Today, a broad bipartisan coalition of over 100 members of Congress, led by Reps. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Mike Ferguson (R-NJ), Shelley Berkley (D-NV), Virgil H. Goode Jr. (R-VA), Walter Jones (R-NC), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) and Barbara Lee (D-CA), released a letter to President Bush expressing their deep opposition to the sale and said they intend to vote to stop it. Earlier this week, 14 members of the House of Representatives announced they will introduce a Joint Resolution of Disapproval to block the sale “the minute Congress is officially notified” of the sale, which is expected to take place this September.

         Before arriving in Saudi Arabia earlier this week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced that the U.S. has begun negotiations with the Saudi Arabian government on a multi-billion dollar arms sale package of advanced weaponry. The package reportedly includes satellite guided bombs accurate enough to shoot through the window of a building from jets in any weather. The United States has never sold such advance munitions to Saudi Arabia before. The sale would also upgrade the capability of the Saudi Air Force and provide new naval vessels.

         Congress may reject any large arms sale according to the Arms Control Export Act of 1976. The President is required to officially notify Congress of an impending arms deal, who then has 30 days to trigger a review and pass a Joint Resolution of Disapproval.    

The Joint Resolution of Disapproval has been used in the past by Congress to affect weapons sales to Saudi Arabia. In 1985, the Kingdom wanted to purchase F-15 fighter jets, but congressional opposition convinced the Reagan administration not to go forward with the sale. This was on the heels of a bruising battle with Congress on a 1981 sale of AWACS after Senator Bob Packwood questioned selling arms to Saudi Arabia saying “They have displayed a hostility that must be interpreted as their deliberate intentions to promote continued instability in the Middle East.”

In 1990, an arms package to Saudi Arabia valued in excess of $20 billion was expected to be proposed to Congress. House Majority Leader Richard A. Gephardt led a letter to President George Bush advocating "a unilateral pause in arms sales to countries in the Middle East and Persian Gulf." The deal ultimately submitted to Congress was significantly smaller at $7.3 billion, and did not include controversial hardware such as AWACS and KE-3 tanker aircraft.

         Saudi Arabia has not been a true ally in the war on terror or furthering the United States interests in the Middle East. Today it was reported that the Kingdom is insisting on a preconditions for a meeting with Israel and gave little ground during the administration’s effort to step up efforts to halt Saudis intent on joining the insurgency in Iraq from crossing the border or traveling through Syria. Prince Saud was quoted as saying, “All that we can do in order to protect the border in Iraq we have been doing.”

         But just last week, American officials in Iraq said the majority of suicide bombers in Iraq are from Saudi Arabia and that about 45 percent of all foreign fighters are Saudi. Iraqi media reported that students at the Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, located in Riyadh and known as the "terrorist factory," has organized activist groups and sent members streaming north to join the onslaught on Iraqi Shias. Brig. General Kevin Bergner, the top American military spokesman in Iraq detailed an account of a Saudi Arabian smuggled into Iraq to be a suicide bomber.

         In February the Saudi Arabian government torpedoed U.S. plans to conduct a high-profile peace summit meeting between Israel and the Palestinian Authority by brokering their own power-sharing agreement, catching the U.S. off guard and ensuring the agreement would not require Hamas to recognize Israel or forswear violence. On March 29th, many agree Saudi Arabia King Abdullah referred to the U.S. troops in Iraq as an "illegitimate foreign occupation" at a two-day Arab summit in Riyadh. 

         And despite assurances to the contrary, Saudi Arabia continues to bankroll terrorist organizations that have attacked both the United States and Israel.  In sworn testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in November 2005, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Daniel L. Glaser indicated that the Saudi Arabian government refuses to crack down on the World Association of Muslim Youth (WAMY), which spreads radical Wahhabism and finances Hamas and Al Qaeda.  70% of the most-wanted international terrorists are Saudi Arabians.

