Dept. of Defense Authorization Bill, FY2004

H.R.1588
Introduced: 
April 3, 2003
108
First
November 24, 2003
Became Public Law

1 cosponsor.

Renew U.S. naval port visits to Haifa: The bill states the following: “It is the sense of Congress that (1) the United States has invested significant amounts of funds in expanding the capacity and security of the port of Haifa, Israel, and the United States Navy should be able to implement the necessary force protection measures that would enable it to take advantage of the repair, replenishment, and communications links available at that port; (2) the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Navy should conclude discussions with the Government of Israel and the Israel Defense Forces to establish appropriate and effective arrangements to ensure the safety of United States Navy vessels and personnel during port visits to Haifa, Israel; and (3) upon such arrangements being made, the United States Navy should consider resumption of regular port visits to Haifa, Israel. The final conference report to the bill (108-354 on 11/7/03) stated that the Senate bill did not contain the provision on port calls to Haifa but that the Senate receded to the House amendment with a clarifying amendment that read: “The conferees are concerned that despite having invested significant amounts of money in expanding the capacity and capabilities of the port of Haifa, Israel, the U.S. Navy has not conducted regular port visits to Haifa since the attack on the U.S.S. Cole in Aden, Yemen, on October 12, 2000. The conferees feel that the Secretary of Defense and the U.S. Navy should be able to conclude consultations with the Government of Israel that will lead to the establishment of effective arrangements to ensure the safety of U.S. Navy vessels and personnel, thus enabling the Navy to take advantage of the logistics and communications capabilities of the Haifa port area. The conferees also feel that Navy port visits to Haifa are a strong and visible expression of continuing American national interest in this important region, and an important demonstration of support and commitment to the State of Israel. The conferees urge the Secretary of Defense to consider resumption of regular port visits to Haifa, Israel.

Arrow missile defense system: The House report to the bill (108-106 5/16/03) states that the administration’s request for the Arrow missile defense system was $64.8m, but it did not authorize funding for this weapons system. The final conference report to the bill notes that the House version did not authorize funds for the Arrow system, whereas the Senate set the amount for joint U.S.-Israeli production of the Arrow missile defense system at $115m. The Senate receded to the House and no funding was authorized for the Arrow system.

Background on the Arrow program from the House report: The Arrow program began in 1988 under agreement between the U.S. and Israeli governments. Three batteries of Arrow missiles were funded up until 2002. In 2003, funds for the co-production of the Arrow system in the U.S. were procured. In sum, more than $2b had been invested in the Arrow system, most by the U.S. “either through direct appropriations or military assistance grants to the government of Israel.” The report also states that Israel has expressed interest in selling the Arrow system to third parties, to which the committee expressed caution.

Became public law 108-136 (11/7/03 conference report passed House 362-40-2; 11/2/03 conference report passed Senate 95-3).

More info

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