Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Mark Kirk (R-IL) were joined today by 30 of their colleagues in a bipartisan letter urging the leaders of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Department of Defense to allocate full funding for U.S.-Israel cooperative missile defense programs in the Fiscal Year 2016 Defense Appropriations bill. Senators Gillibrand and Kirk have been long time champions for funding of U.S.-Israeli cooperative missile defense programs, such as the Arrow Weapon System (with Arrow-2 and Arrow-3 interceptors) and the David’s Sling Weapons System as well as the Iron Dome short-range rocket defense system. Last year, at the Senators’ urging, the Senate Appropriations Committee provided over $620 million in funding, including $350 million for the successful Iron Dome system.
The Senators reaffirmed U.S. national security interests in supporting Israel’s ability to defend itself against missiles and rockets, including with continued support for the Iron Dome short-range rocket defense system and through joint cooperation on the Arrow Weapon System (with Arrow-2 and Arrow-3 interceptors) and the David’s Sling Weapons System. In 2013, Senators Gillibrand and Kirk were successful passing a measure, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2014, which required the Defense Secretary to submit a report on the status of U.S.-Israel missile defense cooperation in an effort to evaluate the U.S. partnership with Israel and determine ways to advance the countries’ partnership in defending against acts of terror.
Working with Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) in 2012, Senator Gillibrand secured full funding of $270 million for U.S.-Israeli cooperative missile defense programs as part of the Fiscal Year 2013 NDAA.
In today’s bipartisan letter from Senators Gillibrand and Kirk, signed by 30 of their colleagues to Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Department of Defense Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-IL), they wrote, “As you know, the cooperative programs being jointly developed by the United States and Israel continue to yield critical defense capabilities that protect Israel from missile and rocket threats from as near as the Gaza Strip and Lebanon and from as far as Iran…In recent years, Congress has appropriated funding for U.S.-Israeli missile defense cooperation that significantly exceeded the President’s Budget request. During consideration of your FY2016 bill, we respectfully request that you fund U.S.-Israeli cooperation on missile defense to a level that will allow Israel to fully meet its national security requirements… The three Cooperative Missile Defense Programs and Iron Dome meet core Israeli national security requirements… Given the growth of rocket and missile threats in the Middle East, it is prudent for the United States and Israel to advance and significantly accelerate bilateral cooperation on missile defense.”
The Senators pointed out the three Cooperative Missile Defense Programs and Iron Dome meet core Israeli national security requirements. Iron Dome is designed to intercept very short-range rocket threats between two and forty-five miles, primarily fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip, Syria, Lebanon, or the Sinai Peninsula. Iron Dome’s selective targeting system and radar are designed to fire its Tamir interceptors only at incoming projectiles that pose threats to population centers. The Arrow Weapon System empowers Israel to defend against imminent and emerging missile threats, and also yields data and technology that advances U.S. ballistic missile defense programs. David’s Sling is designed to complement Iron Dome and the Arrow Weapon System by providing defense against threats from large caliber artillery rockets, tactical ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.
The full text of the letter to Chairman Cochran and Vice Chair Durbin signed by Kelly Ayotte (R-NH); Richard Blumenthal (D-CT); Roy Blunt (R-MO); Cory Booker (D-NJ); Barbara Boxer (D-CA); Benjamin Cardin (D-MD); Susan Collins (R-ME); Chris Coons (D-DE); Al Franken (D-MN); Cory Gardner (R-CO); Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY); James M. Inhofe (R-OK); Mazie Hirono (D-HI); Johnny Isakson (R-GA); Tim Kaine (D-VA); Mark Kirk (R-IL); Amy Klobuchar (D-MN); James Lankford (R-OK); Joe Manchin (D-WV); Bob Menendez (D-NJ); David Perdue (R-GA); Gary Peters (D-MI); Mike Rounds (R-SD); Marco Rubio (R-FL); Brian Schatz (D-HI); Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH); Charles Schumer (D-NY); John Thune (R-SD); David Vitter (R-LA); Mark Warner (D-VA); Roger Wicker (R-MS); and Ron Wyden (D-OR) is below:
March 27, 2015
Dear Chairman Cochran and Vice Chairman Durbin:
As you begin your work on the Fiscal Year 2016 Defense Appropriations bill, we write in strong support of fully funding U.S.-Israeli cooperation on missile defense. As you know, the cooperative programs being jointly developed by the United States and Israel continue to yield critical defense capabilities that protect Israel from missile and rocket threats from as near as the Gaza Strip and Lebanon and from as far as Iran. Indeed, investments in U.S.-Israeli missile defense cooperation over the years continue to prove their worth and have saved the lives of countless civilians from indiscriminate rocket and missile attacks.
The Fiscal Year 2016 President’s Budget request includes funds for all three Cooperative Missile Defense Programs (Arrow System Improvement Program, Arrow III upper tier interceptor, and David’s Sling) and a separate request for Iron Dome. In recent years, Congress has appropriated funding for U.S.-Israeli missile defense cooperation that significantly exceeded the President’s Budget request. During consideration of your FY2016 bill, we respectfully request that you fund U.S.-Israeli cooperation on missile defense to a level that will allow Israel to fully meet its national security requirements.
The three Cooperative Missile Defense Programs and Iron Dome meet core Israeli national security requirements. Iron Dome is designed to intercept very short-range rocket threats between two and forty-five miles, primarily fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip, Syria, Lebanon, or the Sinai Peninsula. Iron Dome’s selective targeting system and radar are designed to fire its Tamir interceptors only at incoming projectiles that pose threats to population centers. The Arrow Weapon System empowers Israel to defend against imminent and emerging missile threats, and also yields data and technology that advances U.S. ballistic missile defense programs. David’s Sling is designed to complement Iron Dome and the Arrow Weapon System by providing defense against threats from large caliber artillery rockets, tactical ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.
Given the growth of rocket and missile threats in the Middle East, it is prudent for the United States and Israel to advance and significantly accelerate bilateral cooperation on missile defense. We therefore urge you to fully fund U.S.-Israeli joint missile defense programs so that Israel can continue to develop and improve the three Cooperative Missile Defense Programs, and to purchase sufficient Iron Dome systems, including co-production for those systems in the United States, to protect Israel’s population against growing missile and rocket threats in the region.