Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) and the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement regarding the Biden administration's decision to transfer weapons to Israel without congressional approval:
"Just as Congress plays a decisive role in all matters of war and peace, congress should have a complete view of the weapons that we transfer to any other country."Bypassing Congress unnecessarily means keeping the American people in the dark . We need a general explanation of the rationale behind this decision - the second of its kind this month."
Kaine has long been a leading voice for the need to make decisions related to war and peace through a deliberate congressional process. This month, bipartisan legislation to prevent any US president from unilaterally withdrawing from NATO without congressional approval was signed into law. Earlier this year, the Senate voted to pass bipartisan legislation to repeal the 1991 and 2002 military force authorizations and formally end the Gulf and Iraq wars.
Cain strongly condemned the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians and was outspoken about the need to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. He has taken a series of steps to prioritize the release of hostages taken by Hamas, including directly engaging the Qatari and Egyptian governments, addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, protecting civilians in Gaza and the West Bank, and countering Hamas ' terrorist threats. Kane led his colleagues in calling for a short-term cessation of violence in order to ensure humanitarian access to civilians in Gaza.
