Of state orPolitical Military Affairs who spoke on the administrations decision to declare a state of emergency within arms sale to saudi arabia held by the Senate Foreign relations committee, this is an hour and 40 minutes. The committee will come to order. Thank you all for being here today and today were going to discuss the recent Emergency Declaration regarding us arms sales. The start we should recognize and acknowledge that the law contemplates and indeed requires a partnership between the executive branch and the legislative branch regarding arms sales. This committee plays an Important Role in conducting rigorous oversight of the issue. The same time, the law does grant the President Authority to conduct sales without congressional approval in times of emergency. Well be focusing on that issue. This hearing will focus on these rules andauthorities. We must consider the context for this latest declaration, namely active threats on iran and its proxy and our partners capabilities to defend against those threats. Arms export control gives the President Authority to declare an emergency concerning arms and avoid the standard process of congressional notification area such president ial authority gave back more than 40 years to Lessons Learned from the october 1973 war in themiddle east. President s of both parties have used Emergency Authority on five previous occasions and in each case addressed specific threats to us allies and did not alter the standing process of congressional review or have a meaningful impact on congress authority. I expect this latest declaration to continue that pattern and deserves review in thatexpectation. As with one of the previous Emergency Declarations, this declaration came in response to threats and attacks from the iranian regime. Midmay, iran and its proxy as the associates, civilian airports and determination plants integral to the civilian population. Additionally they shot down multiple us unmanned aircraft. Over the weekend the iranian back forces from yemen and failed new or models of Ballistic MissilesUnmanned Aerial Vehicles capable of taking deeper into arabia. Around threats and actions towards the us and our allies have been clear. You must respond to such threats, protect our interests and support our allies as they defend themselves. Neither thispresident nor congress , nor the American People see war with iran. I commend thepresident for his restraint in the face of numerous provocations. I was in the room as the president considered one of the most recent provocations and sought advice regarding. Anyone, anyone who interprets the president s reasonable forbearance is making a grave mistake. That is right for miscalculation and should not mistaken. Attacking america, its interests or our partners when we do a strong defensive response, Emergency Declarations are useful, not just for the tangible militarycapabilities they transferred allies and partners but ourequally important for the messages they convey. These particular sales , in the context of and are colored by larger challenges with our saudi and iraqi partners including the war in yemen, the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and other diplomatic issues. I saw brought input from all quarters on a bipartisan basis to produce legislation will move us much more in the right direction. I want to thank all parties including my friends on the other side of the aisle who been very helpful in trying to craft legislation that will get us to where we want to be. Ive been impressed how carefully people have waived this issue and how impressed ive been with the attempts to reach legislation that balances the various aspects of this challenge. This legislation calls for a comprehensive review of the United States saudi relations as we conduct this review, we must discourage irans aggression and must not leave saudi arabia vulnerable. Our partners desperately need the these sales contemplated by other us training and advising initiatives to improve their ability to minimize Collateral Damage and deter aggression. We are here today because of the continuing threats by iran. As we move forward i urge us all to see measured solutions to these difficult challenges and avoid inadvertent straightening our adversaries or damaging our partners and allies. I really believe this committee has done that and i hope we will continue to do that. I now witnesses for joining us today and look forward to hearing perspectives on these issues. With that im going to end this. Like you mister chairman for holding this hearing to examine the appropriate role of congressional oversight on arms sales. It is important that any president and any administration and this one in particular respect congress as an equal branch of government and execute all laws in good faith. Now, despite your pledge during your confirmation hearing to do just that Mister Cooper, and your commitment to be transparent and forthcoming with this committee , since you began your tenure the department has shown only disdain for congress and the laws that govern our arm export programs. Beyond that, you have balked at the idea that you shouldbe held accountable for your actions. On may 24, the secretary of state sent this committee 22 notifications for arms sales and transfers to saudi arabia and the united arab emirates. In a boilerplate memo the secretary argued unconditionally that these sales, some of which the committee had already cleared , were exempt the legally required 30 days of congressional review and action , claiming a sudden, emergency threat from iran. This administration