Senate could reverse billions of dollars of cuts to Israeli defense sector
An amendment from Sen. Lindsey Graham would allow Israel to continue using US military financing on its own domestic industry.
The Senate could vote this week on a provision that would undo a key aspect of the military agreement with Israel negotiated last year under former President Barack Obama.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has filed an amendment to the annual defense bill that would allow Israel to continue to spend more than a quarter of US military assistance to buy equipment from domestic, rather than US, firms. The amendment would represent a payday of more than $8.5 billion for the Israeli defense sector, but some critics say it would put the entire 10-year, $38 billion agreement in jeopardy.
Under last year’s memorandum of understanding for fiscal years 2019 through 2028, Israel would get $33 billion in foreign military financing and $5 billion for missile defense assistance, up from $31 billion in foreign military financing currently. In exchange, however, Israel would lose a special privilege that had allowed it to use 26.3% of its foreign military financing assistance domestically on non-US firms. Graham’s amendment would reinstate that so-called off-shore procurement rate.
At the time the deal was signed, the Obama administration argued that requiring Israel to use 100% of its foreign military financing funds on US weapons and defense systems would make Israel more secure.
