Where did ‘informal notifications’ come from? 44 years ago, SFRC’s Sen. Hubert Humphrey and DSCA’s Lt. Gen. Howard Fish agreed on arrangements to allow Congress more time to consider proposed sales. The text of their correspondence is in the Congressional Record - Feb. 18, 1976. https://twitter.com/ewong/status/1276210675514212356

The arrangement was in lieu of an amendment that that might have made the formal review period even longer - 30 days of continuous session. That had been offered by Sen. Gaylord Nelson, who was pivotal in the creation of the same emergency arms sale exception used last summer.

Sen. Nelson and Rep. Jonathan Bingham of NY crafted the emergency exception to the formal arms sale review process in the shadow of the 1973 Yom Kippur war, when the U.S. rushed arms to Israel. After debate, Congress decided that truly dire circumstances might require exceptions.

Now, things appear to be coming full circle, with debate over congressional use of the informal review period and the executive branch’s use of the emergency exception created by Congress all those years ago.