US Senate approves defense bill, allocating $627 million for US-Israel cooperation
The United States Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Wednesday with 85 votes. The defense bill allocates an $895 billion budget to the Pentagon for 2025, including $627 million designated for U.S.-Israel cooperation.
Of the $627 million, $500 million will be set aside for missile defense, including “funds for Israeli procurement of Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow, as well as for bilateral research, development, testing, and evaluation,” AIPAC noted in praise of the Israel-related provisions in the bill.
The remainder of the $627 million will go toward an anti-tunneling program ($80 million) and “emerging defense technologies including directed energy, AI, cybersecurity, robotics, and quantum” ($47.5 million).
“The importance of these provisions is underscored by Israel’s current fight against aggression from Iran and its terrorist proxies,” AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee) stated in a press release.
The bill passed despite controversy surrounding a provision made by U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.
The provision restricts funding for medical interventions intended to transition the children of military members to the opposite gender, arguing that such interventions “could result in sterilization.”
Several Democrat senators opposed the bill for this reason.
One such Democrat was Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, who said the addition to the bill was made “because some Republicans decided that gutting the rights of our service members to score cheap political points was more worthy,” and that it restricts “the right to consult their family’s doctor and get the health care they want and need for their transgender children,” The Hill reported.
While 21 Democrats attempted to prevent the last-minute addition through an amendment, those efforts were unsuccessful.
We recommend to read:
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