         “People of all political stripes are coming out against this deal,” said Rep. Weiner. “It’s mind-bogglingly bad policy because the Saudi’s at every turn have been uncooperative.  The idea that we are going to reward the Saudi’s with precision weaponry is a stunningly bad idea.”

         “The letter we are sending to the President today is proof that Congress will not turn a blind eye to the Bush Administration rewarding the Saudis’ repeated efforts to frustrate U.S goals in Iraq and in the global war on terror.  Instead, we in Congress will take action to stop this misguided deal to transfer $20 billion in U.S. weapons technology and material to Saudi Arabia,” said Congressman Mike Ferguson R-NJ.

A copy of the letter to President Bush from 114 Congressional members is attached to this release. Members who signed the letter saying they will vote to stop this arms deal are Reps. Jason Altmire (D – PA), Michael Arcuri (D – NY), Joe Baca (D- CA), Richard Baker (R-LA), Tammy Baldwin (D – WI), John Barrow (D- GA), Xavier Beccerra (D-CA), Shelley Berkley (D-NV), Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D- GA), Tim Bishop (D-NY), Dan Boren (D-OK), Leonard Boswell (D-IA), Robert Brady (D-PA), Corrine Brown (D-FL), Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL), Dan Burton (R-IN), G.K Butterfield (D-NC), Michael Capuano (D-MA), Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), Julia Carson (D-IN), Kathy Castor (D-FL), Donna Christenson (D-VI), WL Clay (D-MO), Stephen Cohen (D-TN), John Conyers (D-MI), Jerry Costello (D-IL), Robert “Bud” Cramer (D-AL), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Danny Davis (D-IL), David Davis (R-TN), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), Chaka Fattah (D-PA), Michael Ferguson (R-NJ), Bob Filner (D-CA), Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Jim Gerlach (R-PA), Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), Virgil Goode, Jr. (R-VA), Gene Green (D-TX), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), John Hall (D-NY), Phil Hare (D-IL), Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Baron Hill (D-IN), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Darlene Hooley (D-OR), Jay Inslee (D-WA), Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL), Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Walter Jones, Jr. (R-NC), Steve Kagen (D-WI), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), Ron Klein (D-FL), Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), John Larson (D-CT)  , Barbara Lee (D-CA), John Lewis (D-GA), Dan Lipinkski (D-IL), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Carolyn McCarthy  (D-NY), Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), James McGovern (D-MA), Kendrick Meek (D-FL), Gwen Moore  (D-WI), Christopher Murphy (D-CT), Tim Murphy (R-PA), Sue Myrick (R-NC), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)    , Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Richard Neal (D-MA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), Todd Platts  (R-PA), Earl Pomeroy (D-ND), Jon Porter (R-NV), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX), Michael  Rogers (R-AL), Steven Rothman (D-NJ), Tim Ryan (D-OH), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), Jose Serrano (D-NY), Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Hilda Solis (D-CA), Fortney Stark (D-CA), Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), Lee Terry (R-NE), Mike Thompson (D-CA), John Tierney (D-MA), Edolphus Towns (D-NY), Stephanie Tubbs-Jones (D-OH) , Mark Udall (D-CO), Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), Maxine Waters (D-CA), Diane Watson (D-CA), Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Robert Wexler (D-FL), Charles Wilson (D-OH), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), David Wu (D-OR), John Yarmuth (D-KY), Don Young (R-AK)

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 Honorable George Bush

President

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20502

Dear President Bush:

            We are writing to express our deep opposition to the proposed sale of high technology armaments to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.   If a sale containing weapons for Saudi Arabia is proposed to Congress under the Arms Export Control Act of 1976, we intend to vote to stop it.

            Saudi Arabia has not behaved like an ally of the United States.  They have exported fighters and suicide bombers to the war in Iraq.  They have provided funding for terrorist activities throughout the world.  And the Saudis have refused to play a constructive role in the West Bank and Gaza.

            The United States should not send potentially destabilizing weapons to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.