U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., teamed up with fellow congressional freshman U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-NJ, to introduce a proposal to boost Israel’s security.
At the end of last month, Gottheimer brought out the “U.S.-Israel Joint Missile Defense Act” with Mast as a co-sponsor. The proposal would make the Defense Department test the Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile program to help Israel repeal missile attacks. Mast’s office noted that Iran has successful tested “Qadr II” ballistic missiles, which bore the slogan “Israel should be wiped off the Earth,” hitting targets almost 900 miles away from where they were launched. The Florida Republican’s office also noted that Hezbollah had a stock of between 120,000-150,000 missiles.
On Monday, Gottheimer made the case for why the bill was needed.
“As the threat of terror explodes in the unstable Middle East, it’s critical that we defend our vital ally, Israel, and strengthen our military partnership,” he said. “That’s why I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan bill to advance the Arrow 3 long-range missile defense system -- another critical step toward protecting Israel and the region from the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran and terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas. With a fully-operational Arrow 3 system, Israel will maintain its qualitative military edge by preventing long-range missiles from striking Israeli targets.”
Mast cited his own work with Israel and called for the U.S. to work closer with that nation on defense issues.
“Following my time in the Army, I chose to volunteer alongside the Israeli Defense Forces because our countries share the common ideals of freedom, democracy and mutual respect for all people,” Mast said. “There is undoubtedly a mutual benefit to the security of our nations in collaborating on missile defense. This bipartisan legislation would expedite the development of the Arrow 3 long-range missile defense system, which is absolutely critical to Israel’s defense and stability in the Middle East.”
The bill was sent to the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Committees. So far, there is no companion bill over in the Senate.
