Democrats in Congress, increasingly concerned about how Israel is waging the war in Gaza, are weighing whether to use their leverage over arms sales to register objections to the civilian death toll and ratchet up pressure on President Biden. to set conditions on American support for the military attack. .
While top Republicans on congressional foreign affairs committees have signed off on a State Department plan to sell $18 billion worth of F-15 fighter jets to Israel, the deal remains at an impasse, according to several people familiar with the deliberations. That strongly suggests the top two Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs Committees have yet to sign on.
Spokesmen for the two – Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland and Representative Gregory W. Meeks of New York – declined to comment on the status of the deal, which would be one of the largest US arms sales to Israel in years, and would it also includes ammunition, training and other support. But other Democrats have said in recent days that Congress should use its influence on arms transfers to demand that Israel do a better job of protecting civilian casualties in the conflict and providing aid to civilians in Gaza.
An aide to Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, said Wednesday that he is strongly considering several legislative options to do so, including introducing a measure that would block gun transfers. That would be an extremely long shot. It would take a supermajority in both houses of Congress to override Mr. Biden’s veto, a near-impossible limit given Israel’s strong bipartisan support on Capitol Hill.
But lawmakers can use their oversight role to try to weigh the issue. Here’s how it works.
The president must consult with Congress on major arms sales.
Under the Arms and Export Control Act, the president must consult with Congress on major transactions involving the shipment of weapons of war to other countries.
If an order for military equipment reaches a certain monetary threshold – $25 million for close US allies, including Israel – the president must formally inform Congress. The limit is $100 million for defense items or services and $300 million for design and construction services.
Fewer than 10 percent of all U.S. arms sales to foreign governments reach those levels, according to several people familiar with the consultation process, who were not authorized to comment publicly on the process. This means that Congress only considers the largest and most important proposed deals.
After an informal notice, lawmakers can adjourn if they object.
Once the State Department decides to proceed with the transfer, a draft of the deal is sent to the top members of the Senate and House foreign affairs committees for an informal review that is arguably the most important step in clearing any arms sale.
The chairman and ranking member of both committees and their senior aides can raise any concerns or objections in private briefings with State Department officials, including technical questions about the capabilities of the weapons being delivered, logistics of how to store and who will the end users be.
Lawmakers can also register foreign policy concerns with that government, including human rights and how weapons will be developed. The process could be delayed if lawmakers are not satisfied with the answers. And if concerns persist, a member can block the proposed transfer.
Sometimes holds are temporary, but other times they can last months or years and ultimately scuttle a deal. They can be a major source of frustration for a government hoping to move quickly on an arms deal.
The administration can proceed without congressional consent during the informal review period, but usually will only proceed if there are no other lingering concerns.
A formal notice usually means a done deal.
Once any congressional issues are addressed, the State Department sends Congress formal notification of the administration’s intent to continue the agreement.
The length of the review period varies by country. it is 15 days for sales in Israel. No deal can be finalized before the review period ends, but an official notification usually means a deal is on the fast track to approval.
However, during that time, any member of the House or Senate can file a motion of disapproval to object to a deal.
Congress can act to block the transfer of weapons.
To stop an arms transfer at this stage, a resolution of disapproval would have to pass both the House and Senate and then overcome a veto by the president who supports the deal. This would have required a two-thirds majority in both houses, which never happened.
Israel’s strong bipartisan support in Congress makes it highly unlikely that things will come to this point. any decision to reject it was bound to fail. However, the process could lead to a public showdown between Democrats in Congress and the White House, which Mr. Biden would certainly like to avoid.
The president can override Congress.
The president has the power to override the review period if he declares that an expedited emergency sale is in the “national security interest of the United States.” The government is still required to notify Congress and provide details on invoking emergency powers.
In 2019, the Trump administration used an emergency declaration to bypass the congressional notification process and push through a multibillion-dollar arms deal with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. The move angered both Democrats and Republicans who have criticized the Saudi-led coalition hitting civilian targets in Yemen and were outraged over human rights abuses, including the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
In that case, both houses of Congress voted to block the deal, but failed to override a veto by then-President Donald J. Trump.
Under the Biden administration, similar emergency powers have been used to fast-track aid packages to Ukraine and Israel. No resolution of disapproval has been introduced to block the emergency use, but some Democrats expressed frustration when Biden bypassed Congress twice in December to transfer more than $250 million in weapons to Israel. They warned Mr. Biden’s team not to bypass congressional notification of future arms transfers.
“Decisions about war, peace and diplomacy should be made through a process that is deliberate, transparent and consistent with our values,” Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, one of the Democrats who opposed the previous resolutions, said on Wednesday. emergency declarations. “This means that Congress and the American people must have full visibility into the weapons we transfer to any other nation.”
