Van Hollen Leads 12 Senators Urging Congressional Leaders to Strip Three U.S.-Israel Defense and Intelligence Provisions From the Defense Authorization Bill
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, joined by 11 colleagues, sent a letter on November 10 to Senate and House leaders pressing them to exclude three provisions from the final Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would require the President to expand and enhance defense cooperation and intelligence sharing with the Government of Israel.
The three provisions named in the letter are Section 1217 of the Senate bill and Section 219 of the House bill, both of which would create a United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative mandating expanded weapons co-production, technology sharing and bilateral research and development across multiple domains of warfare, and Section 618 of the Fiscal Year 2027 Intelligence Authorization Act, which would mandate expanded intelligence sharing with the Government of Israel.
The senators wrote that, at a time when the Israeli government's actions are increasingly undermining U.S. interests and values, legally mandating an expansion in defense co-production and a requirement to increase intelligence sharing would further entrench concerning aspects of the U.S.-Israel defense and intelligence relationship, and urged that all three sections be excluded from the final conference report.
Joining Van Hollen were Senators Patty Murray, Ron Wyden, Bernie Sanders, Jeff Merkley, Brian Schatz, Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey, Tammy Duckworth, Tina Smith, Peter Welch and Andy Kim. The letter was sent to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker and Ranking Member Jack Reed, and House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers and Ranking Member Adam Smith. Van Hollen had sent a Dear Colleague letter in July urging senators to oppose any motion to proceed on the NDAA until these provisions were addressed.
(Source: Office of U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen)
Source: Office of U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国国会大厦西立面（资料图）。照片为公共领域作品，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The west front of the U.S. Capitol (file photo). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
