Meng and Malliotakis Urge State Department to Help Bring Back Americans Seeking to Return From Israel
Congressmembers lead bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Blinken calling for State Department to use all resources possible to help Americans leave; letter signed by nearly 150 Members of Congress; With most commercial flights canceled due to the attacks, many Americans are unable to book trips back to the U.S.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Reps. Grace Meng (D-NY) and Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) led a bipartisan letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the State Department to use all tools at its disposal help get Americans out of Israel and back home to the United States.
The letter, which is signed by a total of 146 Members of Congress (including Meng and Malliotakis), asks for charter flights and military aircrafts to be considered as options to help evacuate U.S. citizens.
With airlines cancelling most commercial flights out of Israel due to the unprecedented, heinous attack by Hamas, many Americans who are in the country are unable to book a return trip home.
The correspondence follows a letter that Meng sent to Blinken yesterday urging him to assist constituents with returning to Queens.
“So many Americans in Israel continue to fear for their safety and want to return home immediately,” said Rep. Meng. “As we support our ally Israel with the necessary security assistance it needs in the coming days and weeks, we must also do everything possible to bring Americans back to the U.S. who are looking to do so. I urge the State Department to make their safe and swift return a top priority. I await Secretary Blinken’s response to our letter.”
“If other countries like Poland have military planes on the ground and conducting evacuations, there's no reason why the U.S. is not doing the same,” said Rep. Malliotakis. “We need immediate action from President Biden, the U.S. Department of State and Department of Defense to take swift action to get commercial, charter and military planes on the ground to get Americans home as quickly as possible."
A copy of the letter to Secretary Blinken can be viewed here.
A copy of the letter that Meng sent to Blinken yesterday, can be viewed here.
Meng serves as a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations which funds the Department of State.