A bill to amend the Arms Export Control Act to provide for better monitoring and verification of the use of defense articles and defense services by countries of concern, and for other purposes.
About This Bill
Committee
Latest Action · July 22, 2026
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
# Summary
The Values in Arms Export Act of 2026 restructures how the United States monitors and controls military equipment sales to foreign countries by making human rights compliance a central requirement for arms exports. The bill establishes that a foreign government's respect for internationally recognized human rights and international humanitarian law must be deciding factors in determining whether they can purchase U.S. defense articles and services. Countries designated as "countries of concern" face a three-year initial ban on new weapons purchases, and if they fail to improve or face a second designation within ten years, they become ineligible for all defense sales for a decade and must return any covered weapons systems already provided.
The legislation creates a new independent Human Rights and Law of War Oversight Board with five members appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate to analyze recipient countries' human rights conduct and ensure these concerns are considered throughout the arms transfer process. The board can designate countries of concern, access classified information, conduct investigations, and testify before Congress. The bill also requires that letters of offer and export license applications include assessments of whether weapons are likely to be used to violate human rights or humanitarian law, prepared by the State Department in consultation with the Defense Department and intelligence agencies.
The Secretary of State must conduct detailed monitoring of how designated countries use U.S. weapons through various observation methods and report to Congress every six months on countries' compliance. The Board receives $5 million in fiscal year 2027, increasing to $11 million by 2030, with subsequent years funded as necessary. All monitoring program costs beyond the initial funding must come from charges collected under existing arms sale fee structures rather than direct government appropriations.
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