House, Senate Pass Defense Bills - June 2000

Both the House and Senate passed their defense spending bills, including a potential $200 million in U.S.-Israel related spending.

The House supported the administration's request for the Arrow, including funding toward a third Arrow battery. The House provided $10 million for the ITALD, an unmanned aircraft decoy used by the Navy.

The Senate, like the House, supported the administration's request for the Arrow, and added $8 million for the Arrow System Improvement Program that will help the Arrow meet evolving threats. In addition, an amendment adopted on the Senate floor provides $6 million to help coordinate missile defense research between the United States and Israel.

In other programs, the Senate appropriated $15 million for the Tactical High Energy Laser, which successfully destroyed a Katyusha during a June 6 test. The Senate also allocated $25 million for Bradley Reactive Armor Tiles, nearly $41 million  for the Litening II pods for the U.S. Marine Corps and $72.9 million for the same program for the Air National Guard. The Senate added $20 for the ITALD. Both chambers met the administration's request of $120.5 million for the T-38 Air Force upgrade program, a third of which will be spent on Israeli avionics. The two chambers also provided $4 million for the Marine Corps Cobra helicopters' Night Targeting System.

The differences in the two bills now will have to be reconciled by House and Senate negotiators.

Source: AIPAC