The U.S. Senate today rejected by a vote of 48 to 40 an amendment that would have prevented the U.S. Export-Import Bank from financing arms sales to underdeveloped nations such as Jordan. The amendment was proposed by Sen. Allen J. Ellender, Louisiana Democrat. It would have become a part of a bill extending the bank’s lending authority for five years.
Sen. Ellender said the Export-Import Bank required control because the United States had secretly provided arms to the Arabs through the bank. These arms were subsequently used against the Israelis, whom he termed “our friends.” He also charged that Iraq received U.S. arms through the bank and is now getting Soviet weapons. The State Department opposed the Ellender amendment.
A fight is expected when the bill is brought before the House. Many Congressmen have indicated strong objections to leaving the arming of the Arabs to the discretion of the State Department and the White House.
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