Congressional Democrats, increasingly concerned about how Israel is waging its war in Gaza, dispute civilian death tolls and press President Biden to put conditions on U.S. support for military offensives The government is considering whether to leverage weapon sales to strengthen its defense. .
Top Republicans on the Congressional Foreign Relations Committee have agreed to a State Department plan to sell $18 billion worth of F-15 fighter jets to Israel, but the deal remains in limbo, according to people familiar with the discussions. . This strongly suggests that the top two Democrats on the Senate and House Foreign Affairs Committees have not yet approved it.
Spokespeople for Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland and Rep. Gregory W. Meeks of New York said the sale would be one of the largest U.S. arms sales to Israel in years and would include munitions. He declined to comment on the status of the agreement. , training and other support. But other Democrats have argued in recent days that Congress should use its influence over weapons transfers to ensure Israel does a better job of protecting civilian casualties from the conflict and ensuring aid reaches civilians in Gaza. They argue that they should be required to do so.
Aides to Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, said Wednesday that they are strongly considering several legislative options to do so, including introducing measures to block arms transfers. That would be a very remote possibility. Overcoming Biden's veto would require supermajorities in both houses of Congress, an almost impossible threshold given the strong bipartisan support for Israel on Capitol Hill.
However, lawmakers can use their oversight role to consider this issue. Here's how it works:
The president must consult with Congress on major arms sales.
Under the Arms Export Control Act, the president must consult with Congress on large-scale transactions that involve sending weapons of war to other countries.
If military equipment orders reach a certain monetary threshold ($25 million to close U.S. allies, including Israel), the president must formally notify Congress. The criteria are $100 million for defense supplies or services and $300 million for design and construction services.
Less than 10% of all U.S. arms sales to foreign governments reach these levels, according to people familiar with the consultation process who were not authorized to comment publicly on the discussions. This means that Congress only reviews the largest and most important proposed deals.
After informal notification, members can suspend the decision if they have any objections.
If the State Department decides to move forward with the transfer, a draft agreement will be sent to the top members of the Senate and House Foreign Affairs committees for informal review, perhaps the most important step in clearing any arms sale. This is an important step.
The chairs and senior members of both committees and their senior aides may raise any concerns or objections in private briefings with State Department officials. This includes technical questions about the capabilities of the weapons being transported, how they will be stored and who their end users will be. Get used to it.
Lawmakers can also register foreign policy concerns with their governments, such as human rights or how weapons are deployed. If lawmakers are not satisfied with the answers, the process could drag on. If concerns persist, members may put the proposed transfer on hold.
Sometimes the hold is temporary, but other times it can last for months or years and ultimately result in a deal not closing. These can be a source of great frustration for regimes hoping to close arms deals quickly.
The administration can move forward without Congressional consent during an informal review period, but typically moves forward only if concerns are addressed.
Formal notification usually signifies completion of the transaction.
Once the Congressional issues are resolved, the State Department will send formal notice to Congress indicating the administration's intention to continue with the agreement.
The length of the review period varies by country. Sales to Israel take 15 days. Although the transaction cannot be completed before the end of the review period, a formal notification usually means the transaction is moving quickly toward approval.
Nevertheless, during this period, any member of the House of Representatives or the Senate may submit a resolution of disapproval to register objections to the agreement.
Congress can act to block arms transfers.
Blocking arms transfers at this stage would require a resolution of disapproval to pass both houses of Congress, and then overcome a certain veto by the president, who supports the deal. That would require a two-thirds majority vote in both houses, something that has never been done before.
With strong bipartisan support for Israel in Congress, it is highly unlikely that things will reach this point. Any resolution of disapproval is almost certain to fail. But the process could still lead to a public confrontation between Congressional Democrats and the White House, something Biden will certainly want to avoid.
The president can bypass Congress.
The president has the power to bypass the review period if he declares that an expedited emergency sale is in the “national security interests of the United States.” The administration still must notify Congress and provide details on invoking emergency powers.
In 2019, the Trump administration used a state of emergency to bypass the Congressional notification process and push through multibillion-dollar arms deals with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates. The move infuriated both Democrats and Republicans, who had criticized the Saudi-led coalition's attacks on civilian targets in Yemen and were angry over human rights violations, including the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Ta.
In that case, both houses of Congress voted to block the deal, but it did not override a veto by then-President Donald J. Trump.
Similar emergency powers have been used under the Biden administration to fast-track aid to Ukraine and Israel. Although no resolution of disapproval has been filed to block emergency use, many Democrats have criticized Biden for twice circumventing Congress in December to transfer more than $250 million in weapons to Israel. expressed dissatisfaction. They warned Biden's team against circumventing Congressional notification regarding future arms transfers.
Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, one of the Democrats who opposed the state of emergency declaration, said Wednesday that “decisions about war, peace, and foreign affairs must be made through a process that is prudent, transparent, and consistent with our values.” “The decision should be made through the government.” “That means Congress and the American people must fully understand the weapons we transfer to other countries.”
