House approves $1 billion for Israel's Iron Dome defense system

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(CNN)The House on Thursday easily approved a bill to provide funding for Israel's Iron Dome after it was removed from a separate bill to prevent a government shutdown and suspend the nation's borrowing limit.

The $1 billion in funding allocated for the aerial defense system had initially been included in the must-pass legislation that the House considered earlier in the week, but the provision was removed from the final version to appease a group of progressives who said they would sink the legislation unless that funding was struck from it.

The bill now goes to the Senate where it's unclear when it will get a vote.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer created a separate bill to bring to the floor Thursday under suspension, which means it bypassed the normal rules required to pass the bill and required a two-thirds majority to pass.

The Iron Dome Aerial Defense System is designed to intercept rockets midair -- by targeting them and firing interceptor missiles to destroy them -- before they can kill civilians living in Israel. It was initially developed by Israel's defense technology company Rafael, but the system has since been heavily sponsored by the United States.

As of November 2020, the United States had provided $1.6 billion to Israel for Iron Dome batteries, interceptors, co-production costs and general maintenance, according to Congressional Research Service.
The legislation specifically will provide funding to replace missile interceptors that were used during the heavy fighting with Hamas in May.

According to a news release on the legislation, the funding is "is consistent with the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Israel, which commits the United States to providing additional assistance to replenish the Iron Dome after periods of fighting to allow Israel to continue to defend itself from attack."

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