Amendment conditioning sales of F-16s to Turkey included in NDAA

The House Rules Committee has voted to include an amendment by Democrat Chris Pappas in the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, for fiscal year 2023 which would prohibit the sale of F-16s or modernization kits to Turkey unless certain conditions are met.  

The amendment requires the US President to certify that “such a transfer is in the national interest of the United States” and requires “concrete steps taken to ensure that such F-16s are not used by Turkey for repeated unauthorized territorial overflights of Greece.”

The amendment however leaves a window open that allows the president to override the restrictions if he certifies to Congress that doing so is in the vital interest of US national security. In this case, the president should provide a detailed description of the specific measures taken to ensure that US weapons are not used for violations of the sovereignty of another NATO member.