{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/murphy-menendez-paul-unveil-joint-resolutions-of-disapproval-for-proposed-arms-package-to-uae", "Murphy, Menendez, Paul Unveil Joint Resolutions Of Disapproval For Proposed Arms Package To UaeRead More", "2020-11-19", "2020", "2020-11", "Democrat", "House", "CT", "Christopher Murphy", "M001169", "www.murphy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTONU.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Bob\r\nMenendez (D-N.J.), and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) this week announced the\r\nintroduction of four separate Joint Resolutions of Disapproval rejecting the\r\nTrump administration's effort to provide the United Arab Emirates with a\r\nprecedent-setting aircraft and myriad other weapons systems. The bipartisan\r\nresolutions come after the Trump administration formally notified Congress of\r\nits intention to sell over $23 billion in Reaper drones and other munitions,\r\nF-35 joint strike fighter jets, and air-to-air missiles to the UAE. In an effort to rush this sale of incredibly sophisticated\r\nweaponry, the Trump administration circumvented the informal congressional\r\nreview process that grants the Congressional committees of jurisdiction time to\r\nensure proposed arms sales of this magnitude are consistent with U.S. values,\r\nnational security objectives, and the safety of our allies. The State\r\nDepartment and Department of Defense also refused to respond to Congressional\r\ninquiries as to how the Administration would deal with specific national\r\nsecurity risks inherent in the proposed sale, which is comprised of the world's most\r\nadvanced stealth fighter jet, over 14,000 more deadly bombs and munitions, and\r\nthe second-largest ever sale of U.S. drones to a single country.  I\r\nsupport the normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab\r\nEmirates (UAE), but nothing in that agreement requires us to flood the region\r\nwith more weapons and facilitate a dangerous arms race, said Murphy.\r\nThe Emiratis are an important security partner, but their recent behavior\r\nindicates that these weapons may be used in violation of U.S. and international\r\nlaw. The UAE has violated past arms sales agreements, resulting in U.S. arms\r\nending up in the arms of dangerous militia groups, and they have failed to\r\ncomply with international law in Libya and Yemen. A sale this large and this\r\nconsequential should not happen in the waning days of a lame duck presidency,\r\nand Congress must take steps to stop this dangerous transfer of weapons.\" We\r\nare introducing these bipartisan resolutions out of a shared understanding that\r\nCongress must strongly assert its statutory authority over our nation's foreign\r\narms sales. As I tried to warn the Trump administration, circumventing deliberative\r\nprocesses for considering a massive infusion of weapons to a country in a\r\nvolatile region with multiple ongoing conflicts is downright irresponsible, said\r\nMenendez. There are a number of outstanding concerns as to how these sales\r\nwould impact the national security interests of both the United States and of\r\nIsrael. As a result, Congress is once again stepping in to serve as a check to\r\navoid putting profit over U.S. national security and that of our allies, and to\r\nhopefully prevent a new arms race in the Middle East. Full\r\ntext of the Joint Resolutions of Disapprovals can be found here, here, here and here. The Arms Export Control Act of 1976 provides special procedures\r\nthrough which lawmakers can introduce a joint resolution of disapproval against\r\na proposed arm sale. In the Senate, a resolution can bedischarged from\r\nthe Committee of jurisdiction, forcing a vote on the Senate floor. ###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/murphy-menendez-paul-unveil-joint-resolutions-of-disapproval-for-proposed-arms-package-to-uae"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.93751510232687, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}