U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Deb Fischer (R-NE) joined 10 of their Republican colleagues in introducing a bill on Oct. 19 that would resupply Israel’s Iron Dome short-range rocket defense system.
“The Iron Dome system has proven time and again to be one of Israel’s most important air defense capabilities,” Sen. Wicker said. “The United States should support replenishing Iron Dome and expanding our domestic industrial base to accelerate production.”
The Emergency Resupply for Iron Dome Act of 2023, S. 3083, was sponsored by U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and cosponsored by Sens. Wicker and Fischer. The bill, if enacted, would require the Executive Branch to transfer the U.S. foreign assistance that the U.S. Department of State plans to send to Hamas-controlled Gaza and redirect it to resupply Israel’s missile defense interceptors, according to a summary of the bill.
“Israel has the right and the responsibility to defend itself against unconscionable assaults from groups like Hamas and Hezbollah,” Sen. Fischer said. “Our bill would reallocate aid funding that could have ended up in Hamas’s pockets to Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system — the backbone of its missile defense architecture. The United States will stand by our ally.”
The legislation is under consideration in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.