Congressman Bill Keating

ALT Committee letter addressed to Secretary Pompeo. “Dear Mr. Secretary: We write to strongly caution you against issuing last-minute authorizations of arms exports in the remaining few days of your tenure that have not been subject to full congressional scrutiny. In recent weeks, the Department has transmitted some eight arms export notifications that were fully cleared through the long-standing procedures that allow advance review by the Chairs and Ranking Members of the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations Committees. These notifications are reminiscent of your May 2019 mis-use of authority in the Arms Export Control Act to avoid congressional review of then-pending arms transfers to Gulf states. As you know, the Committee subsequently requested that the Department’s Inspector General (IG) investigate these May 2019 transfers."

ALT "These cases were under extended congressional review because the Administration did not take congressional views into account or adjust arms export policies to accommodate congressional concerns. Instead, the Administration decided to push the cases through regardless. If additional arms export cases are moved through in the next few days without bipartisan Congressional support, the likely result will be a reconsideration of those licenses and approvals, with the goal of applying a different and higher standard for arms exports." The letter was signed by Representatives Gregory W. Meeks (NY), Albio Sires (NJ), Ted Deutch (FL), Karen Bass (CA), William R. Keating (MA), Ami Bera (CA), and Joaquin Castro (TX).