{"id":9440,"date":"2019-01-07T21:19:57","date_gmt":"2019-01-07T21:19:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/01\/07\/israel-defense-aid-bill-snared-in-shutdown-showdown\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:25:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:25:00","slug":"israel-defense-aid-bill-snared-in-shutdown-showdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/congress\/2019\/01\/07\/israel-defense-aid-bill-snared-in-shutdown-showdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel defense aid bill snared in shutdown showdown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Senate was poised to take up legislation<\/a> to impose new sanctions on Syria<\/a>, boost security assistance to Israel<\/a> and reauthorize defense cooperation with Jordan<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But some Senate Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer<\/a>, D-N.Y., hope to block it on a procedural vote Tuesday, arguing the chamber should not consider any bills until it votes on House-passed legislation to end the partial government shutdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The impasse <\/a>is fueled by a partisan dispute over border wall funding sought by President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Called the \u201cStrengthening America\u2019s Security in the Middle East Act,\u201d the bill promises to be a boon to Israel and potentially to American precision-guided munitions manufacturers. It rolls together four bills Democrats and Republicans supported in the last Congress but weren\u2019t enacted before that Congress ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Israel, the legislation would authorize the $3.3 billion in U.S. security assistance under the two nations\u2019 2016 memorandum of understanding<\/a>\u2014and authorize new U.S.-Israel cooperation in anti-drone technologies, cybersecurity and space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The legislation would extend authorization for the U.S. War Reserve Stockpile in Israel by five years, authorizing an additional $1 billion in stocks. It would also authorize the president to add precision-guided munitions to the stockpile for potential Israeli use in a conflict with Hezbollah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill would authorize a joint assessment of the quantity and type of precision-guided munitions necessary for Israel to defend itself against Hezbollah, Hamas and other terrorist groups, and the bill would support rapid acquisition and deployment procedures for such munitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The legislation would also press the Trump administration to expedite export licensing for Israel by adding it to the list of nations eligible for the Strategic Trade Authorization Exception, according to a summary published by American Israel Public Affairs Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outside of the Israel provisions, the bill would reauthorize the U.S.-Jordan Defense Cooperation Act of 2015 and impose new sanctions on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government in response to alleged human rights violations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is in America\u2019s national security interests to ensure that our allies in the Middle East like Israel and Jordan remain secure amid the region\u2019s growing destabilizing threats posed by Iran and Syria\u2019s Assad regime,\u201d Florida GOP Sen. Marco Rubio, who introduced the bill, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\t