Section 622: S.4615 - the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027

S.4615, Sec. 622, was introduced by Senate Tom Cotton (R-AR) on the 20th of May, 2026. The Bill is currently pending before the U.S. Senate and has no cosponsors.

Related legislation: 

Bill Summary: Section 622 of the Senate’s Intelligence Authorization Act for FY27 would severely limit the President’s ability to restrict America’s intelligence-sharing and military collaboration with Israel: the provision requires them to prove that such reductions are necessary to protect intelligence sources and methods, counteract a counterintelligence risk, or attend to other “significant security considerations” before they can actually withhold any such information. Section 622 further increases the United States’ its intelligence-sharing with Israel, ups its defense coordination with other Abraham Accords signatories, and requires annual reporting to Congress on the progress of and barriers to these deepening relationships. Finally, it contains a Statement of Policy and a Sense of Congress, both of which establish Congressional support for strengthening the American-Israeli alliance and increasing intelligence collaboration between the two.

Context: Sec. 622 does not just aim to increase Israel’s access to U.S. intelligence and intelligence-gathering mechanisms; it also uses the United States’ intelligence as bait to incentivize other nations to normalize relations with Israel by promising American resources and support to foreign countries who do. Even worse, Sec. 622 makes it incredibly difficult for America to limit or restrict Israeli access to information that is classified and compartmentalized at the highest levels of sensitivity. These provisions, which encourage the intertwining of the American and Israeli information-gathering communities at the expense of the U.S.’ intelligence independence, are exceptionally concerning; the recently-reported increase in Israeli espionage towards the United States and the Pentagon’s designation of Israel as a “critical” counterintelligence threat makes the proposed integration even more worrying than usual. Recent reports of Israel spying on U.S. officials highlights the danger posed by integrating them into our intelligence networks, and emphasizes how Israel should not be considered an invariably trustworthy partner.

American Values Analysis: The Israeli government’s seeming devotion to pursuing these conflicts in the Middle East to the extreme suggests that, should this bill pass, American intelligence will be used to further facilitate those efforts – thereby involving us in and rendering us responsible for a genocide. This demonstrates exactly why Section 622 is so problematic: further military and intelligence integration with a country actively engaged in war crimes and crimes against humanity runs directly counter to the United States’ values. 

American Interest Analysis: The President is already enabled to share consequential intelligence with allies; Section 622 would take this power and responsibility from the Executive and require the American government to permanently share the most sensitive information with Israel. The nature and depth of U.S. intelligence relationships should be determined by the President and the U.S. Intelligence Community – not politicized by Congress or commodified as a diplomatic incentive. 

A New Policy’s Recommendation: OPPOSE

A New Policy opposes Sec. 622 on the basis that it politicizes and commodifies U.S. information-sharing, renders the United States’ intelligence networks irrevocably entangled with Israel’s, rewards and strengthens a nation responsible for ongoing horrific violence, and threatens America’s sovereignty by permanently compromising the integrity of our national intelligence services. 

A New Policy recommends an Amendment of the underlying bill, S. 4615, to eliminate Sec. 622. Were this section to carry into the final version of this bill, A New Policy would advise voting against the underlying bill.

For more information please contact: Josh Paul, (202) 770-0055, info@anewpolicy.org