SJRES 53 — Congress 119
A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval of the proposed foreign military sale to the Government of Qatar of certain defense articles and services.
Official source: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-joint-resolution/53
Congress.gov subjects: International Affairs
Issues impacted: Foreign Policy & Sanctions (ai, high)
Official bill text (stored)
Plain-text extraction from Congress.gov text formats. Canonical source remains the official URL above. Full text is prioritized for bills with roll-call votes.
119 SJ 53 IS: Providing for congressional disapproval of the proposed foreign military sale to the Government of Qatar of certain defense articles and services. U.S. Senate 2025-05-15 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. IIA 119th CONGRESS 1st Session S. J. RES. 53 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 15, 2025 Mr. Murphy (for himself, Mr. Kaine , Mr. Sanders , Mr. Van Hollen , and Mr. Schatz ) introduced the following joint resolution; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations JOINT RESOLUTION Providing for congressional disapproval of the proposed foreign military sale to the Government of Qatar of certain defense articles and services. That the following proposed foreign military sale to the Government of Qatar is prohibited: (1) The sale of the following defense articles and services described in Transmittal No. 25–16, submitted to Congress pursuant to section 36(b)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act ( 22 U.S.C. 2776(b)(1) ), and published in the Congressional Record on March 26, 2025: The following Major Defense Equipment (MDE): Eight (8) MQ–9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA); Two hundred (200) KMU–572 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) tail kits for Guided Bomb Unit (GBU)–38 or Laser JDAM GBU–54; Three hundred (300) BLU–111 500-lb general purpose bombs; One hundred (100) MXU–650 air foil groups (AFG) for Paveway II GBU–12; One hundred (100) MAU–169 computer control groups (CCG) for Paveway II GBU–12; Twenty-eight (28) Embedded Global Positioning System (GPS)/Inertial Navigation System (INS) (EGI) security devices with M-Code; Twelve (12) EGI security devices with Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Modules (SAASM); Ten (10) Lynx AN/APY–8 Synthetic Aperture Radars (SAR); Ten (10) L3 Rio Grande communications intelligence (COMINT) sensor suites; One hundred ten (110) AGM–114R2 Hellfire II missiles; and Eight (8) M36E9 Hellfire Captive Air Training Missiles (CATM). The following non-MDE items will also be included: Honeywell TPE–331 turboprop engines; Certifiable Ground Control Stations (CGCS); FMU–139D/B fuze systems; DSU–38 laser illuminated target detectors for GBU–54; KY–100M narrowband/wideband terminals; AN/PYQ–10 Simple Key Loaders (SKLs); Keying Identification Verification (KIV)–77 Mode 5 Identification Friend or Foe cryptographic appliques; Intrusion Prevention System (IPS)–250X High Assurance Internet Protocol Encryptor (HAIPE) Type 1 cryptographic communications security (COMSEC) devices; Cryptographic Core Modernization –700A Type 1 COMSEC chips; AN/DPX–7 IFF transponders; Link–16 KOR–24A Small Tactical Terminals (STTs); Semi-Automatic Ground 2 Environment (SAGE) Electronic Surveillance Measure systems; AE–4500 Electronic Support Measure; Compact Multi-band Data Link (CMDL); Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver (ROVER) 6Si compatible systems; Common Munitions Built-in-Test Reprogramming Equipment (CMBRE) Plus Block II; Mayflower Multi-Platform Anti-Jam GPS Navigation Antennas (MAGNA)–I, AS–4841; imaging systems; Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR) Multi-Spectrum Targeting System (MTS); Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars (SeaSpray 7500 maritime radars); Due Regard Radar (DRR); Automatic Information System (AIS) transponders; Rohde & Schwartz Ultra High Frequency (UHF)/Very High Frequency (VHF) radios; satellite communications ground station antennas, modems, and terminals with Unifi Security Gateway (USG) encryption; Ku-Band SATCOM GA–ASI Transportable Earth Stations (GATES); secure SATCOM systems; DSU–33D/B bomb components; M299 Longbow Hellfire launchers; weapons loading equipment; spare and repair parts, consumables and accessories, and repair and return support; weapons integration; support and test equipment; facilities and construction support; publications and technical documentation; personnel training and training equipment; transportation and airlift support; studies and surveys; U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services; and other related elements of logistics and program support.
Plain-English summary
Confidence: high · Complexity: moderate · Model: grok-4.5
This joint resolution is a straight-up attempt by Congress to block a big planned U.S. weapons sale to Qatar.
If it passed, it would kill the deal laid out in the formal notice lawmakers already got. That package covers eight MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft—large armed drones—plus Hellfire missiles, guided-bomb kits and bombs, radars, comms gear, training, spare parts, and the support services to keep it all running.
For everyday folks, this doesn’t touch your taxes, benefits, or rules at home. It’s about whether those defense items and services go to Qatar’s government. People who follow foreign arms sales or Middle East policy would notice most.
A push to yank it out of committee for a full Senate vote fell short 39–56, so it didn’t move that way. We’re working from the bill text and the public record on the proposed sale.
Related issues
How a vote maps to positions
Impartial mapping: which issue position a Yea vs Nay advances. When a bill has multiple floor votes, each roll can have its own mapping. Bill-level entries (no roll listed) apply as a default when a roll has no specific map. Used for legislator alignment.
All rolls (bill default)
| Issue | Yea advances | Nay advances | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreign Policy & Sanctions | Restraint and limited overseas commitments | Status quo / reject this change | Yea blocks the notified Qatar arms package; Nay rejects that block and leaves the proposed sale on its prior track. |