A bipartisan US Senate resolution urges the Lebanese government to restore faith and confidence by prioritizing policies that advance the people’s interests.
Senator Jim Risch, R-Idaho, the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, and SFRC ranking member Bob Menendez (D-NJ) joined senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Mark Warner (D-VA), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Rob Portman (R-OH) in introducing the resolution regarding the massive explosion in the Port of Beirut on August 4.
The resolution affirms that US assistance “should be delivered directly to the Lebanese people through properly vetted channels, organizations, and individuals.”
The Senators said the blast “coincides with a period of protracted political crisis in Lebanon” adding that “endemic corruption” and “Hezbollah’s management” has led Lebanon to the brink of economic collapse.
Washington “has longstanding concerns about Hezbollah's use of and influence over the Beirut port as a transit and storage point for its terrorist enterprise,” they said.
The Lebanese people from “across the political spectrum have renewed demands for a meaningful change in Lebanon's political leadership, government accountability, and transparency,” they added.
They stressed the need for a stable Lebanon with a credible, transparent government free from Iranian and Hezbollah meddling.
The Senators also urged the Lebanese government “to conduct a credible, impartial, and transparent investigation into the cause of, and responsibility for, the explosion, and include impartial international experts as part of the investigation team.”
They called on the Lebanese government "to restore faith and confidence by prioritizing policies and programs that advance the interests of the people of Lebanon."
