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Akbar Novruz

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The US House of Representatives has approved the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), H.R. 8800, for fiscal year 2027, including a provision aimed at expanding defense cooperation and industrial integration between the United States and Israel, AzerNEWS reports via Mondoweiss.

The legislation passed on July 22 by a 216-212 vote, largely along party lines. Six Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the bill: Henry Cuellar (Texas), Don Davis (North Carolina), Jared Golden (Maine), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), Adam Gray (California), and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Washington).

One of the bill's provisions seeks to deepen defense-industrial cooperation between Washington and Jerusalem, potentially allowing for greater co-production of Israeli defense systems in the United States.

Commenting on the measure, Ben Freeman, Director of the Democratizing Foreign Policy Program at the Quincy Institute, warned that it could significantly expand Israel's political influence in the United States.

"It would give the Israeli government the opportunity to greatly expand one of the most powerful levers of influence in U.S. politics: jobs in the U.S. By expanding or starting new co-production facilities like it already has in Mississippi and Arkansas, the Israeli government could boast of providing jobs on U.S. soil, thereby securing allies among members of Congress who represent the districts where those jobs lie," Freeman said.

According to reports, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the provision, later adopted as Section 219, as "my plan" in a letter sent last month to Representative Marlin Stutzman (R-Indiana).

The Senate is expected to consider its own version of the NDAA in the coming weeks. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) are leading an effort to introduce an amendment that would remove the Israel-related provision from the legislation.

If both chambers ultimately approve the measure following negotiations on the final version of the bill, the legislation could pave the way for a broader expansion of US-Israel defense cooperation and joint defense manufacturing.