A group of Democrats plan to propose an amendment that would strike a provision in the pending supplemental spending bill that waives congressional oversight requirements for U.S.-provided Foreign Military Financing (FMF) to Israel.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) is leading the proposal, which follows strong criticism from several Democratic senators over the Biden administration’s recent emergency arms sales to Israel that bypassed the Congressional review process.
“The administration’s supplemental request proposes to lift congressional notice requirements regarding arms sales to Israel while leaving the notice mandate in place for arms transfers to other nations. I have strongly supported U.S. aid necessary for Israel’s defense, but all nations should be subject to the same standard. I’m filing an amendment to maintain the congressional notification requirement for all U.S. foreign military assistance because Congress and the American taxpayer deserve to know when U.S. arms are transferred to any nation,” Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, said on Tuesday.
Kaine said his amendment would reinforce “the congressional notification requirement for all U.S. assistance to foreign militaries,” with this specific proposal to the supplemental aimed at maintaining the oversight process for FMF funds to Israel.
The amendment is also sponsored by Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.).
The Biden administration on Dec. 29 approved a $147.5 million emergency Foreign Military Sale with Israel, bypassing Congress process to expedite the deal for fuzes, charges and primers for 155mm artillery shells (Defense Daily, Jan. 2).
A State Department spokesperson explained that the FMS 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.
“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,” Kaine said at the time.
This was the second such emergency approval of a weapons sale with Israel following Hamas’ incursion on Oct. 7 and as the Israeli Defense Force continues 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.
The Senate’s $111 billion supplemental includes $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.
A procedural vote in the Senate to move forward on the supplemental spending package, which also includes further 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).