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Rep. Marcy Kaptur

Mr. Speaker, first, I join with my female colleagues in supporting full health coverage for every single woman in our Nation.

I also rise to condemn the actions of Syria's Assad government, which are truly appalling. America and this House should not be sitting silent as thousands of Syrian civilians are slaughtered by their government. Assad is not a man of peace, as some in this body have asserted. He is an international war criminal. His blood-stained hands should be shunned the world over.

The United Nations now believes that over 100 civilians are being murdered daily, including women and children. Estimates vary as to how many civilians have been killed since Assad's regime launched its brutal crackdown down on peaceful demonstrators in Syria in the spring of last year. CNN is reporting as many as 9,000 people have been killed in the last year, yet the leadership of this House remains silent. The Senate passed a resolution in mid-February. Why haven't we?

I and my colleague, Congressman Keith Ellison, have introduced a resolution identical to the bill the Senate just passed on a bipartisan basis. And I urge my colleagues to speak out against the unspeakable violations that take place every moment.

Doing right is long overdue. Let's stop the horrors and mobilize the world to stop the killing.