The Biden administration last week bypassed Congress to approve an emergency $147.5 million weapons sale to Israel, and also announced $250 million in new security assistance for Ukraine.
The decision to work around Congress to expedite the deal with Israel for fuzes, charges and primers for 155mm artillery shells received a strong rebuke from several Democratic senators.
“Just as Congress has a crucial role to play in all matters of war and peace, Congress should have full visibility over the weapons we transfer to any other nation. Unnecessarily bypassing Congress means keeping the American people in the dark. We need a public explanation of the rationale behind this decision—the second such decision this month,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), a member of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, said in a statement.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken approved the emergency Foreign Military Sale with Israel on Dec. 29, with a State Department spokesperson adding the case was “an urgent new Israeli request currently being executed under the secretary’s delegated authority to determine that an emergency exists,” which would waive Congressional review requirements.
“Given the urgency of Israel’s defensive needs, the secretary notified Congress that he had exercised his delegated authority to determine an emergency existed necessitating the immediate approval of the transfer,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
This is the second such emergency approval of a weapons sale with Israel following Hamas’ incursion on Oct. 7 and as the Israeli Defense Force continue its bombing campaign of the Gaza Strip, with the Biden administration previously expediting a $106.5 million deal earlier in December for thousands of rounds of tank ammunition.
“Congressional review is a critical step for examining any large arms sale. The administration’s decision to repeatedly short-circuit what is already a quick time frame for Congressional review undermines transparency and weakens accountability. The public deserves answers,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement.
The new $250 million weapons aid package for Ukraine approved on Dec. 27 is the 54th to be pulled from existing Pentagon inventories and arrives as Congress is still considering action to continue security assistance for Kyiv in its fight against Russia’s ongoing invasion.
“Security assistance for Ukraine is a smart investment in our national security. It deters potential aggression elsewhere in the world, while strengthening our defense industrial base and creating highly skilled jobs for the American people. It remains critical that Congress takes action as soon as possible in the new year on the President’s national security supplemental request to ensure that our support for Ukraine can continue, and Ukraine is able to defend itself against Russia’s ongoing attacks and consolidate and extend its battlefield gains,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
The new package includes additional munitions for NASAMS air defense systems and HIMARS launchers, Stinger and Javelin missiles, TOW missiles, 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds, air defense system components and more than 15 million rounds of small arms ammunition, according to the Pentagon.
A procedural vote in the Senate to move forward on the $111 billion supplemental spending package with Ukraine aid stalled out in early December, with the upper chamber continuing to work on border security negotiations to gain additional Republican support for the legislation (Defense Daily, Dec. 6).
The White House in December said it will soon run out of money to continue assistance efforts for Ukraine without Congressional action to provide additional funds (Defense Daily, Dec. 4).
The Senate’s supplemental bill includes $15.1 billion to continue DoD efforts to support Ukraine with military training and intelligence sharing, $13.5 billion in additional USAI funds and $1.7 billion in Foreign Military Finance assistance “to address Ukraine’s and other regional partners’ air defense, artillery, maritime security, and maintenance and sustainment requirements,” according to a summary of the legislation.
The supplemental also supports $10.6 billion for Israel, to include $4 billion for procurement of Iron Dome air defense system and David’s Sling short-range ballistic missile defense capabilities, $1.2 billion for Israel’s Iron Beam laser-based defense system, and $3.5 billion in FMF funds to purchase U.S.-made defense equipment.