The House of Representatives voted on Thursday to pass a $14.3 billion aid package for Israel by pulling from funds allocated for the Internal Revenue Service. The emergency funding measure, which was opposed by both Joe Biden’s White House and the Democrat-led Senate, passed the House with support from 12 Democrats and nearly every Republican, advancing promises to cut back on federal spending without abandoning foreign allies.
The Republican-led effort to support Israel’s ongoing campaign against Hamas was first introduced on Monday, in keeping with new Speaker Mike Johnson’s goal of “bifurcating” relief bills for Israel, Ukraine, and other foreign policy initiatives.
As Valuetainment previously reported, this proposal was immediately opposed by Democrats in the Senate and Executive Branch who favor a much larger plan that bundles the issues together. The White House has called for a sprawling $106 billion supplemental aid package providing $61.4 billion to Ukraine, $14.3 billion to Israel, $14 billion to immigration enforcement, and another $16.55 billion for other issues.
(RELATED: Speaker Mike Johnson’s Israel Aid Proposal)
The GOP proposal included a plan to reallocate the desired $14.3 billion from the IRS, which was bolstered by $80 billion through Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. $21 billion of that funding was withdrawn during a debt ceiling negotiation over the summer, but Republicans have expressed a desire to see that budget reduced even further.
As Johnson told Fox News, the American people are likely to understand that “standing with Israel and protecting the innocent over there is in our national interest and is a more immediate need than IRS agents.”
NEWS: I spoke with @SpeakerJohnson in a wide-ranging interview to air tomorrow on @FoxNews in the 12pm ET hour.
We spoke about how he plans to pay for the $14.3 billion in aid to Israel by cutting IRS funding.
On whether this could drive away support from Democrats, he told… pic.twitter.com/eATW7lMfpv
— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) October 30, 2023
The Israel-only aid package received unexpected bipartisan support, with a dozen Democrats siding with Republicans for a final vote tally of 226 for, 196 against, 11 abstaining. The Democrats who supported the bill were Reps. Angie Craig (D-MN), Don Davis (D-NC), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Jared Golden (D-ME), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Greg Landsman (D-OH), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Darren Soto (D-FL), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), and Frederica Wilson (D-FL).
Republicans Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) sided with the remaining Democrats in opposing the legislation, citing their objections to government overspending and their desire to see border security addressed first.
An additional eleven representatives—five Republicans, six Democrats—did not vote.
C-SPAN's Word for Word:
• House passes standalone $14.3B Israel aid bill
• Secretary Blinken says he will push Israel to minimize civilian casualties
• Senate tensions rise over Sen. Tuberville's military promotions blockadehttps://t.co/QBfDjcHvFR— CSPAN (@cspan) November 3, 2023
Despite successfully passing the House by a healthy margin, the relief package now faces an uncertain future in the other branches of government. Ahead of Thursday’s vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer stated in no uncertain terms that he would not be considering the proposal and will instead put forward a larger multi-issue bundle—one that will include relief funds for Israel and humanitarian aid for Gaza at the same time.
Let me be clear: The Senate will not take up the House GOP's deeply flawed proposal
Instead we will work on our own bipartisan emergency aid package that includes funding for aid to Israel, Ukraine, humanitarian aid including for Gaza, and competition with the Chinese Government
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) November 2, 2023
President Biden has also indicated that he will veto the proposal if it somehow passes the Senate, with the Office of Management and Budget declaring that “the bill fails to meet the urgency of the moment by deepening our divides and severely eroding historic bipartisan support for Israel’s security.”
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