A bi-partisan group of five Senators have introduced legislation to renew Congressional authorization to the President to grant credits to Israel to buy U.S. military equipment during the two-year period starting next January 1 to assure Israel adequate defense.
The current legislation, first introduced by Sen. Henry M. Jackson (D. Wash) in 1970, is designed to enable the President to extend credits to Israel should foreign measures, that normally carry such authorizations, become bogged down in the legislative process. The foreign aid bill for the new fiscal year starting July 1 has not yet even been presented to the Congress by the State Department.
The proposal is legislatively known as Section 501 of the Defense Procurement Bill of 1971 which is the basic law for the standby authorization powers granted the President.
It is described as an open-ended credit for the President to transfer to Israel by sale, credit sale or guarantee such aircraft and equipment as may be necessary to counteract any past, present or future increased military assistance provided to other countries of the Middle East. Any sale credit or guarantee shall be made on terms and conditions not less favorable than those extended to other countries which receive some or similar types of aircraft and equipment. The renewal authority does not carry any specific sum.
Senators Jackson, Hubert Humphrey (D. Minn), Clifford Case (R. NJ), James Buckley (C.-R. NY), and Harrison Williams (D. NJ) co-sponsored the renewal measure last Thursday.
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