On Thursday, the House voted on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2022. Prior to the structured Rule for the act, there were a total of fifty amendments that, if passed, would directly impact U.S. weapons transfers to foreign countries. Overall, these amendments are divided into five broad themes: congressional power, increased monitoring and reporting surrounding human rights violators, weapons sales to the Middle East, weapons sales to counter Russia, and weapons sales to counter China.
Out of the fifty amendments, 36 were designed to reduce sales, and out of those, 21 that would restrict weapons sales made it through the structured Rule. All 21 of these amendments passed. One amendment that sought to restrict weapons transfers domestically to police officers failed, however.
As a result, the House FY2022 NDAA will serve to restrict weapons sales and security assistance to human rights abusers and other risky countries. While it did include more guaranteed weapons transfers to Israel and parts of Asia, this is a welcome first step when it comes to Congress asserting its authority over weapons sales and security assistance.
Readers should examine the 2020 Arms Sales Risk Index for our latest data on risks associated with the weapons sales process. This index also addresses all five broad themes. At Cato, additional work that I have published and is relevant includes:
Power, Profit, or Prudence? US Arms Sales since 9/11
A New Bill Seeks to Patch the Flaws in the Arms Export Control Act
Guinea’s Coup Is the Latest Example of Risks From U.S. Military Aid
New Arms Sales Send the Wrong Signal on Taiwan
Congressional authority:
-Amendment #7, sponsored by Banks (R — IN): this amendment relaxes licensing commitments in the Arms Export Control Act. (Not made in order by the structured rule)
-Amendment #350, sponsored by Porter (D – CA), Lieu (D – CA), and Malinowski (D – NJ): this amendment extends the sunset date in Section 120 of the FY15 NDAA.
-Amendment #457, sponsored by Norma Torres (D – CA) and Porter (CA): this amendment reinstates standard Congressional Notifications procedures for the export of certain items to foreign countries.
-Amendment #491, sponsored by Malinowski (D – NJ): this amendment reduces the Secretary of Commerce’s scope of authority to regulate arms exports to foreign military, security, and intelligence agencies.
-Amendment #712, sponsored by Wild (D – PA) and Malinowski (D – NJ): this amendment requires a report on human rights abuses related to arms exported by the top five global arms producers, which includes both China and Russia.
-Amendment #716, sponsored by Malinowski (D – NJ) and Democrats: this amendment requires the President to notify Congress at least 30 days prior to the shipment of defense articles. (Not made in order by the structured rule)
-Amendment #742, sponsored by Schakowsky (D – IL) and Porter (D – CA): this amendment implements reporting requirements regarding private security contractor contracts to allow for increased congressional oversight.
Monitoring Human Rights Violators:
-Amendment #62, sponsored by Omar (D – NY) and Jacobs (D – CA): this amendment requires reporting on security assistance to Mali, Guinea, and Chad.
-Amendment #74, sponsored by Tlaib (D – MI) and Democrats: this amendment would prohibit security assistance to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. (Not made in order by the structured rule)
-Amendment #52, Amendment #90 and Amendment #122: Three pieces of bipartisan legislation designed to suspend security assistance, training, and military aid to Azerbaijan. (All three amendments were not made in order by the structured rule)
-Amendment #100, sponsored by Tlaib (D – MI) and Democrats: this amendment directs the Secretary of State to submit a plan to Congress for vetting foreign security assistance participants for participation in groups that have a violent ideology.
-Amendment #123: this amendment is sponsored by Pallone (D – NJ) and has bipartisan support. It requires the Secretaries of Defense and State to issue a report addressing allegations that some recipients of security cooperation have also committed gross violations of internationally recognized human rights before or while receiving U.S. security assistance.
-Amendment #294, sponsored by Connolly (D – VA) and Turner (R – OH): this amendment requires a report related to human rights abusers, terrorists, and military coup participants who have received security cooperation training from the United States.
-Amendment #408, sponsored by Valadao (R – CA) and with bipartisan support: this amendment requires a report within 180 days of all US humanitarian assistance programs in Nagorno Karabakh, including an analysis of program effectiveness and plans for future assistance.
