Hagerty introduces IRON DOME legislation

U.S. Rep. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) introduced legislation on Friday to redirect funds appropriated for Gaza and other Hamas-dominated areas to replenish Israel’s defense missile systems.

The legislation, the Emergency Resupply for IRON DOME Act of 2021, was co-sponsored by 21 other Congressmen and mirrors legislation introduced in the Senate by U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Tom Cotton (R-AR), and Ted Cruz (R-TX), and was introduced after Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Mark Pocan (D-WI) introduced legislation that would block the sale of weapons to Israel.

“I just returned from Israel where I inspected IRON DOME defense systems and the tragic devastation caused by Iranian-backed terrorists’ rockets, so I believe resupplying the life-saving IRON DOME interceptors must be a top priority for Congress,” Hagerty said. “I’m pleased that Representative Guest has introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives to the bill that Senators Rubio, Cotton, Cruz, and I introduced in the U.S. Senate to require the Executive Branch to redirect U.S. foreign assistance to help Israel replenish its highly-effective missile defense interceptors.”

Since its deployment in 2011, the IRON DOME has a missile interception success rate of 90 percent. The rockets purposed for use by the Iron Dome would be used to protect Israeli citizens from missile barrages. More than 4,000 rockets were fired at Israel in a 10-day period during the recent increase in tensions between Israel and Palestine.