2,475,669. September set the all-time monthly record at 269,735 encounters. Click the image above to watch video of Sen. Fischer’s interview Click here to download audio Click here to download video Following is a transcript of Senator Fischer’s interview: Jon Scott: Let's bring in Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer. She is a member of the Armed Services Committee. How would you assess, Senator, what the administration has provided Israel so far? And, in your view, is it enough? Senator Fischer: Well, first of all, I think that we all need to make sure that we continue to support what Israel is doing. They suffered a tremendous attack, over 1,400 people were killed. If you compare that to the United States on 9/11, we would have lost over 40,000 people. And, we've seen horrific events take place by these terrorists. And Israel needs to have the time and the resources to be able to step forward and address Hamas—the terrorists that continue to attack them and take hostages, have them in their tunnels. So, I think the administration, first of all, came out—President Biden—with a strong statement of support. That's good. I think the administration has also stepped forward by putting those two carrier strike groups in the Mediterranean to send a strong message to Iran and to their proxies that we are there as a friend, as a supporter to provide Israel with the resources they need. But it's up to Israel now to be able to implement a plan that they are clear about, that we have a full understanding of, and that takes into account the threats that they face. Jon Scott: There have been more and more pro-Palestinian protests across the country, and that seems to be splintering Democrats on Capitol Hill. There are many who are overtly in favor of the Palestinians. Do you think that that's going to cause the president to wobble at all in his support of Israel? Senator Fischer: I think every Member of Congress needs to step forward and declare that Hamas is a terrorist group, and they need to be gone. They committed atrocities. They butchered babies. They burned people. They raped. They kidnapped. They murdered. That was something that they were proud of. They were videoing it while they were doing it. This is a terrorist organization that's a proxy of Iran. And, if Members of Congress have a problem in standing up and saying that, I think the American people need to be able to make their views known to those members. I am very concerned as I watch what's happening on college campuses. For example, with these demonstrations where, while they're supportive of Palestinians, in many cases, they're also supportive of Hamas. That cannot continue. We need to look at addressing that. And college campuses need to step forward and address that as well. We've said, you know, after the Holocaust, "never again." The Jewish people and Jewish Americans, especially on these college campuses, should not be afraid. Jon Scott: The President is asking for $106 billion from Congress: much of it for Israel, also aid for Ukraine, and supposedly some money to go to the southern border, and a couple of other things. Is that going to be split up, do you think? Are senators okay with the idea of voting on individual packages of aid, as the House Speaker seems to want to do? Senator Fischer: I'm the second ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee, and I'm also the only Republican who serves on that committee and also on the Appropriations Committee. On the Appropriations Committee, we're going to have a hearing on the supplemental package on Tuesday. And, at that time, we'll be able to meet as a full committee, bipartisan, have our Secretary of Defense Austin there, Secretary of State Blinken, be able to question them. I would hope Secretary Mayorkas would be there as well. He needs to be there when we address the southern border. This is a package that's been presented by the administration. We have members on our side of the aisle and on the other side as well that are looking at possibly addressing that step by step. What I think the American people need to know is that we face a number of threats as a nation. And those threats come from Russia. They come from China. They come from Iran. When we see what's happening in Ukraine by the Russians feeling emboldened to invade a sovereign country, that's testing us. The tipping point was Afghanistan in my mind, where we had a botched withdrawal. So now, we see countries that are emboldened to invade Ukraine. We see action by Iran with their proxies, whether it's Hamas or Hezbollah, and the Chinese are watching this as well. They have ambitions towards Taiwan. They are not shy about that. And, that's another front that America has to look at. All the while, looking at our southern border—and not having a border at all. There's chaos there, national security risks, humanitarian crisis. So, we are facing threats across the board. And, we have to make sure that a supplemental package will address those threats, building up our own munitions programs that we need as a country, being able to provide for our allies and being able especially to control our own border. | 1 | 2026-03-30T01:40:41Z | 2026-04-06T18:43:12Z |