Arms Sales Oversight Slashed: Foreign Military Deal Thresholds Double to $615M

The aptly named Streamlining Foreign Military Sales Act of 2025 is designed to do exactly what it says on the tin: speed up the process of selling U.S. defense equipment and services to foreign governments. It does this not by rewriting policy, but by dramatically raising the dollar amounts that trigger mandatory reporting and approval requirements under the existing Arms Export Control Act (SEC. 2).

Think of it like this: currently, if you want to buy a big-ticket item from the government, say a $50 million piece of military hardware, that sale automatically flags a review process, often involving Congress. This bill raises that flag threshold significantly. For instance, limits that used to be set at $14 million are now $30 million, and the biggest deals—previously capped at $300 million—can now go up to $615 million before triggering the highest level of scrutiny (SEC. 2).

The Fast Lane for Foreign Deals

The most immediate real-world effect is that a much larger volume and value of foreign military sales (FMS) can now sail through the system without the same level of procedural check. For the defense industry and the executive branch, this is a clear win; it cuts down on paperwork and speeds up delivery times for allies who need equipment fast. If a friendly nation urgently needs $500 million worth of spare parts or mid-level systems, that deal now avoids the lengthy review process it would have faced under the old $300 million cap.

This change essentially greases the wheels for high-value transactions. For the U.S. agencies handling these sales, like the State Department and Department of Defense, it means less time spent preparing reports for Congress on mid-sized deals, freeing up resources. For the defense contractors, it means faster revenue recognition and fewer bureaucratic hurdles for lucrative contracts.

The Cost of Convenience: Oversight

While “streamlining” sounds good, the trade-off here is transparency and oversight. The financial thresholds in the Arms Export Control Act are the main mechanism Congress uses to keep tabs on what the U.S. is selling, to whom, and for how much. When you double or more than double these thresholds across the board, you are effectively giving the executive branch the green light to execute hundreds of millions of dollars in arms deals without the mandatory legislative check that was previously required.

For the public and for watchdog groups concerned about where U.S. weapons end up—and whether those sales align with U.S. values and foreign policy goals—this means less visibility into a significant chunk of the arms trade. A sale that might have required a public report and congressional review at $150 million under the old rules now flies under the radar until it hits the new $205 million or $410 million mark, depending on the specific section of the law (SEC. 2). This doesn't mean the sales are secret, but it does mean that the automatic trigger for legislative review—a key check on executive power—has been moved much further down the field, making it harder for busy members of Congress to exercise their oversight responsibility.