Senate Committee Advances Bill to Amend AECA's Emergency Provision

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced a bill on June 25 that would limit the ability of the executive branch to bypass congressional approval of foreign arms sales. The bill, called the Saudi Arabia False Emergencies Act, had bipartisan support and was advanced less than a week after the Senate voted to block billions of dollars worth of arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that the Trump administration had announced May 24 (see 1906200052). The administration had used an emergency provision in the Arms Export Control Act to skip congressional approval.

The bill offers a rebuke to what both Republicans and Democrats viewed as an overstep of authority by the administration. “The emergency provisions in the Arms Export Control Act should be used only for real emergencies and as rare exceptions for our closest allies for whom we can vouch for,” said Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., who is a bill co-sponsor.