16 Sep 16 Sen. Lindsey Graham is preparing a one-time $1.5bn emergency funding bill to make a point that restrictions in the White House’s landmark aid deal to Israel was an overreach.
Graham, a hawkish, pro-Israel Republican from South Carolina, told reporters Sept. 14 that the 10-year, $38bn pledge was too little and the White House wrongly sought to stop Congress from adding to it. Though it is unclear whether Graham would get the backing of GOP leadership for his proposal, Israel’s strong support in Congress augurs well for the measure.
The White House on Sept. 14 signed a new 10-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Israel on security assistance for fiscal 2019 through 2028. National Security Advisor Susan Rice, at the signing ceremony, hailed the largest single pledge of assistance in US history to any country as a sign of the two countries’ “ironclad bond.”
“Since the day he took office, President [Barack] Obama has provided Israel with all that it needs to defend itself in a very dangerous neighborhood,” Rice said. “This funding has permitted Israel to acquire the world’s most advanced military capabilities.”
A follow-on to $24bn in military aid over the past eight years, the deal provides $33bn in foreign military financing and $5bn for missile defense. The deal was also billed as allowing Israel to update the lion’s share of its fighter aircraft, strengthen missile defense systems like Iron Dome and purchase more copies of America’s next-generation fighter jet, the F-35.
Graham’s main objection is a letter he says Israeli officials signed promising to give back any money that Congress appropriates above the amount negotiated in the deal. Specifically, Israel has committed to neither ask nor receive additional funding beyond the scope of the current MOU, meaning no more than $3.1bn in foreign military financing (FMF) for FY2017 and FY2018.
“The idea that the MOU is binding on us, I’m going to fight violently,” Graham said. “It’s not a treaty, and we’re not a party to this. And the letter Israel apparently signed saying they would refund any money sent in ’17 and ’18 is frankly offensive, because what you’ve done is you’ve had a foreign government collude with the executive branch to neutralize the legislative branch. I’m not going to stand for that.”
Graham said his bill will also renew the Iran Sanctions Act, the law that mandates many of the existing US sanctions on Iran’s energy sector and which expires at the end of the year. The two are linked, he argued, because Israel was made less safe by the US nuclear deal with Iran.
“I want our friends and allies to see that the more provocative Iran becomes, the more assistance we’re going to give [to Israel],” Graham said.
Several Republicans and Democrats voiced support for Congress’ ability to provide more than the MOU, among them Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Ranking Member Ben Cardin, D-Md. Both lauded the MOU and asserted Congress could adjust funding, but declined to comment on Graham’s bill until they had seen it.
“We can adjust these numbers, but it’s usually done in consultation with the administration,” Cardin said. “You can’t legally bind Congress.”
“As much as I respect this president, I think he overstepped,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee. “What we’ve seen is when the administration asked for $300m for Iron Dome, and Israel asked for $600m, I approved $600m. … That’s my job.”
Sen. Joe Donnelly, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, which oversees US missile defense programs, as well as US-Israel collaborative missile defense programs, including Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow, called the MOU “a major achievement.”
“However, Israel is situated in one of the most unstable and threat-filled regions of the world, and we must maintain the flexibility to increase our support if security condi