J POST– Despite freezing funding for most aspects of the US government at 2010 levels, the US House agreed Wednesday evening to increase military aid to Israel.
Most
significantly, the House added $205 million in first-time funding for
the Iron Dome project, a short-range rocket defense system. The money
was pledged by President Barack Obama last May, but had been stalled until now. substantially.
In
addition, military aid allocations from Israel should increase from
2010 levels of $2.775 billion to $3b. for fiscal year 2011, while those
for Egypt and Jordan will hold constant from 2010.
That increase
is dictated by the 10-year memorandum of understanding the US has
negotiated with Israel, but it could have been frozen along with other
spending increases since the House passed a continuing resolution for
2010 budget levels as a stopgap funding measure so government didn’t
shut down, after Congress failed to pass a FY2011 spending bill through
the normal process.
Other expenditures for Israel, including more
than $200m. for the Arrow long-range missile defense system and the
medium-range David’s Sling, will also keep the same amounts as their
2010 levels.
The continuing resolution with its increased funding
for Israel was passed 212-206 by the House and still needs to be
approved by the Senate and signed into law by Obama.
“Given the
scrutiny that our nation is appropriately giving to every dollar
expended for all purposes – including the defense of the United States
and its allies – it is a mark of the great importance of these projects
that they were included in this funding bill,” said Rep. Steve Rothman, a
New Jersey Democrat, who helped shepherd through the additional money.
“This funding sends a strong message, to both our enemies and allies, by
providing more total dollars than ever before toward these rocket and
missile defense programs.”
Written by Hilary Leila Krieger
Photo by flickr user Ron Almong
© COPYRIGHT J POST, 2010
