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1 1 (April 19, 2016)

handle is hein.crs/govcdxs0001 and id is 1 raw text is: F..rh April 19, 2016 Foreign Military Sales Congressional Review Process Section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA; P.L. 90-629) governs congressional notification requirements for proposed Foreign Military Sales (FMS). This section requires the executive branch to notify the Speaker of the House, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and the House Foreign Affairs Committee before the Administration can take the final steps to conclude a foreign military sale. For sales to NATO member states, NATO, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Israel, or New Zealand, the Administration must notify the committees 15 calendar days before it may conclude a sale, enhancement, or upgrade of major defense equipment valued at $25 million or more; a sale, enhancement, or upgrading of defense articles and defense services valued at $50 million or more; or a sale, enhancement, or upgrading of design and construction services valued at $300 million or more. For other destinations, the committees must be formally notified 30 calendar days before the Administration can proceed with the sale of major defense equipment valued at $14 million or more, defense articles or services valued at $50 million or more, or design and construction services valued at $200 million or more. Certain articles or services listed on the Missile Technology Control Regime are subject to a variety of additional reporting requirements. The Department of State submits to the committees an informal notification of prospective arms sales subject to AECA reporting requirements between 20 and 40 days prior to providing formal notification to the committees. The President has the authority to waive the review periods described above if the President notifies Congress that an emergency exists, which requires the sale to proceed immediately in the national security interests of the United States. The President must provide Congress at the time of this notification a detailed justification for his determination, including a description of the emergency circumstances that necessitated this action and a discussion of the national security interests involved. .AECA and C ~ ~ '\* Pursuant to Section 36(b) of the AECA, the Administration may issue a letter of offer and acceptance (LOA) for a proposed FMS sale unless Congress enacts a joint resolution prohibiting the proposed sale. According to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the LOA is the legal instrument used by the U.S. government to sell defense articles, defense services including training, and design and construction services to a foreign country or international organization under authorities provided in the AECA. The LOA itemizes the defense articles and services offered and when implemented becomes an official tender by the U.S. government. Congress must enact such a resolution within 15 or 30 calendar days after receiving notification of the proposed sale, depending on the destination of the proposed sale. Otherwise, the executive branch is free to proceed with the sales process. .,,'a'',e sa .,, i Congress has never prohibited a proposed arms sale by use of a joint resolution of disapproval. However, Congress nearly did so in the case of President Ronald Reagan's 1986 proposed missile sales to Saudi Arabia. On April 8, 1986, President Ronald Reagan formally proposed selling Sidewinder missiles, Harpoon missiles, and Stinger missile launchers and re-loads to Saudi Arabia. The next month, both the Senate and House adopted legislation prohibiting this sale. President Reagan vetoed this legislation on May 21, 1986. But, in a letter dated the same day to then Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole, the President wrote that he would not include the Stinger missiles and launchers that had been included in the proposed sale. On June 5, 1986, the Senate narrowly sustained the President's aforementioned veto, and the sale of the Sidewinder and Harpoon missiles to Saudi Arabia proceeded. On October 14, 1981, the House adopted a resolution objecting to President Reagan's proposed sale to Saudi Arabia of E-3A airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft, Sidewinder missiles, Boeing 707 refueling aircraft, and defense articles and services related to F-15 aircraft. An October 28, 1981, Senate vote on identical legislation failed, however, after President Reagan made a series of written commitments to Congress regarding the proposed sale. Congress later enacted legislation requiring the President to certify that the commitments made in 1981 regarding the proposed sale had been met prior to the delivery of the AWACS planes (Section 127 of the International Security and Development Cooperation Act of 1985; P.L. 99-83). The AECA contains congressional notification provisions governing certain commercially licensed arms sales, prospective retransfers of U.S.-origin major defense equipment, defense articles or defense services, and leases or loans of defense articles from U.S. Department of Defense stocks. The law also contains similar notification requirements, though not reporting thresholds, for commercial technical assistance and manufacturing licensing agreements. The AECA has provisions that provide for expedited congressional consideration of a joint resolution described above. .O 'T p\w -- , gn'a', goo mppm qq\ a , q 'S I 11LIANJILiN,

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