The bill
Abraham Accords Defense Against Terror Act
HR. 4335, 119th Congress — read as touching Defense Contractors.
Sponsored by
Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17]
ID: L000599
Follow the money
The bill
HR. 4335, 119th Congress — read as touching Defense Contractors.
The sponsor
Every bill has someone who introduced it. That name is where the paper trail starts.
The money
21 itemised contributions to this sponsor, pulled from FEC filings.
The alignment
This bill's text tracks the "Introduction" section, p. 217-219 of the Mandate for Leadership.
Track this bill's progress through the legislative process
Latest Action
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 31 - 19.
July 21, 2025
📍 Current Status
Next: The bill will be reviewed by relevant committees who will debate, amend, and vote on it.
1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.
2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.
3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.
4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.
5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.
6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.
7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!
Another masterpiece of legislative theater, brought to you by the same geniuses who thought invading Iraq was a good idea.
**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The Abraham Accords Defense Against Terror Act (HR 4335) is a cleverly crafted bill that pretends to address the "threats posed by Iran and Iran-aligned entities" in the Middle East and North Africa. In reality, its primary objective is to provide a convenient excuse for the United States to sell more arms to countries that have normalized diplomatic relations with Israel.
**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill authorizes the Secretary of State to expedite the sale or lease of defense articles and services to countries that meet certain criteria, including having normalized relations with Israel. It also requires the President to submit certifications to Congress at least 15 days before approving such sales, which is a laughable attempt at transparency.
**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** The usual suspects are involved in this farce:
* The defense industry, which will reap massive profits from increased arms sales. * Israel, which gets to strengthen its alliances with other countries in the region while pretending to be concerned about Iran. * The United States government, which gets to maintain its facade of being a responsible global leader while actually just peddling more guns and bombs.
**Potential Impact & Implications:** This bill will likely lead to:
* Increased arms sales to countries that may not necessarily need or use them effectively, thereby fueling regional instability. * Further entrenchment of the United States in the Middle East, with all the attendant risks and consequences. * A continued lack of meaningful action on addressing the root causes of terrorism and conflict in the region.
In short, HR 4335 is a cynical exercise in legislative doublespeak, designed to line the pockets of defense contractors while pretending to address pressing global security concerns. It's a classic case of "diagnosing" a symptom (Iranian aggression) without treating the underlying disease (regional instability and corruption).
Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17]
Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle
No PAC contributions found
No committee contributions found
This bill has 10 cosponsors. Below are their top campaign contributors.
ID: M001217
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ID: Z000018
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ID: D000230
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ID: S001213
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ID: F000466
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ID: S000168
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ID: K000392
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ID: M001157
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ID: S001212
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ID: W000795
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Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.
Showing 65 nodes and 36 connections (51 secondary connections hidden)
Total contributions: $133,018
Showing top 18 donors by contribution amount
Which industries are materially affected by specific provisions in this bill. 1 helped.
Section 2(b)(2) authorizes the Secretary of State to provide approval for the sale or lease, license, or transfer of defense articles or services to identified countries, directly benefiting defense contractors through increased arms exports. Section 2(c) expedites approval processes for such transfers, further aiding contractors. Section 3 preserves Israel's qualitative military edge, indicating no adverse effect on defense sales.
For each industry this bill affects, here's what the sponsor (Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17])received from donors associated with that industry during the 2022–present cycles. Donations are not proof of intent — they are a record of who funds the people writing the law.
This bill shows semantic similarity to the following sections of the Project 2025 policy document.
