What new congressional authorizations or supplemental bills in 2024–2025 increased US aid to Israel?
Executive summary
Congress and the Trump and Biden administrations passed multiple measures in 2024–2025 that increased U.S. assistance for Israel beyond the standing 2016 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The largest single congressional action was an April 2024 emergency supplemental that included at least $3.5 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF), $4.4 billion in Defense Department O&M for regional responses, and major missile‑defense and R&D line items including $1.2 billion for Iron Beam—detailed in the Israel Security Supplemental and related enactments [1] [2] [3].
1. April 2024 emergency supplemental: the headline boost
Congress enacted an emergency supplemental package in April 2024—often cited as the Israel Security Supplemental—that authorized multiple appropriations specifically “to respond to the attacks in Israel,” including $3.5 billion for the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program, $4.4 billion for “Operation and Maintenance, Defense‑Wide,” and $1.35 billion for defense R&D of which $1.2 billion was earmarked for Israel’s Iron Beam system (H.R.6126/H.R.8034 text) [1] [2]. Library of Congress/CRS summaries and bill text show the supplemental made these amounts available through September 2025 and expanded authorities for Presidential transfers of defense articles [1] [4].
2. Missile defense and specialized funds included beyond FMF
The April 2024 supplemental did not only increase FMF. CRS and bill texts record $5.2 billion in defense appropriations tied to missile defense programs (including $4.0 billion for missile defense broadly and $1.2 billion for Iron Beam) and other Department of Defense authorities to set aside stocks for Israel—significant because such funding often flows through DOD rather than State/USAID FMF channels [3] [1].
3. Annual appropriations and continuing levels in 2024–2025
Separate from emergency measures, Congress continued routine FMF levels consistent with the 2016 MOU framework. CRS reporting notes that P.L. 119‑4, the Full‑Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, provided FMF to Israel at the FY2024 base level (about $3.3 billion as cited by CRS)—indicating that annual baseline assistance continued alongside the supplemental emergency outlays [3].
4. How different tallies arise — emergency vs. baseline vs. weapons sales
Public figures vary because analysts combine distinct streams: (a) the emergency supplemental enacted in 2024, (b) the normal annual FMF/MOU flows for 2024 and 2025, and (c) separate arms sales and DOD transfers/stockpiles or Foreign Military Sales notifications (e.g., pre‑notifications of munitions packages and large arms sale approvals reported in late 2024–early 2025). CRS notes both the supplemental FMF and later notifications of potential munitions sales [3]. Journalistic summaries and advocacy groups sometimes aggregate these different categories into single totals, which explains discrepancies across outlets [5] [6].
5. Broader supplements and the defense department framing
The Department of Defense framed a broader security supplemental—reported as about $95 billion overall—to support partners including Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan; defense briefings and Pentagon summaries emphasize that a portion of that supplemental enables rapid transfers and logistics support for partners in 2024–2025 [7]. Available reporting in the provided set does not break that entire $95 billion into precise Israel allocations beyond the emergency supplemental details cited above [7].
6. Disagreements, caveats and reporting limits
Different sources present different totals: for example, advocacy and public‑facing groups have cited larger aggregated figures (e.g., AJC’s description of “$14.3 billion in emergency military assistance and $9.2 billion for humanitarian aid” in April 2024), while congressional/CRS texts specify line items like $3.5 billion FMF and $5.2 billion in missile‑defense appropriations [5] [3]. These discrepancies reflect whether analyses include humanitarian aid, DOD‑managed missile‑defense funds, previously authorized MOU annual amounts, or later executive arms‑sales notifications—items that CRS and bill texts list separately [3] [1].
7. What the sources do not say
Available sources do not mention a newly renegotiated long‑term MOU in 2024–2025 replacing the 2016 agreement; reporting instead references emergency and supplemental appropriations layered on top of the existing MOU framework [8] [3]. Detailed line‑by‑line federal spending tallies that reconcile every arms sale, presidential drawdown, and DOD stockpile transfer into a single consolidated number for 2024–2025 are not provided in the documents above [3] [1] [7].
Conclusion — how to read the numbers: Use the CRS/bill texts to identify statutory line items (e.g., $3.5B FMF, $4.4B O&M, $1.2B Iron Beam) as the authoritative record of what Congress authorized in the April 2024 supplemental [1] [2]. Broader public totals that state larger sums typically fold in annual MOU flows, missile‑defense appropriations, humanitarian assistance, and executive branch arms‑sale notifications—categories that CRS and the bill texts enumerate but treat separately [3] [5].