Sen. Cramer, Colleagues Push to Fully Fund U.S.-Israel Missile Defense Cooperation
Press Release
U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, joined Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mike Rounds (R-SD), and a bipartisan group of 43 senators in calling for $500 million to fully fund U.S.-Israel cooperative missile defense programs in the Defense Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2023. Israel's missile defense system is made up of four operational layers: Iron Dome, David's Sling, Arrow 2 and now Arrow 3. In addition to contributing to ballistic missile defense, the funding will support crucial work on research, development and test activities to counter hostile unmanned aerial systems.
"Joint U.S.-Israel collaboration on Israel's multilayer missile defense system is instrumental to the defense of Israel. Since 1986, Congress and successive Administrations have demonstrated bipartisan support for joint U.S.-Israel missile defense collaboration. This partnership has helped build and maintain a multi-tiered Israeli missile defense system capable of countering a wide range of threats from state and non-state actors," wrote the senators.
Joining Senators Cramer, Gillibrand, and Rounds are Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Bob Casey (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Steve Daines (R-MT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Diane Feinstein (D-CA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), James Lankford (R-OK), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), John Ossoff (D-GA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Rick Scott (R-FL), Kirsten Sinema (D-AZ), Tina Smith (D-MN), Debbi Stabenow (D-MI), John Thune (R-SD), Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Raphel Warnock (D-GA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Todd Young (R-IN).
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