A pair of bipartisan bills advancing in the House and Senate are seeking to block the latest $1.15 billion sale of US tanks to Saudi Arabia, with authors citing growing concern about the number of civilians being killed in the Saudi War in Yemen.
The Senate version of the bill was introduced last week, co-sponsored by Sens. Rand Paul (R – KY), Mike Lee (R – UT), Al Franken (D – MN), and Chris Murphy (D – CT), while a House version was introduced today, cosponsored by Reps. Ted Lieu (D – CA) and Mike Mulvaney (R – SC).
The Senate version is expected to come up for a vote this week, likely Wednesday, where it faces opposition from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R – KY) and Foreign Relations chairman Bob Corker (R – TN), who say that the Saudis are going to buy the weapons either way, and the US might as well get the sales.
The huge civilian death toll of Yemen, along with ever-growing US arms sales to Saudi Arabia, is putting the US under growing criticism both domestically and abroad for supporting Saudi war crimes. The Saudi use of US munitions throughout the war has only added to the perception that the US sales are directly in support of the disastrous war.
Those wishing to contact their senators in support of blocking the Saudi arms sales before the vote may find the information to do so here.
Selling weapons to Arab’s is on par with giving grade school kids real pistols for their birthday
McConnell and Corker make an excellent point. They should offer an ammendment to sanction any country whose weapons industry sells equivalent weapons to Saudi Arabia. Make it a full blown international embargo.