A disagreement between the White House and Congress over a potential $455 million grant to Israel beyond what it already receives annually for defense spending is procedural, not conceptual, according to media reports explaining the administration’s position. At issue is a threat by the president to veto parts of the 2017 defense budget that include allocations to the Jewish state. Congress wants to give Israel $455 million more than the administration has offered for missile defense, but the president says enough has already been allocated and set aside for that purpose in the ten-year Memorandum of Understanding currently being negotiated. To offer more would require the United States to cut back on funding for American research. Negotiations on the MOU have ended and it is now up to Prime Minister Netanyahu to decide whether or not to sign the document. The offer on the table is lacking according to the Israeli government, but the US administration stresses the significant increase above the $3 billion Jerusalem already receives and the fact that the annual stipend to the Israelis is the largest military aid grant the US gives to any nation. The funding comes with the proviso that most of it is spent in the United States.