Today, Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01), vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, alongside a group of 37 other lawmakers, urging the expedited delivery of Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and Foreign Military Financing (FMF) aid to Israel.
“Israel requires our unequivocal support as they respond to the unconscionable attack carried out by Hamas terrorists,” the lawmakers write. “Israel must urgently strengthen their ability to deter Iran’s dedicated support for terrorist groups across the Middle East—which we know extends directly to Hamas and Hezbollah.”
“Congress is prepared to work with you to take bipartisan and urgent action to bolster the security of Israel in the near-term,” the lawmakers continue. “However, we recognize that the threats to Israel will persist. We must improve our ability to deliver military aid when it is needed most.”
The letter was also signed by Rep. Robert Aderholt (AL-4), Rep. Mark Alford (MO-4), Rep. Don Bacon (NE-2), Rep. Jim Banks (IN-3), Rep. Jack Bergman (MI-1), Rep. Ken Calvert (CA-41), Rep. Scott DesJarlais (TN-4), Rep. Pat Fallon (TX-4), Rep. Randy Feenstra (IA-4), Rep. Brad Finstad (MN-1), Rep. Charles Fleischmann (TN-3), Rep. Mike Gallagher (WI-8), Rep. Mike Garcia (CA-27), Rep. Carlos Gimenez (FL-28), Rep. Sam Graves (MO-6), Rep. Ronny Jackson (TX-13), Rep. John James (MI-10), Rep. Trent Kelly (MS-1), Rep. Jen Kiggans (VA-2), Rep. David Kustoff (TN-8), Rep. Nick LaLota (NY-1), Rep. Jake LaTurner (KS-2), Rep. Lisa McClain (MI-9), Rep. Tom McClintock (CA-5), Rep. Richard McCormick (GA-6), Rep. Marcus Molinaro (NY-19), Del. James Moylan (GU-At-Large), Rep. John Rose (TN-6), Rep. Pete Sessions (TX-17), Rep. Christopher Smith (NJ-4), Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY-21), Rep. Dale Strong (AL-5), Rep. Claudia Tenney (NY-24), Rep. Michael Turner (OH-10), Rep. Mike Waltz (FL-6), Rep. Randy Weber (TX-14), and Rep. Joe Wilson (SC-2).
To read Congressman Wittman’s full letter to Secretary Blinken, click here or scroll below.
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October 13, 2023
Dear Secretary Blinken and Secretary Austin:
In response to the massacre in Israel committed by Hamas and the ensuing war, we write today to emphasize the importance of expediting Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and Foreign Military Financing (FMF) aid to Israel.
Israel requires our unequivocal support as they respond to the terror and unconscionable attack carried out by Hamas terrorists. Israel must urgently strengthen their ability to deter Iran’s dedicated support for terrorist groups across the Middle East—which we know extends directly to Hamas and Hezbollah. You recently stated that “the message that I bring to Israel is this—you may be strong enough on your own to defend yourself, but as long as America exists you will never, ever have to.” Now is the time to deliver on this promise and reinforce that our commitments are iron-clad.
In 2016, the U.S. and Israel signed the third 10-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on military aid, which extends through fiscal year 2028 and pledges that the U.S. will provide $38 billion in military aid to Israel—the largest MOU between our two countries since 1999. Under this MOU, Congress authorized $520 million for joint US-Israel defense programs in the annual National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2023.
U.S. military aid to Israel covers various U.S. weapons systems and missile defense programs. These platforms include combat aircraft such as the F-35, the CH-53K heavy lift helicopter, and the KC-46A multirole tanker. We continue to pursue U.S.-Israeli missile defense projects that are accelerated by our co-development, co-production, and technology sharing frameworks for Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow II, Arrow III, and next generation defense systems. New solutions like shared counter-UAS projects also merit urgent support. In recent years, members of Congress have repeatedly called for the expedited delivery of approved sales and weapons transfers to Israel to improve the country’s ability to counter Iranian aggression, both direct and via proxies.
Congress recognizes that the FMS process of the U.S. is not ready to meet the challenges presented by concentrated, evil, and exploitative adversaries that are aligning against democratic nations. China, Russia, Iran—and the terrorist and proxy groups they support—will recognize and take advantage of the gaps that our process failures create for our friends and allies around the world.
We recognize that the State Department released “FMS 2023” as a 10-point plan of action to improve the Department’s oversight of the FMS process in May of this year. Much of the attention of this plan is on resolving and preventing future backlogged weapons sales, such as those for Taiwan. The State Department and Defense Department must now confront the urgent need to expedite the provisioning of FMS cases that are currently on track for Israel. As such, we are requesting that you take the following actions:
- Record and relay to Congress all actions taken to shorten the timelines for the delivery of FMS cases to Israel—in whole or in part—within the next 12 months.
- Record and relay to Congress any industrial capacity shortfalls identified as barriers to expediting defense article delivery for Israel and a cost estimate and timeline for resolving the shortfall, where relevant.
- Identify and alert Congress of any new impediments in terms of contract design, authority restrictions, production line prioritization, or other relevant issues, that impact the ability of the U.S. to expedite the delivery of defense articles or services to Israel over the next 12 months.
Congress is prepared to work with you to take bipartisan and urgent action to bolster the security of Israel in the near-term. However, we recognize that the threats to Israel will persist. We must improve our ability to deliver military aid when it is needed most.
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