U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee, and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., today led a bipartisan letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry encouraging the administration to renew a historic energy security agreement with Israel.

The other signatories on the letter include Sens. Jim Risch, R-Idaho., Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. Collectively, these members along with Sens. Murkowski and Warner represent membership on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources, Foreign Relations, Armed Services, Banking, Finance, and Intelligence Committees.

“We have a long history of working with Israel on issues related to energy and the environment, and given the heightened tensions in the region it’s only prudent that we reaffirm our commitment to our allies,” Sen. Murkowski said. 

“Renewing this agreement would send an important signal that America remains deeply committed to Israel’s security and energy needs,” Sen. Warner said.

In 1975, the Ford administration signed an agreement with Israel to guarantee supplies of oil in the event that Israel lost access. The Carter administration formalized this agreement in 1979 and it was renewed by the Clinton administration in 1994, and the Bush administration in 2004. It expired in November 2014.

The full text of the letter is available here and a backgrounder from the Congressional Research Service is available here.

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