has been unable to explain how precisely these sales respond to the supposed emergency area and at no time prior to may 24 to the administration once raised the sales as necessary to respond to the threat from iran. Let me be clear, around the house and will continue to pose a threat to us interests and allies in the region and i have and will continue to improve approve arms sales to allies that are in line with our long and shortterm strategic interest and basic us principal of the basic respect for human life but if you look at these sales, it appears theadministration had other motives. Indeed, when pressed, rather than explain how these sales will address a supposedly imminent threat from iran, you and other Administration Officials demurred and said the sales were for quote, sustaining the Global Supply chain or preventing quotes, loss of sale to p are competitors or maintaining us credibility as an arms supplier and so on. I look forward to hearing you explain today how would taking away american jobs and creating a saudi jobs program of manufacturing and eating panels for export for an aircraft the saudis dont own or operate respond to an emergency . How would sales that would not be delivered for many, many months immediately responded to an emergency . And if i have been asking for more than a year, how does the sale of precision guided munitions for use in yemen presumably when the same atrocious results in human suffering weve seen over the last four years respond to an emergency western mark Mister Cooper, you testified in a house hearing that the protracted process of congressional review was problematic for commercial sales. Indeed, unless i misunderstood, you implied that i personally in exercising my rights as a Ranking Member of this committee was the reason you had to push through all 22 sales you as you well know, the process was projected because neither the secretary nor the department was willing or able to make a persuasive case that selling precision guided bombs to saudi and the united arab emirates, the particular arms that i was holding would improve protection of yemeni civilians to saudi airstrikes or and the uaes human rights abuses in yemen. Not only did the department not make a persuasive case, you made no case since last october. Since Jamal Khashoggi was butchered on orders from the highest levels of the saudi government. Mister chairman, my colleagues, the secretary of states message to us is clear. Congress and review arms sales, just dont take too long or ask questions, otherwise ill just ignore the law and put you out ofthe process entirely. Three weeks ago in a bipartisan fashion, thesenate made clear what it thought of the secretary of state. Emergency sales by approving an unprecedented 22 resolutions of disapproval of these sales. Two weeks ago thiscommittee approved our bipartisan bill , the Saudi Arabia Emergency are safe to prevent similar abuses of the Emergency Authority in the future. I hope the secretary of the administration appreciate the gravity of these actions and those to come. Informal arms sale review process under the arms export control act has operated successfully fordecades. It works because successive administrations recognize that there is a health and consulting with the committee about any concerns that arise from the sale and they acted in good faith. Simply put Mister Cooper, you and the secretary undermined this process. I urge you to take another look at the definition emergency and rethink your approach to Engaging Congress and dividing by the congressional oversight claimed during your hearing you would respect. Thank you senator welcome secretary cooper. The floor is yours. You very much mister chairman, mister Ranking Member and senators. In recent days, neutral shipping has beenattacked , providing an deterrent against hostile actions, this transfer lowers the risk of a broader conflict. The determination reflects the United States great concern with the growing escalation in the goal and its implication for the security of our wrens in the region. These words could precisely describe the context of the recent emergency certification this hearing has beenconvened to discuss, but they are actually from a State Government announcement from 1984. Then as now, irans revolutionary government threatens International Shipping in the gulf through proxies, supported tax on american interests in the region, resulting in deaths of 241 american servicemembers in beirut. Then as now, our partners required the reassurance provided by an american demonstration of resolve and then as now, the administration took steps to deter a war, not to bring it closer. In his may 21 certification, secretary pompeo supported partners in the current crisis. These capabilities include aircraft support, munitions, logistics services, unmanned intelligence valence and reconnaissanceplatforms, training and advisory services. None of these constitute introductions offundamentally new capabilities to the region , none alter the military balance of power. None are of a nature or Category Congress had not previously reviewed and approved for these particular partners. The secretarys decision to exercise the Statutory Authority under the arms export control act reflect the current threat from iran as well as the persistent threat. Prior to making the certification, the administration saw in brief congress about an increased threat stream from iran relating to both us and Partner Interests throughout the region. These troubling explanatory indications and warnings from the iranianregime opted an increased