This bill would provide funding for all government operations in FY 2013 (ending 9/30/13) by extending the FY 2012 budget an additional 6 months, with some exceptions. It followed *H. J. Res 117 of 9/10/12, which initially extended the FY 2012 budget to 3/27/13.
Exceptions to the FY 2012 extension came in the form of piecemeal adjustments, but also as a result of the ‘sequester,’ which dominated the context in which the bill was debated. The sequester was devised as a fail-safe cut in mandatory and discretionary spending and was built into the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA), designed to cut the federal deficit by $2.1 trillion between FY 2012 and FY 2021.
When Congress failed to pass appropriations before the expiration of *H.J. Res. 117, the fail-safe cuts were triggered. This entailed an 8.5% across-the-board reduction in non-essential programs, though different sections of the budget were subject to different cutbacks (e.g., foreign military aid programs were cut by only 5% and discretionary defense spending by 7.8%). Barring congressional repeal, the cuts were to be enforced every fiscal year, 2013–2021, though the percentages affecting each program were to decrease over time.
Lower spending on defense and international programs, combined with the sequester, resulted in significantly reduced funding for many programs. The relevant programs and the cutbacks affecting them are listed below:
Military Assistance for Israel
Annual justifications for support of Israel were unchanged: Israel’s security is in America’s best interest, and ‘dynamic’ regional politics necessitate closer ties.
In an adjustment from the FY 2012 budget, $3.1 b. would be appropriated to Israel in foreign military financing (FMF), a scheduled increase of $25 m. in accordance with the 2007 memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Israel. The amount of those funds that may be spent in Israel would also be increased, from $808.725 m. to $815.3 m. (26.3% of the total). That is about $7 m. less than Israel would be required to spend on defense goods from American contractors. Additionally, $20 m. would be appropriated from the Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) fund to provide for the resettlement in Israel of ‘humanitarian migrants’ from eastern European and former Soviet Bloc states.
Appropriations for missile defense in this bill are at the same level as those in the FY 2013 Dept. of Defense appropriations act (S. 444 of 3/4/13). $479.736 m. was appropriated for U.S.-Israeli Cooperative Programs. Of that total, $211 m. was designated for the Iron Dome missile defense system, $146.679 m. was designated for the Short Range Ballistic Missile Defense program (SRBMD), also called David’s Sling, $74.692 m. for Arrow 3, and $44.365 m. for Arrow 2. From the SRBMD total, $39.2 m. was allocated for the production of Israeli defense systems in the U.S. and $44.365 m. was allocated for the Arrow System Improvement Program, which includes the development of a long-range, ground, and airborne detection suite.
The totals listed above are baseline levels of support, subject to the sequester cuts. Because FMF is a ‘nondefense’ military expense, it is subject to a 5% cut. Therefore, after cuts, an estimated $2.945 b. would be appropriated to Israel in FMF. The Israeli Cooperative Programs are considered ‘non-exempt defense discretionary funding,’ so they were subject to 7.8% cuts. Following the cuts, an estimated $442.326 m. would be appropriated to these programs.
Official U.S. and Israeli sources commented that these funds had already been tapped to cover payments on existing contracts for Israel’s first squadron of F-35 joint strike fighters, heavy armored carriers, trainer aircraft engines, transport planes, and a host of other U.S. weaponry.
The effect of sequestration on aid to Israel became a contentious issue during the debates over this bill. At its conference in early 3/2013, AIPAC made it a legislative priority