US Congress approves watered-down bill on ties with Israel
The US Congress approved legislation Wednesday deepening cooperation with Israel after softening a push to grant Israelis visa-free travel rights to the United States .
The bill, passed by a voice vote in the House, now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature. It cleared the Senate with unanimous support in September, but only after the elimination of language that critics saw as an endorsement of Israeli discrimination of some Americans. The bill now calls only for Israel's inclusion in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program when it meets the requirements, the most elementary of which is reciprocal treatment for Americans.
Beyond the visa provisions, the U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership Act increases the value of emergency U.S. weaponry kept in Israel by $200 million, to a total of $1.8 billion. It promotes closer U.S.-Israeli links in energy, water, homeland security, alternative fuel technology and cybersecurity. It offers a verbal guarantee of Israel maintaining a qualitative military edge over its neighbors.
