Republicans Criticize Revised US Arms Transfer Policy
The Republican leaders of the House and Senate foreign relations committees criticized the Biden administration's new Conventional Arms Transfer policies for failing to prioritize the economic competitiveness of U.S. defense companies. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said the new policy “reflects this administration’s fundamental misunderstanding of the challenges we and our allies and partners are facing to obtain the weapons we need to keep our country safe and to deter aggression around the world.” They also said the new policy is missing “transparent criteria” for how the administration evaluates arms transfers.
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“Our nation faces growing threats around the world, and our defense industry is struggling to meet the demand for weapons our country and allies need. Now is not the time to politicize what was an effective policy,” the lawmakers said Feb. 24.
The State Department released the revised policy last week, outlining how the Biden administration will assess arms transfer risks, which includes a heavy focus on human rights issues (see 2302230049).