US approves $14.3 billion Israel aid bill, sparks showdown with senate

US approves $14.3 billion Israel aid bill, sparks showdown with senate

In a move that presents an early leadership test for Speaker Mike Johnson, the House passed a bill on Thursday to provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel in its ongoing conflict with Hamas.

However, this has set up a clash with the Democratic-led Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer described the House GOP bill as a “deeply flawed proposal,” emphasizing that the Senate would not take it up.

The main point of contention for Democrats is that the bill does not include aid to Ukraine and includes funding cuts to the Internal Revenue Service. The House vote resulted in 226 in favor and 196 opposed, with two Republicans opposing the bill and 12 Democrats supporting it.

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Democrats have called for combining aid to Israel with additional security assistance for Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia. While there is bipartisan support for aid to Israel and further aid to Ukraine in the Senate, the House has many Republicans who oppose sending more aid to Ukraine, creating differences between the two chambers.

To offset the cost of the $14.3 billion aid to Israel, the House bill proposes rescinding an equal amount of funding from the Internal Revenue Service.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has pointed out that this proposal, which offsets aid to Israel by cutting IRS funding, would actually add to the deficit and result in approximately $26.8 billion in lost revenue over the next decade.

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Democrats argue that aid to Israel should not be conditional upon funding cuts and have cited the CBO assessment to criticize the GOP proposal.

Schumer mentioned that the Senate would not consider the House GOP’s “deeply flawed proposal” and that they plan to collaborate on their own bipartisan emergency aid package that includes aid for Israel, Ukraine, competition with the Chinese government, and humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The substantial divide between the House and the Senate comes as government funding is set to expire on November 17, raising the specter of a potential government shutdown.

Speaker Mike Johnson has defended his decision to make aid to Israel conditional on IRS spending cuts and has indicated that he will not support an emergency supplemental package if it lacks offsets.

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He explained, “I did not attach that for political purposes, okay. I attached it because, again, we’re trying to get back to the principle of fiscal responsibility here.

And that was the easiest and largest pile of money that’s sitting there for us to be able to pay for this immediate obligation.”

Johnson also expressed a commitment to passing a Ukraine aid package after addressing the Israel issue, with the stipulation that it must be linked to stricter border security provisions.

This further complicates the prospects for Ukraine funding in Washington.

“Ukraine will come in short order, it will come next,” Johnson stated. “And you’ve heard me say that we want to pair border security with Ukraine… If we’re going to take care of a border in Ukraine, we need to take care of America’s border as well.”

Johnson also reiterated his belief that “we’re going to need another stopgap funding measure” to avoid a government shutdown on November 17, favoring one that lasts until January 15, though the details are still being worked out.