Us Force Posture in the region. Events since the secretary certification serve to further validate the urgent need for these sales. Iranian attacks on civilian crews partial partnerships and tankers in the sea of oman, continued attacks by the iranian back huthis including utilization in one case of a Cruise Missile against civilian commercial airports and the shootdown of the us broad Maritime Surveillance unmanned Surveillance System in airspace. These provocative actions mark a new evolution in the threat iran poses to the region, to our partners and to our own National Security including the security of the hundreds of thousands of americans who live and work in the gulf states. And the Current Situation iran has implications not only in the gulf but in a geostrategic level. In todays world, our partnerships are vital and we must ensure our partners have the capability, the systems, the communications, the intelligence and the training to play their due role in maintaining stability and security in their region. Our adversaries recognize the importance of our partnerships and have adopted person purposeful strategies of trying to disrupt them at all levels including in terms ofour security cooperation. For instance by seeking to replace us as suppliers of choice. As such, the secretary certification should not be seen not only as a deterrent to iran , and reassurance to our partners, but its also a rebuff to our competitors. Before closing i would like to address some of the specific concerns that have been raised by this committee. Many centers, Many Americans are concerned about the use of arms we provide overseas including in the context of the yemen civil war. These concernsare appropriate and we share them. From the beginning of the conflict you have maintained a political solution is urgently needed and supported the un led effort working towards that objective. America stands out from many foreign suppliers of defense material by premium we placed on ensuring that our capabilities are not contributing to gross violations of human rights. We have worked with the Saudi Coalition over the course of its operations to reduce the occurrence of civilian casualties. Our support in this regard has ranged from the provision of training on targeting mentoring and advising the coalition on best practices on Lessons Learned and on integrating complex data into a system that is specifically designed to reduce civilian casualties. Weve also provided higher and Legal Training on the laws of Armed Conflict and have directly and regularly engaged with both military and Political Leadership on this topic. And finally, on the question of process, during both his confirmation and his own confirmation, the secretary and i did provide you our commitments on the congressional review process for arms sales. Commitments stands. I value deeply ponders his role in the review of arms transfers , i take pride in the depth and detail of the working relationship that we have with the committees in the course of this process. The secretary certification is not setting aside that process is the utilization of a longstanding Category Authority to respond to an urgent contingency. As such, i would like to take this opportunity to offer the value we place in our engagements with you on arms transfers and broaderSecurity Assistance issues. Mister chairman, in 1984 ambassador explain president reagan certification to congress inthese words. Our decisions were a prudent yet clear response to an escalating emergency which threatens out arabia and the goal. They satisfy clear military need and in addition we sent a political signal of both reassurance and deterrence. It was a measured response to promote regional stability and security. Mister chairman, mister Ranking Member, committee members, a political signal of both reassurance and deterrence, a measured response which promotes regional stability and security. These are the purposes for which president reagan certified an emergency 1984 and they are the purposes for which sent secretary pompeo invoked the same authority in may. Thank you and i look forward to your questions today thank you Mister Cooper, do you have any current plans to invoke emergency on any sales in the immediate or near future . No mister chairman, the authority as you noted has been limited limited and applied very judiciously. This is the fifth application. The one i cited that was the most historically relevant was in 1984, the first application in 1979 has been judiciously applied across administrations of president carter to President Trump. You made reference in your testimony to the fact that there was a possibility always that someone like the saudis, someone has very substantial Financial Resources returned to one of our two major competitors on the globe and actually wind up in their orbit, is that a substantial threat, do you believe . In an open forum i would hate to address that theres always the risk of near here adversaries looking for opportunities, not only in the gulf region but anywhere in the globe. I would say when were talking about National Security strategy and how we need near here adversaries, not limited to where they are geographically, that is a global concern. And back to the calculus on the emergency certification, it was a message on several levels. The immediate one was of deterrence to iran, it was the reassurance as noted here to these partners but also a warning or a rebuff to near here adversaries to maybe we are looking to augment or see opportunity. Thank you senator menendez. Mister cooper, would you agree that an