Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., introduced a joint resolution July 28 aimed at blocking the sale of thousands of rifles to the police force overseen by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Sanders accused Ben-Gvir of fomenting violence against Palestinians. The resolution was referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The Senate in November and April defeated legislation by Sanders to block billions of dollars in defense exports to Israel (see 2504040001).
The U.S., Australia and the U.K. need to make more items eligible for defense trade exemptions under the AUKUS partnership, an Australian researcher said last week.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee approved several bills July 22 aimed at speeding up the foreign arms sales process, strengthening the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) partnership and enhancing certain Iran sanctions.
The State Department’s Defense Export Control and Compliance System's advisory opinions application will undergo system maintenance from 2 to 5 p.m. EDT July 25. "Industry users may experience service degradation, interruptions, or limited application functionality within DECCS during this maintenance window," the agency said. "If you experience any issues, please log back in after the maintenance window."
The Senate Appropriations Committee’s newly released report on the FY 2026 Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill (see 2507170053 and 2507100053) calls for the Bureau of Industry and Security to take several actions to inform lawmakers, including writing a report on international efforts to harmonize export controls on items that could aid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Four Democratic members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s arms sales task force introduced a bill July 17 that would create a State Department program to determine whether U.S. defense exports are used to commit war crimes or harm civilians.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls this week released its notifications to Congress of recently proposed export licenses. The notifications, which cover licenses submitted from January through March, include exports to Germany, Ukraine, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, the U.K., Denmark, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere.
A bipartisan group of four House members reintroduced a bill July 15 that would ease defense export restrictions on Cyprus.
The State Department has designated Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Michael Rigas to be its “point person” for speeding up the government’s review of defense exports, Rigas told the House Foreign Affairs Committee July 15.
The Senate Armed Services Committee wants the Defense Department to create a “data czar” to collect, track and disseminate information about its Foreign Military Sales program, according to a newly released summary of the panel’s FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act.