Congress tries to block a big weapons sale to Saudi Arabia
S.J.Res. 216 — A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval of the proposed foreign military sale to the Government of Saudi Arabia of certain defense articles and services. · Filed by Ed Markey (D-MA) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Sep 16, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
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What it does
This joint resolution would stop the U.S. from selling weapons to Saudi Arabia. The sale includes over 10,000 guidance kits and over 10,000 bombs. It also includes support equipment and services. Congress can use the Arms Export Control Act to disapprove the sale.
Who it affects
Congress members can vote on whether to block the sale. The sale would have gone to Saudi Arabia's government. U.S. citizens would see Congress make this choice instead of the President's office alone.
One thing to notice
The bill names the exact weapons. It covers over 10,000 JDAM guidance kits, over 10,000 bombs, support equipment, and services.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 1 Democrats, 1 Independents.
- Sep 16, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Sep 16, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Foreign Relations · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- joint resolution — A formal proposal that both the House and Senate must vote on.
- Arms Export Control Act — A law that lets Congress block weapons sales to other countries.
- JDAM guidance kits — Equipment that helps bombs hit their targets more accurately.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,838 characters) on Sep 21, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,522 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-22.
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