Earlier this month, the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee overwhelmingly approved the Taylor Force Act, which would cut off U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority as punishment for its support of terrorism. Introduced by South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, the measure went through by a vote of 17 to 4.
The senators voting against it were New Jersey’s Cory Booker, Connecticut’s Chris Murphy, New Mexico’s Tom Udall, and Oregon’s Jeff Merkley. Justifying his vote, Booker cited regional security implications and other factors, while Udall said that in the “West Bank there are very serious problems there: poverty, lots of checkpoints, and hopelessness so you kind of have the conditions for terrorism on the ground.” Merkley and Murphy have yet to offer specific reasons for their opposition.
