No cosponsors.
This annual bill would grant the legal authority, or ‘authorization’, to the Department of Defense to carry out its activities and obligates the necessary funding for them. The bill authorizes a total of $144.634 m. for the Israeli ballistic missile defense systems being jointly developed by the U.S. and Israel. The total includes a $25 m. increase over the president’s funding request to support the development of the ‘David’s Sling’ short-range ballistic missile defense program. In its report (111-35) on the bill the Senate Committee on Armed Services echoed the concerns of the House Committee on Armed Services by noting that developing the Arrow-3 is a high risk endeavor because the project’s technical complexity may prevent it from being built in time, if at all, to meet Israel’s needs. It also commended the dept. of defense for choosing to pursue the ground-based SM-3 missile, which is being developed, in part, as a back-up system for the Arrow-3 (the bill would also authorize $50 m. to begin development of the SM-3).
Would also require the Director of National Intelligence to submit a report on activities of the government of Venezuela, including the extent to which Hugo Chavez and Venezuelan officials provide support to Hizballah.
A finding of the Senate in Section 1232 of the bill entitled ‘Sense of the Senate on Imposing Sanctions with Respect to the Islamic Republic of Iran’ quotes President Obama saying, ‘Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon would not only be a threat to Israel and a threat to the United States, but would be profoundly destabilizing in the international community as a whole…’
Relevant Senate amendments:
SA 1489, submitted 7/13/09, Sam Brownback (R-KS), 1 cosponsor: Would require the secy. of defense to submit a report to Congress on the military capabilities of Iran. The report is to contain inter alia an assessment of Iranian strategy towards Israel; an analysis of Iranian conventional and unconventional forces facing Israel; an analysis of Iran’s strategic, short range, and cruise missile forces facing Israel; and an assessment of the types and amount of support provided to Hamas and Hizballah. This amendment was ordered to lie on the table and was not considered by the Senate.
See also: companion measure H.R. 2647 of 6/2/09; similar measure S. 1391 of 7/2/09; and related measures H.R. 2410 of 5/14/09, H.R. 2475 of 5/19/09, H.R. 2845 of 6/12/09, H.R. 3326 of 7/24/10, and H.R. 3832 of 10/15/09.
7/23/09 passed in Senate 87–7.