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This bill — the Ileana Ros-Lehtinen United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2018 — would codify the 2016 memorandum of understanding signed by Israel and the U.S. guaranteeing Israel $38 billion in defense assistance over 10 years. It’d also commit the U.S. to supporting Israel’s ability to meet and address both conventional and emerging threats and enhances U.S.-Israel cooperation in areas of mutual interest, such as cyber security.

The major provisions of this legislation would:

Authorize U.S. security assistance for Israel, as called for in the 2016 U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding on security assistance, through 2023 at an amount of at least $3.3 billion;
Extend authorization for loan guarantees to Israel through 2023;
Extend authorization for the U.S. War Reserve Stockpile in Israel through 2023;
Authorize the president to transfer precision guided munitions to Israel for its defense;
Direct the president to take take steps to add Israel to the list of countries eligible for the Strategic Trade Authorization Exception from the Export Administration Regulations;
Direct the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Administrator to work with the Israel Space Agency to identity and cooperatively pursue peaceful space exploration and science initiatives in areas of mutual interest;
Direct the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to partner with Israel to advance common goals across a variety of sectors, including energy, agriculture and food security, democracy, human rights and governance, economic growth and trade, education, environment, global health, and water and sanitation, and authorizes the USAD Administrator to enter memoranda of understanding with Israel for this coordination;
Authorize the president to enter a cooperative project agreement with Israel to research, develop, test, evaluate, jointly product, and support defense articles and defense services to destroy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that threaten either the U.S. or Israel; and
Affirm America’s commitment to ensuring that Israel maintains its qualitative military edge, which means maintaining Israel’s ability to counter and defeat any credible threat from any individual state, coalition of states, or non-state actors while sustaining minimal damages and casualties via the use of superior military means.

","official_title":"A bill to amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act to make improvements to certain defense and security assistance provisions and to authorize the appropriations of funds to Israel, and for other purposes.","short_title":"United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2018","popular_title":null,"short_summary":null,"summarized":true,"cost":null,"cost_commentary":"The CBO estimated that implementing the original version of this bill, which authorized the appropriation of $3.3 billion annually over the 2019-2023 period for assistance to Israel, would cost $16.5 billion over the 2019-2023 period. The amended version of this bill, which authorizes a minimum of at least $3.3 billion in assistance to Israel over the 2019-2023 period, would cost at least, and potentially more than, $16.5 billion over the 2019-2023 period, depending on the annual appropriation for assistance to Israel.","impact":"NASA; USAID; Israel; U.S. War Reserve Stockpile; and the president.","argument_for":"America’s interest in Israel’s security is significant. Given the Middle East’s security situation, it’s more important than ever for the U.S. to both provide financial support to Israeli military goals, and for relevant U.S. agencies to cooperate with relevant Israeli agencies in areas of mutual interest.","argument_against":"U.S. aid to Israel is counterproductive to the peace process. 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Should the U.S. Reaffirm its Commitment to Israel’s Security by Providing Military Aid?