Amendments #535 and #553, sponsored by Ocasio‐Cortez (D – NY) and Porter (D – CA) and Ocasio‐Cortez (D – NY) and Tlaib (D – MI): these amendments require reports on if Colombia is violating human rights.
-Amendment #563, sponsored by Sara Jacobs (D – CA) and Malinowski (D – NJ): this amendment requires human rights vetting of US counterterrorism aid recipients.
-Amendment #600, sponsored by Ocasio‐Cortez (D – NY), Omar (D – MN), and Pressley (D – MA): this amendment will prohibit Direct Commercial Sales and Foreign Military Sales to any country that has engaged in gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, genocide, or war crimes. (Not made in order by the structured rule)
-Amendment #609, sponsored by Malinowski (D – NJ) and Lieu (D – CA): this amendment requires the President to review certain arms embargo violators for sanction.
-Amendment #625, sponsored by Sara Jacobs (D – CA): this amendment requires congressional notifications and an annual reporting requirement to oversee peacekeeping operations.
-Amendment #713, sponsored by Norma Torres (D – CA) and Sires (D – NJ): this amendment increases restrictions on security assistance and weapons transfers to Central America’s Northern Triangle.
-Amendments #770 and #772, sponsored by Schakowsky (D – IL) and other Democrats: these amendments reduce security assistance to Honduras until certain human rights conditions are met. (Both amendments were not made in order by the structured rule)
Middle East:
-Amendments #19, #57, #520, #550, #573, and #852, sponsored by a variety of Democrats, including Connolly (D – VA), Meeks (D – NY), Ocasio‐Cortez (D – NY), Dingell (D – MI), Tlaib (D – MI), Khanna (D – CA), Lieu (D – CA), and others: these amendments all restrict U.S. weapons transfers and training to the Saudi coalition fighting in Yemen. (Amendment #550 was not made in order by the structured rule)
-Amendments #440 and #684, sponsored by Waltz (R – FL), Comer (R – KY), and Chabot (R – OH): these amendments prohibits Department of Defense aid to the government of Afghanistan if it is run by foreign terrorist organizations and seek to find where the missing weapons are located in Afghanistan.
-Amendment #536, sponsored by Malinowski (D – NJ) and other Democrats: this amendment requires the State Department to issue a report on systematic extrajudicial killings and torture of Egyptian security forces, if they are engaged in a pattern of gross violations of human rights, and if this means they should lose military aid.
-Amendment #669, sponsored by Ocasio‐Cortez (D – NY) and other Democrats: this amendment seeks to suspend transfer of Boeing Joint Direct Attack Munition weaponry under the $735 million direct commercial sale to Israel. (Not made in order by the structured rule)
-Amendment #703, sponsored by Meeks (D – NY) and McCaul (R – TX): this amendment seeks to investigate the legality and effectiveness of security assistance in Somalia.
-Amendments #110, #220, and #232, sponsored by bipartisan legislators led by Biggs (R – AZ), Ronny Jackson (R – TX), Van Duyne (R – TX), Phillips (D – MN), and Anthony Gonzalez (R – OH): these amendments seek to guarantee and protect security assistance and arms transfers to Israel.
Weapons sales to counter Russia:
-Amendment #249, sponsored by Turner (R – OH) and Connolly (D – VA): this amendment seeks to increase reporting requirements for U.S. military investment in European countries.
-Amendments #114, #251, and #268, sponsored by bipartisan groups of Representatives: these amendments seek to increase defense spending on European allies to counter Russia. (Amendments #114 and #268 were not made in order by the structured rule)
Weapons sales to counter China:
-Amendments #205, #206, and #209, sponsored by Perry (R – PA): these amendments seek to increase weapons sales and security assistance to Taiwan. (All three amendments were not made in order by the structured rule)
-Amendments #306 and #307, sponsored by Case (D – HI) and Kahele (D – HI): these amendments seek to increase U.S. military assistance to the Indo‐Pacific.
-Amendments #616 and #626, sponsored by Bera (D – CA), Chabot (R – OH), and Bacon (R – NE): these amendments seek to increase weapons sales and security assistance to Taiwan. (Amendment #626 was not made in order by the structured rule)
