President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW.
Washington, DC 20500

May 13, 2024

Dear President Biden:

It has come to our attention through a news report issued May 5, 2024, that, according to two
Israeli officials, your administration has placed a hold on an ammunition shipment to Israel.1

According to the report, this has “raised serious concerns inside the Israeli government and sent
officials scrambling to understand why the shipment was held.”

On May 7th, it was reported your White House staff confirmed a pause on 1,800 2,000-pound
bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs that they feared would be used in Israel’s last major planned
operation against a Hamas stronghold in the city of Rafah.2

This move is part of a pattern of your administration hindering arms sales to our allies without
sufficient explanation or strategic foresight. In December, your administration placed a hold on a
delivery of more than 20,000 U.S.-made rifles to Israel. 3 In addition, last year, reports indicated
that the backlog in approved but unfulfilled transfers of Arms to Taiwan amounted to $19
billion.4

These delays hurt our allies and defense industrial base and are deleterious to our national
security. Our allies and partners need to know they can rely on U.S. manufacturing to deliver the
equipment and material they need to protect their national security. The world is watching your
administration’s unique scrutiny of Israel when it comes to weapons shipments and foreign
policy decisions more broadly, and the rest of the world now believes that with enough contrived
public scrutiny, the U.S. will fail our allies.

This administration’s consistent failure to fulfill these commitments and conduct an effective
foreign policy strategy continues to undermine American global leadership.

1
Ravid, Barak. “U.S. Put a Hold on an Ammunition Shipment to Israel.” Axios. Accessed May 8, 2024.
https://www.axios.com/2024/05/05/israel-us-ammunition-shipment-hold.
2
Baker, Peter. “Biden Puts Arms Shipment to Israel on Hold amid Dispute over Rafah Attack.” The New York
Times, May 8, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/07/us/politics/israel-biden-arms.html.
3
Pamuk, Humeyra. “US Delays Sale of Assault Rifles to Israel over Settler Violence - Sources | Reuters.” Reuters.
Accessed May 8, 2024. https://www.reuters.com/world/us-delays-sale-assault-rifles-israel-over-settler-violence-
sources-2023-12-13/.
4
Gould, Joe. “Slow Arms Deliveries to Taiwan Blamed on US Production Bottlenecks.” Defense News, February
24, 2023. https://www.defensenews.com/pentagon/2023/02/24/slow-arms-deliveries-to-taiwan-blamed-on-us-
production-bottlenecks/.
With all of this in mind, we respectfully request a response to the following questions by May
20th, 2024:

1. What is the reason for halting these shipments, and what is the legal and policy
justification for doing so?

2. What is the timeframe for deciding whether to lift the halting of this shipment?

3. Why is the administration, under your directive, working to prevent Israel from
eliminating the remnants of an evil terrorist group that perpetrated the devastating
October 7th attacks?

4. What is the plan to reassure our allies that the U.S. will back them under pressure, despite
our failure to do so with Israel?

The U.S. must stand with our allies and strategic partners. Through actions and words, your
administration, President Biden, has made our allies unsure about our loyalty to them. The U.S.
must stand with Israel throughout their conflict and support them until they accomplish their goal
of dismantling Hamas.

Sincerely,

Rich McCormick, MD, MBA Elise M. Stefanik

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Jared Golden Mike Bost

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Michael C. Burgess, M.D. Cathy McMorris Rodgers

Member of Congress Member of Congress
Glenn "GT" Thompson Bruce Westerman
Member of Congress Member of Congress

John R. Moolenaar Stephanie Bice

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Erin Houchin Mark Alford

Member of Congress Member of Congress

W. Gregory Steube Bill Posey

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Dan Crenshaw Michael Cloud

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Michael Waltz Michelle Fischbach

Member of Congress Member of Congress
Cory Mills Don Bacon
Member of Congress Member of Congress

Kelly Armstrong C. Scott Franklin

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Doug Lamborn Claudia Tenney

Member of Congress Member of Congress

María Elvira Salazar Jen A. Kiggans

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Carol D. Miller Ben Cline

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Keith Self Ashley Hinson

Member of Congress Member of Congress
Thomas H. Kean, Jr. John James
Member of Congress Member of Congress

Tony Gonzales Gus M. Bilirakis

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Brad Finstad Scott Fitzgerald

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Rudy Yakym III Brandon Williams

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Zach Nunn Derrick Van Orden

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Dan Meuser Pat Fallon

Member of Congress Member of Congress
Wesley Hunt Nicholas A. Langworthy
Member of Congress Member of Congress

Jeff Duncan Guy Reschenthaler

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Mike Ezell Brett Guthrie

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Troy Balderson Jefferson Van Drew

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Nick LaLota Gary J. Palmer

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Mike Carey Neal P. Dunn, M.D.

Member of Congress Member of Congress
James R. Baird, PhD David P. Joyce
Member of Congress Member of Congress

Monica De La Cruz Chuck Edwards

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Adrian Smith Joe Wilson

Member of Congress Member of Congress
Chairman
Subcommittee on Middle
East,
North Africa, and Central
Asia

Ann Wagner Dusty Johnson

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Russ Fulcher Beth Van Duyne

Member of Congress Member of Congress
William R. Timmons, IV Randy K. Weber, Sr.
Member of Congress Member of Congress

Randy Feenstra Kevin Kiley

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Pete Stauber Rick W. Allen

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Charles J. "Chuck" Michael V. Lawler

Fleischmann Member of Congress
Member of Congress

David G. Valadao Dan Newhouse

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Barry Loudermilk Brian Fitzpatrick

Member of Congress Member of Congress
Tim Walberg Richard Hudson
Member of Congress Member of Congress

Earl L. "Buddy" Carter Byron Donalds

Member of Congress Member of Congress

August Pfluger Brian Babin, D.D.S.

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Andrew S. Clyde Lori Chavez-DeRemer

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Darin LaHood Mike Kelly

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Jerry L. Carl Larry Bucshon, M.D.

Member of Congress Member of Congress
Robert E. Latta Chip Roy
Member of Congress Member of Congress

Brian J. Mast Jim Banks

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Ronny L. Jackson Jack Bergman

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Ralph Norman John S. Duarte

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Russell Fry Mark E. Amodei

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Troy E. Nehls John R. Curtis

Member of Congress Member of Congress
 Andrew R. Garbarino Robert B. Aderholt
Member of Congress Member of Congress

Austin Scott Anthony D'Esposito

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Julia Letlow, Ph.D.

Member of Congress

CC:
Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, U.S. Department of Defense
Secretary Antony Blinken, U.S. Department of State