FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 13, 2019
Contact: Press@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4343

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator and Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Rand Paul (R-KY) put the U.S. Senate on record on selling U.S. weapons and associated training and support to Bahrain and Qatar through votes on two of his joint resolutions of disapproval to block the sales.

The Senate first voted on discharging Dr. Paul’s S.J. Res. 20, which would stop an estimated $750 million sale to Bahrain that includes air-to-ground missiles and guided bombs, from the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and bringing it to the Senate floor, with a second vote on discharging S.J. Res. 26, which would block an estimated $3 billion sale to Qatar that includes Apache Attack helicopters and Hellfire missiles.

Shortly before the vote, Dr. Paul spoke on the Senate floor against selling American weapons to Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.

“What kind of bizarre world do we live in that we are arming people who arm our enemies,” Dr. Paul asked on the Senate floor.

You can watch his speech HERE.

While over 40 senators supported both of Dr. Paul’s resolutions, the majority of senators unfortunately voted to continue fueling an arms race in the Middle East.

You can read S.J. Res. 20 and S.J. Res. 26 below.

The Arms Export Control Act of 1976 provides the special procedures whereby a senator can force a vote on an arms sale.

In November 2018, Dr. Paul forced a procedural vote on his resolution that would have blocked the sale of an estimated $300 million in high-explosive rocket artillery and associated training and support to Bahrain, a member of the Saudi-led coalition waging a devasting war in Yemen that has left millions on the edge of starvation.

Dr. Paul has also led multiple bipartisan efforts to block direct arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

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