In the News
Obama Administration’s $1.15 billion arms sales offer to Saudi Arabia has shocked a bipartisan group of 64 lawmakers who are concerned about rising civilian casualties in the war in Yemen where a coalition led by Saudi Arabia is fighting Iran-allied Houthi rebels. They want the US to withdraw support to Riyadh which is intentionally targeting civilians or deliberately indifferent in executing its military operations.
Washington – The Senate plans to vote Wednesday on a resolution sponsored by Sen. Chris Murphy that would block a $1.15 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia.
It’s a long shot. But Murphy says he’ll win something even if he loses the vote.
The Connecticut Democrat has launched a campaign to stop the Saudi sale, with the help of Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., because of the number of civilian casualties in Yemen, victims of the Saudi led- coalition forces and U.S.-made weapons.
Saudi Arabia launched a military campaign against Yemeni rebels last year.
When she sat down at a Starbucks in Torrance a few years ago, Michele Sutter was desperately looking for a California legislator to sponsor a bill regarded by many as a nonstarter — a proposition instructing the state’s congressional delegation to change the U.S. Constitution.
After a series of Saudi-led airstrikes that reportedly killed and wounded civilians in Yemen, members of both the House and the Senate have introduced legislation to block a $1.15 billion arms sale that would supply the longtime American ally with a fresh contingent of tanks.
The U.S. Senate will vote on Wednesday on a measure to block the sale of tanks and other military equipment worth $1.15 billion to Saudi Arabia, but the measure is not expected to pass despite lawmakers' growing frustration with the longtime U.S. ally.
The Senate's Republican Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, said on Tuesday he would "aggressively" oppose the effort.
A bipartisan pair of lawmakers introduced a House resolution Tuesday that would block a $1.15 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia amid concerns that U.S. weapons are being used against civilians in Yemen.
“There is overwhelming evidence that the Saudi-led Coalition in Yemen is bombing innocent civilians in Yemen,” Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) said in a written statement. “When hospitals and schools become military targets, this is cause for serious concern, not just for our national security but also for our moral standing around the world.”
Two regulatory agencies met with Torrance residents Monday over refinery safety and emission issues as the plant was forced to flare for a second consecutive day, serving as another reminder to critics of its reliability and pollution problems.
With strong bipartisan votes of support, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate have approved an agreement between UCLA and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that creates a stronger academic affiliation between the university and the VA to benefit veterans.
The bipartisan campaign to block American arms sales to Saudi Arabia is growing, both within and outside the government.
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-California, introduced a new bill on Tuesday morning that would block a $1.15 billion U.S. weapons deal with the Saudi regime.
“The reason we’re doing this is because there is now overwhelming evidence that war crimes are being committed in Yemen, and that most of them appear to be done by Saudi Arabia-led air strikes,” Lieu told Salon in an interview on Monday.
South Bay area politicians and activists on Monday called for a ban on an acid used at the Torrance refinery, speaking just hours after residents were presented with an unplanned flareup at the facility.
Hydrofluoric acid is used in the refining of petroleum to create gasoline, but it can pose a danger to the public when not handled properly.
“Hydrofluoric acid is extremely dangerous. It is so dangerous that if released into the air, it forms a vapor cloud that travels around with the wind and kills people who come in contact with it,” Congressman Ted Lieu of Torrance said.