{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.paul.senate.gov/news-sens-paul-murphy-franken-and-lee-introduce-joint-resolution-block-military-equipment-sale-saudi/", "Sens. Paul, Murphy, Franken, and Lee Introduce Joint Resolution to Block Military Equipment Sale to Saudi Arabia", "2016-09-08", "2016", "2016-09", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", "paul", "https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Al Franken (D-MN), and Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced a joint resolution of disapproval to block the U.S. sale of Abrams tanks and associated major defense articles to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Pentagon announced the proposed sale, totaling $1.15 billion, in August.\n\n\u201cSelling $1.15 billion in tanks, guns, ammunition, and more to a country with a poor human rights record embroiled in a bitter war is a recipe for disaster and an escalation of an ongoing arms race in the region,\u201d said Sen. Paul.\n\n\u201cSaudi Arabia is an important partner, but their war in Yemen, funded by the U.S., has become a disaster that is making our country less safe every day,\u201d said Sen. Murphy. \u201cThousands of civilians are being killed, and terrorist groups inside the country, like al Qaeda and ISIS, are getting stronger. Until the Saudis conduct changes, the U.S. should put a pause on further arms sales.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Obama Administration has recently offered over a billion dollars in weaponry to Saudi Arabia, and I think it\u2019s in America\u2019s best interest to call a timeout on this sale,\u201d said Sen. Franken. \u201cIn Yemen, a Saudi coalition of fighters is unjustly killing civilians while at the same time not doing enough to address terrorism. This is dangerous for the Middle East, for our other allies, and for our nation, which is why I\u2019m helping to introduce this bipartisan resolution.\u201d\n\n\u201cUnbeknownst to many Americans, their military has been engaged in the civil war in Yemen throughout this year with very little oversight or authorization from their representatives in Congress,\u201d said Sen. Lee. \u201cI am cosponsoring this resolution because I believe it is our responsibility as stewards of our constituents\u2019 interests to have a public discussion and debate on the merits \u2013 or lack thereof \u2013 of our involvement in this conflict and the broader Middle East. This presents Congress with an opportunity to prove we can do our jobs in a bipartisan manner and put the safety and security of the American people first. It will also allow us to work with the Saudis to recalibrate our alliance towards more productive and enduring achievements.\u201d\n\nIn addition to today\u2019s Senate action, 64 members of the U.S. House of Representatives signed a letter to President Obama in August urging him to delay the sale.\n\nThe Arms Export Control Act of 1976 provides the special procedures whereby a Senator can force a vote on an arms sale by the President. Today\u2019s introduction of the joint resolution of disapproval allows Senators Paul, Murphy, Franken, and Lee, along with other members of Congress, to force a vote on blocking the Saudi arms sale.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T21:01:54Z"]], "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.paul.senate.gov/news-sens-paul-murphy-franken-and-lee-introduce-joint-resolution-block-military-equipment-sale-saudi/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3492361176759005, "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"}