The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on the Muslim community and all Americans to take a stand and call out the members of Congress who supported yesterday’s passage of Rep. Jared Moskowitz’s amendment to the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 2025 H.R. 8771 H.Amdt.1052, which prohibits the State Department from citing statistics obtained from the Gaza health officials.
The World Health Organization, the UN, and other international bodies have verified the death toll reported by the Gaza Health Ministry, consistently finding it accurate in both this conflict and prior ones. Despite these figures likely being undercounts, their reliability is undeniable. The Ministry released a report listing every Palestinian killed in the war so far, including their names, ID numbers, ages, and gender, further validating their counts.
This amendment, numbered 45 and printed in Part B of House Report 118-559, passed in a vote of 269-144, including the support of 62 Democrats and 206 Republicans.
SEE:House votes to ban State Department from citing Gaza Health Ministry death toll statistics
SEE: Rep. Rashida Tlaib Addressing Congress
Use our click-and-send action alert to demand they stop hiding the truth about the Gaza bloodshed.
SAMPLE MESSAGE TO CONGRESS
As your constituent, I am deeply disappointed by your vote in favor of Rep. Moskowitz’s amendment to the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 2025 H.R. 8771 H.Amdt.1052. This amendment, which prohibits the State Department from citing statistics from the Gaza Health Ministry, is a disturbing attempt to hide the truth about the ongoing ethnic cleansing, forced starvation and genocide in Gaza.
This decision comes amidst staggering figures: at least 37,718 people were killed, including more than 15,000 children, over 86,377 were injured, and more than 10,000 were reported missing. The World Health Organization, the UN and other international bodies have verified the death toll from the Gaza Health Ministry, which has turned out to be accurate in both this war and prior conflicts. In fact, if anything, the current number is likely an undercount.
By supporting this amendment, you have contributed to the obstruction of transparency and accountability. Data from the Gaza Health Ministry is crucial for understanding the full impact of the conflict on innocent civilians. Your vote undermines efforts to promote peace, justice, and human rights in the region.
I urge you to reconsider your stance on this issue. It is imperative that our elected representatives stand up for truth and justice rather than succumb to political pressures that seek to obscure reality.
In a statement, CAIR Government Affairs Department Coordinator Shafiquil Muhshna said,
“This amendment shamefully attempts to conceal the heartbreaking loss of life and immense suffering in Gaza. This is genocide denial. We urge all Americans to call out their members of Congress for attempting to suppress the stark reality of the Israeli far-right government’s genocide in Gaza, and our nation’s complicity with that genocide.”
List of Democrats that supported the amendment:
Representatives: Colin Allred (TX-32), Jake Auchincloss (MA-4), Brendan Boyle (PA-2), Yadira Caraveo (CO-8), Steve Cohen (TN-9), Lou Correa (CA-46), Jim Costa (CA-21), Angie Craig (MN-2), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Deborah Ross (NC-2), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Lizzie Fletcher (TX-7), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Ruben Gallego (AZ-3), Jared Golden (ME-2), Dan Goldman (NY-10), Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), Josh Harder (CA-9), Steny Hoyer (MD-5), Jonathan Jackson (IL-1), Timothy Kennedy (NY-26), Derek Kilmer (WA-6), Greg Landsman (OH-1), Susie Lee (NV-3), Mike Levin (CA-49), Ted Lieu (CA-36), Kathy Manning (NC-6), Lucy McBath (GA-7), Grace Meng (NY-6), Joe Morelle (NY-25), Jared Moskowitz (FL-23), Frank Mrvan (IN-1), Wiley Nickel (NC-13), Donald Norcross (NJ-1), Frank Pallone (NJ-6), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Chris Pappas (NH-1), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-3), Brittany Pettersen (CO-7), Pat Ryan (NY-18), Adam Schiff (CA-30), Brad Schneider (IL-10), Hillary Scholten (MI-3), Kim Schrier (WA-8), David Scott (GA-13), Brad Sherman (CA-32), Elissa Slotkin (MI-7), Darren Soto (FL-9), Abigail Spanberger (VA-7), Greg Stanton (AZ-4), Haley Stevens (MI-11), Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), Tom Suozzi (NY-3), Eric Swalwell (CA-15), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Norma Torres (CA-35), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), David Trone (MD-6), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Marc Veasey (TX-33), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25).
List of Republicans who did not support the amendment:
Paul Gosar (AZ) Matt Rosendale (MT) voted NO.
Gus Bilirakis (FL), Byron Donalds (FL), Matt Gaetz (FL), Jenniffer González-Colón (PR), Kay Granger (TX), Mark Green (TN), Wesley Hunt (TX), Thomas Massie (KY), Patrick McHenry (NC), James Moylan (GU), Greg Murphy (NC), and Pete Stauber (MN) were all marked as NOT VOTING.
END
CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com