
Thirty-seven U.S. senators have signed a letter urging leaders of a House-Senate conference committee to provide more than $600 million for Israeli missile defense programs in the fiscal year 2017 defense authorization bill.The July 26 letter, led by Sens. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), endorses the $601 million level put forth in the House version of the bill. The Senate bill, by contrast, contains $281 million. The letter asserts that Israel needs the higher amount to continue developing…