Mikulski on Senate approval of $225 million for Iron Dome
For Immediate Release
Date: August 1, 2014
Contact: Vince Morris (202) 224-1010
WASHINGTON, DC— U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today issued the following statement following the passage of an Emergency Supplemental Funding bill to assist Israel:
“It’s right that we help our friends in Israel and adopt the Mikulski-Reid-McConnell amendment. It's crucial that Israel has the opportunity to defend itself while others are working on ceasefires or political solutions. Those are excellent, diplomatic or humanitarian goals, but right now we have to make sure that Israel can defend itself. As a treasured ally, it's important that we enable Israel to guard themselves against Hamas.”
“I am committed to the protection of Israel and I am more committed to the Iron Dome than ever. Israeli citizens are being bombarded with missile after missile. The money that we’ve approved today is needed to replace interceptor rockets for the critical Iron Dome missile defense system that Israel is using to defend itself. Iron Dome is already saving lives and protecting towns and cities from the more than 2,700 rockets fired by Hamas in the last few weeks. Israel is an essential American ally and needs these assets to defend itself. Iron Dome is also a high-tech defensive system. It's not an offensive system.
“Israel’s very survivability is defended by its Iron Dome. Many of the rockets shot down by the system fall in uninhabited areas. The ones headed for densely populated areas are destroyed by Iron Dome. By investing in this program, we are protecting civilians and helping to maintain Israel’s qualitative military edge.”
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