(VIDEO) Elmo Joins Ellison on the House Floor

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) had a unique partner in the U.S. House on Tuesday: Elmo.

"I brought a friend to the floor with me today," Ellison said. "As we all know, this is Elmo. This guy taught us our 1-2-3s, but he also taught us tolerance and understanding. For the past several years, he's been doing the same thing for children in the Palestinian territories."

Ellison used the Sesame Street character to argue that Congress should release money it already approved for programs that support positive development in Palestine—including Sesame Street in Palestine.

Money for the program, called Sharaa Simsim there, was halted in October when Congress froze the transfer of nearly $200 million to the U.S. Agency for International Development—a move intended to punish the Palestinians for appealing to the United Nations for statehood.

Pointing to a Mickey Mouse look-a-like called Farfour from the Hamas-affiliated television station, Al-Aqsa TV, Ellison said the absence of Sesame Street has left children watching characters that teach extremism instead of those, like Elmo, who teach tolerance.