House Republicans unveiled a new aid package for Israel on Monday that would help fund its war on Hamas to the tune of $14.3 billion.
The bill, which largely contains military aid, is meant to shore up Israel’s defenses as it launches a ground invasion of the Gaza strip in what has become an aggressive and bloody campaign to eradicate Hamas.
But the funds would be taken from IRS money that was allocated in the Inflation Reduction Act last year – a prospect sure to turn off Democrats.
The Democrat-led Senate is unlikely to take up or pass emergency aid with offsets, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer signaled. The New York Democrcat has also said he wants to pass an aid package that includes money for other nations like Ukraine and not just Israel.
‘We’re going to have pay for it. We’re not just going to print money and send it overseas,’ Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Fox News of the bill
‘We’re going to have pay for it. We’re not just going to print money and send it overseas,’ Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Fox News of the bill.
But Schumer said of the bill: ‘We believe, our Democratic Caucus, we should be doing all of it together: Israel, Ukraine, South Pacific, etc. And obviously a pay-for like that makes it much harder to pass.’
He said he plans to call Schumer to persuade him to take it up in the Senate.
‘I understand their priority is to bulk up the IRS, but I think if you put this to the American people and they weigh the two needs, I think they’re going to say standing with Israel and protecting the innocent… is in our national interest and is a more immediate need than IRS agents,’ Johnson said.
After a debt limit deal that pared back some of the $80 billion the Inflation Reduction Act allocated to the IRS, some $67 billion in supplemental funding, largely to bolster enforcement, is currently available to the agency.
Johnson said he hopes the bill’s passage will be bipartisan. It’s likely he’ll lose a handful of GOP votes from the right flank of his party who oppose further foreign aid.
Libertarian-minded Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has already voiced his opposition on X, as has Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz, Fla., said he would vote for the bill even as he accused Republicans of writing it as a ‘future political mailer.’
‘”You chose the IRS over Israel.” I am not going to take the bait. There are American hostages. This is not a game,’ he wrote on X.
Rep. Richie Neal, top Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, accused Republicans of trying to score ‘political points.’
‘The IRS has recovered over $100 million in unpaid taxes from the wealthy and well-connected in the last month. Yet, in the chaotic world of my Republican colleagues, they view this funding as a never-ending well to promulgate their whims of “fiscal responsibility” … Once again, leaving the world wondering if they even care about sending aid to one of our greatest allies or only scoring political points.’
Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel earlier this month that left some 1,400 Israelis dead and over 200 captured.
In response Israel launched its own missile attacks and has now moved to a ground invasion. The Palestinian death toll in Gaza has topped 8,000, consisting of largely women and children, according to the region’s Health Ministry.
Communications were restored Monday for Gaza’s 2.3 million people after an Israeli bombardment over the weekend knocked out phone and internet service on Friday.
Flames and smoke rise in Tel al-Hawa neighborhood as Israeli attacks continue on the 24th day in Gaza City, Gaza on October 30
A picture taken from southern Lebanon near the border with Israel shows smoke rising near the northern Israeli Kibbutz of Kfar Giladi on October 30, 2023, after Lebanese shelling amid increasing cross-border tensions
The Israeli military said Sunday that it had struck more than 450 militant targets over the past 24 hours. Israel says it targets Hamas fighters but they hide under the cover of civilian territory.
Israel warned those living in the northern part of Gaza to flee – and some 1.4 million have been forced to leave their homes to move south.
On Monday Hamas released videos of Israeli captives, demanding a prisoner swap.
Aid has only trickled in to Gaza: 33 trucks carrying food, water and medicine were allowed to enter through Egypt on Sunday. President Biden called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday to emphasize the need to ‘immediately and significantly increase the flow of humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of civilians in Gaza,’ according to the White House.
The conflict has caused a stir among the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hezbollah soldiers are now firing missiles along Israel’s northern border.