Despite late night rules committee switch, the need to prevent sending these weapons to Ukraine prevails over politics.
by James R. Webb, Responsible Statecraft
Late in the evening of July 12, while the rest of Washington was sound asleep, Congress was hard at work finalizing amendments to the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act. Sadly, while the late night for Congress was atypical, the work of undermining good legislation and, thereby the will of the American people, was not.
The House Rules Committee used the cloak of the evening to silently remove an amendment to the NDAA by Reps. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), which would have banned the U.S. from exporting cluster munitions to any country across the globe.
Why? Quite simply, it appeared that the amendment had too much support, as the final tally of co-sponsors reached 12, including two Republicans, mainly in reaction to last week’s announcement that the Biden administration is providing cluster munitions to Ukraine — marking the first time the U.S. has ever exported this highly controversial weapon to another country.
Replacing Rep. Jacobs’ amendment is a similar, yet more narrow amendment from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), which only bans the export of cluster munitions to Ukraine.
Recent Posts
Black Votes Jeopardized by the SAVE Act
Take Action Now The SAVE Act would require proof of U.S. citizenship to be presented in person in order to register to vote in this country and would…
ICE and War Funding Can Now Become the Latest Excuse To Gut the Social Safety Net
Take Action Now Republicans don’t need to gut the social safety net again in order to pass Trump’s latest series of priorities. But…
Israel Is Stepping Up Its Ethnic Cleansing in the West Bank
Take Action Now Even as Israel attacks Iran and Lebanon, it is also intensifying ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. The military and settler militias…
Building Beyond ‘No Kings’
Take Action Now Why there is cause for both celebration and concern.By Christopher D. Cook, Common Dreams It’s easy to both celebrate and…