— 185 — Department of State l First, the U.S. must prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear technology and delivery capabilities and more broadly block Iranian ambitions. This means, inter alia, reinstituting and expanding Trump Administration sanctions; providing security assistance for regional partners; supporting, through public diplomacy and otherwise, freedom-seeking Iranian people in their revolt against the mullahs; and ensuring Israel has both the military means and the political support and flexibility to take what it deems to be appropriate measures to defend itself against the Iranian regime and its regional proxies Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. l Second, the next Administration should build on the Trump Administration’s diplomatic successes by encouraging other Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, to enter the Abraham Accords. Related policies should include reversing, as appropriate, the Biden Administration’s degradation of the long-standing partnership with Saudi Arabia. The Palestinian Authority should be defunded. A further key priority is keeping Türkiye in the Western fold and a NATO ally. This includes a vigorous outreach to Türkiye to dissuade it from “hedging” toward Russia or China, which is likely to require a rethinking of U.S. support for YPG/PKK [People’s Protection Units/Kurdistan Worker’s Party] Kurdish forces, which Ankara believes are an existential threat to its security. For the foreseeable future— and much longer than one new Administration—Middle Eastern oil will play a key role in the world economy. Therefore, the U.S. must continue to support its allies and compete with its economic adversaries, including China. Relations with Saudi Arabia should be strengthened in a way that seriously curtails Chinese influence in Riyadh. l Third, it is in the U.S. national interest to build a Middle East security pact that includes Israel, Egypt, the Gulf states, and potentially India, as a second “Quad” arrangement. Protecting freedom of navigation in the Gulf and in the Red Sea/Suez Canal is vital to the world economy and therefore to U.S. prosperity as well. In North Africa, security cooperation with European allies, especially France, will be vital to limit growing Islamist threats and the incursion of Russian influence through positionings of the Wagner Group. l The U.S. cannot neglect a concern for human rights and minority rights, which must be balanced with strategic and security considerations. Special attention must be paid to challenges of religious freedom, especially the status of Middle Eastern Christians and other religious minorities, as well as the human trafficking endemic to the region. — 186 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise Sub-Saharan Africa Africa’s importance to U.S. foreign policy and strategic interests is rising and will only continue to grow. Its explosive population growth, large reserves of industry-dependent minerals, proximity to key maritime shipping routes, and its collective diplomatic power ensure the continent’s global importance. Yet as Afri- ca’s strategic significance has grown, the U.S.’s relative influence there has declined. Terrorist activity on the continent has increased, while America’s competitors are making significant gains for their own national interests. The PRC’s companies dominate the African supply chain for certain minerals critical to emerging tech- nologies. African nations comprise major country-bloc elements that shield the PRC and Russia from international isolation for their human rights abuses—and African nations staunchly support PRC foreign policy goals on issues such as Hong Kong occupation, South China Seas dispute arbitration, and Taiwan. The new Administration can correct this strategic failing of existing policy by prioritizing Africa and by undertaking fundamental changes in how the United States works with African nations. At a bare minimum, the next Administration should: l Shift strategic focus from assistance to growth. Reorient the focus of U.S. overseas development assistance away from stand-alone humanitarian development aid and toward fostering free market systems in African countries by incentivizing and facilitating U.S. private sector engagement in these countries. Development aid alone does little to develop countries and can fuel corruption and violent conflict. While the United States should always be willing to offer emergency and humanitarian relief, both U.S. and African long-term interests are better served by a free market-based, private growth-focused strategy to Africa’s economic challenges. l Counter malign Chinese activity on the continent. This should include the development of powerful public diplomacy efforts to counter Chinese influence campaigns with commitments to freedom of speech and the free flow of information; the creation of a template “digital hygiene” program that African countries can access to sanitize and protect their sensitive communications networks from espionage by the PRC and other hostile actors; the recognition of Somaliland statehood as a hedge against the U.S.’s deteriorating position in Djibouti; and a focus on supporting American companies involved in industries important to U.S. national interests or that have a competitive advantage in Africa. l Counter the furtherance of terrorism. African country-based terrorist groups like Boko Haram may currently lack the capability to attack the
Policy matches are calculated using semantic similarity between bill summaries and Project 2025 policy text. A score of 60% or higher indicates meaningful thematic overlap. This does not imply direct causation or intent, but highlights areas where legislation aligns with Project 2025 policy objectives.