mr. chairman , i wish to discuss one critically important component of this bill , the $ 200 million in aid to the palestinians . 
the president has requested $ 350 million for the palestinians , and he asks that $ 200 million be included in today 's supplemental bill . 
the president believes , as do i , that it is imperative to deliver u.s. assistance quickly to improve palestinians ' quality of life and empower their democratically elected leadership . 
i am pleased this bill funds the palestinian assistance request . 
this money will be used on critical projects , such transportation infrastructure , drinking water , business and trade , education and democratic and legal reforms . 
mr. chairman , on january 9 , i was privileged to witness the remarkable palestinian presidential election firsthand . 
i saw democracy taking hold in palestine . 
i saw the mandate being handed to president abbas . 
the palestinian people support their new president 's goals , to end the armed intifadah and to create a viable state living in peace alongside israel . 
mr. chairman , the arafat era is over . 
the new palestinian president and his government are making great strides . 
they are committed to political reform . 
their financial reform efforts , which are led by minister salaam fayyad , have produced profound accountability and transparency . 
on the critical question of security , president abbas is also off to a good start . 
he has clearly and unequivocally condemned terrorism . 
with the exception of one horrific bombing in tel aviv , the cease-fire has held . 
the palestinian security forces have begun to fight terror and incitement . 
they have arrested terrorists for the first time in many years . 
yesterday , here on capitol hill , the ambassador of israel sat next to the palestinian ambassador and praised the palestinian authority for their security efforts . 
prime minister sharon has welcomed the palestinian moves as well . 
mr. chairman , the real question before us today is not whether to keep the $ 200 million for palestinian assistance in this bill . 
clearly , this package serves u.s. national interests and will enhance israel 's security and the quality of life for the palestinians . 
but the real question is whether the u.s. congress is serious about working with president bush , prime minister sharon , and president abbas to seize this historic opportunity . 
the excessive conditions and limitations placed on this package may undermine progress toward peace . 
of course , we must secure transparency and accountability ; but the requirements in this legislation go far beyond what we demanded in the arafat era . 
imagine that . 
president bush and prime minister sharon are helping to strengthen and empower president abbas , but at the same time congress will slap more conditions on them than they ever did on arafat . 
one especially troubling provision in the bill strikes the national security waiver under which the president could provide some of this aid directly to the palestinian authority . 
president bush has decided in the past that some u.s. aid be directed to the authority . 
this bill would prevent him from doing that , tying his hands at the very moment that he most needs flexibility to promote our interests in the middle east . 
my colleagues should understand this bill puts more restrictions on the president than we ever placed on president clinton . 
mr. chairman , there is a broad consensus in the american pro-israel community in support of the president 's aid request for the palestinians . 
the jewish council for public affairs , the umbrella group of 13 prominent national organizations and 122 local jewish communities , has recently urged congress to fund the palestinian request in its entirety . 
the union for reform judaism , representing 1.5 million american jews , believes the aid should go directly to the palestinian authority . 
americans for peace now wants us to support this package and remove the excessive conditions that the committee has placed on it . 
in asking us to support a clean aid package , m.j. rosenberg of the israel policy forum states the following : `` israel wants a strong palestinian authority that can and will liquidate the suicide bombers and build a democracy that will live in peace with israel. '' the arafat years are over . 
fragile as it may be , a new flame of hope and optimism has been kindled in the middle east . 
shame on us as americans if we do not do whatever we can to seize this historic opportunity . 
mr. chairman , i urge my colleagues to support the $ 200 million in palestinian assistance , i urge us to reject any amendments to strip this aid , and i hope in the conference with the senate that we can give back to the president the flexibility he needs to promote u.s. security interests in the region . 
