An effort to revoke a controversial provision in the House’s version of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) did not succeed.

An amendment introduced by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) to kill the section failed in a voice vote on Thursday in the House Armed Services Committee.

Section 224 of the proposed NDAA is titled “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative.”

“This section would require the Secretary of Defense to designate an executive agent responsible for synchronizing cooperative efforts between the United States and Israel, including bilateral defense technology research, development, testing, evaluation, integration, and industrial cooperation,” the section reads.

Section Of Drafted 2027 NDAA Allegedly Would “Integrate/Synchronize” The United States And Israeli Militaries

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That defeat paves the way for the proposal to advance to the floor of the House of Representatives.

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Khanna had argued that the provision in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), formally called Section 224, rewards Benjamin Netanyahu at a time when the Israeli prime minister is trying to dictate US policy in the Middle East.

The progressive Democrat cited recent reports that President Donald Trump is angry at Netanyahu over Israel’s escalation in Lebanon.

“Everyone in America — whether you’re a Republican, an independent or a Democrat — says that we need to tell Netanyahu that America calls the shots, not the prime minister of any other country,” Khanna said.

“They want less cooperation and blank checks to Israel, not more. Only the United States Congress would dream up at this moment, ‘Let’s actually do more for Israel.'”

The vote on the amendment was taken by calling on committee members to say aloud either “yes” and “no”, and the “nays” clearly were more numerous. It was not recorded as a roll-call vote, which would require each member’s preference to be logged.

“Now let me just be clear, Mr. Netanyahu actually wrote to a member of Congress to put this section 224 into the bill," Khanna said.

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"AIPAC applauds the House Armed Services Committee for including Section 224, the United States‑Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative, and other pro‑Israel provisions in its National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2027. Section 224 helps give America a strategic advantage by expanding our partnership with Israel in key arenas that will define 21st century warfare. This provision helps ensure our military is working together with another innovation and technology leader to give our troops the critical edge they need to keep America safe," the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) said in a statement.

"The provision builds on decades of existing U.S.-Israel defense cooperation and on the bipartisan U.S.-Israel FUTURES Act introduced earlier this year by Representatives Ronny Jackson (R-TX) and Don Davis (D-NC), making existing cooperation efforts more efficient and effective. The committee also approved $750 million for U.S.–Israel cooperative programs—a $65 million increase over FY26—including $500 million for missile defense, $100 million for counter-unmanned systems, $100 million for subterranean operations, and $50 million for emerging technologies. The bill also extends the War Reserves Stockpile Authority–Israel," it continued.

"AIPAC thanks House Armed Services Committee Chairman @RepMikeRogersAL, Ranking Member @RepAdamSmith, and other bipartisan leaders for advancing these important provisions that support American jobs, enhance troop safety, and keep the United States at the forefront of defense innovation by leveraging the enduring special relationship the United States shares with Israel. We now encourage the full House to maintain these pro-Israel measures as the NDAA moves toward final passage," it added.

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The Guardian shared further:

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a pro-Israel thinktank originally incorporated as “Emet”, the Hebrew word for “truth”, and committed, according to its founding IRS filings, “to provid[ing] education to enhance Israel’s image in North America and the public’s understanding of issues affecting Israeli-Arab relations”, advocated for closer integration of US and Israeli militaries and weapons research and development in a December report, Beyond the US-Israel MOU: The Case for a Strategic Partnership Agreement.

Two months later, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies was the only outside validator for the legislation on Davis’s 19 February press release. “The United States–Israel Futures Act builds on decades of successful collaboration by improving cooperation across the public, private, and academic sectors to swiftly develop, test, and field defense technologies that will help safeguard US service members and provide Israel with the means to combat a diverse set of threats from foreign adversarial states and terror groups,” said Tyler Stapleton, senior director of government relations at the FDD. “FDD Action strongly supports the bipartisan United States-Israel Futures Act.”

On 19 February, Washington’s largest pro-Israel lobby group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), endorsed the legislation, highlighting its “key provisions”, including “encouraging US-based co-production, joint ventures, and manufacturing partnerships with Israeli industry”.

Aipac also reported lobbying on the US-Israel Futures Act on Capitol Hill as well as at the Department of Defense in the first quarter of the year. While neither the House nor Senate legislation made it out of committee, the same legislative architecture and much of the same language appeared in section 224 of the NDAA, buried deep within the 505-page draft legislation.

In short, Aipac and the FDD were successful in moving their unpopular legislative agendas forward, even as both the House and Senate bills remain stalled in committees.

Make no mistake, the intent and the consequences of this legislation, dubbed the United States–Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative, go far, far beyond the sharing of military technology that traditionally has attracted so much support among Senators and Congress members.

 

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