The House of Representatives passed a bill to provide military aid to Israel during its conflict with Hamas.
The aid will be funded by cuts to funding for the Internal Revenue Service.
“House Republicans are bringing forward a bill to ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself as it fights to eliminate the threat from Hamas,” wrote House Majority Steve Scalise.
The House passed H.R. 6126 – Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024 by a vote of 226-196. https://t.co/XBVUTTJHet
— House Press Gallery (@HouseDailyPress) November 2, 2023
“Israel has every right to defend itself against such heinous actions, and we must stand with them in their fight against our shared enemies for self-determination, democracy, and freedom.”
The bill includes funds for equipment replacement, research on air defense systems, and programs to evacuate U.S. citizens and protect diplomatic missions.
Most Democrats voted against the bill, and it has been strongly opposed by Senate Democrats and the Biden administration.
Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray posted that “[t]he House GOP’s bill is dead on arrival” once in the upper chamber.
“Speaker Johnson and House Republicans released a totally unserious and woefully inadequate package that omitted aid to Ukraine, omitted humanitarian assistance to Gaza, had no funding for the Indo-Pacific, and made funding for Israel conditional on hard-right, never-going-to-pass proposals. What a joke,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday.
The bill’s budgetary effects would increase the fiscal deficit by nearly $12.5 billion over 10 years.
Some House Republicans expressed concerns about the fiscal crisis and the need for spending cuts to offset the aid.
“We are in the worst fiscal crisis our country has ever faced,” said Rep. Bob Good (R-VA).
“We ought to require offsets, cuts to … the IRS expansion in order to fund [the bill]. We shouldn’t be borrowing from China, borrowing from our kids’ and grandkids’ future, to fund the Israeli funding. Even though it’s good policy, we literally don’t have the money.”
“Funding for many of those things needs to be offset because we are running trillion-dollar deficits at this point,” Republican Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania stated. “Since the president refuses to be the adult in the room … that’s going to be the House of Representatives.”
“I do not believe we should write another blank check to anyone, including ourselves, we must pay for it. And the American people must see that it’s going to cause something if we’re going to give another $14 billion to Israel,” said Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas. “If you see me in the end having to vote against Israel funding, just make sure you heard it here first, right? I support Israel. But I am not going to continue to go down this road where we bankrupt our country.”
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