During a call with reporters on Thursday, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) discussed Section 219 of the recently House-passed annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Opponents of the provision, also known as the United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative, claim it would link the United States and Israeli militaries in a previously unprecedented and inappropriate fashion.
Tuberville disagreed, arguing that Section 219 codifies already existing aspects of the military relationship between the two countries and better facilitates shared research and development.
"This is just the House version of the NDAA," he said. "Section 219 is being worked on during the conference as we keep watching it, it'll proceed. But what I can tell you is that it just codifies existing partnerships that the U.S. and Israel have had in place for years. 219, what it does is it sets up a mechanism to share research and development and best practices for innovative defense technology."
He added, "We want to continue to have the best innovative and fighting force in the world, and what better way to do that than to work with Israel and other countries."
U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Saks), chairman of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, introduced Section 219 in the House of Representatives.
The NDAA now heads to the U.S. Senate.
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