House to pass aid bill for Israel, clashing with Biden and Senate
The measure created an awkward mood for many pro-Israel Democrats, who were eager to support the Jewish state at a time of crisis but were reluctant to embrace a bill that omits aid to Ukraine and humanitarian aid and focuses on their domestic policy priorities. Leading Democrats, including Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the minority leader, privately urged Democrats on Thursday to oppose the bill.
Representative Jared Moskowitz of Florida said on social media this week that the legislation was intended to be used against Democrats “as a future political mailer. ‘You chose the IRS over Israel.’” He said he wouldn’t take that bait and support it, but that the bill would be dead in the Senate.
“I will support Israel,” he wrote.
Several pro-Israel Democrats said they objected to the legislation because it was the first time Congress tried to impose conditions on emergency aid.
Representative Brad Schneider of Illinois said that “never in my worst nightmares did I imagine I would be asked to vote for a bill that cynically makes aid to Israel conditional on pandering to the partisan demands of one party.”
“I also never thought the day would come when I would be asked to vote against an aid package for Israel, our most important ally in the Middle East, and perhaps in the world,” Mr. Schneider said.
He continued, “But I cannot support the terribly flawed, weak, and dangerous bill that Speaker Johnson and the Republicans have on the table today.”
Most of the money in the GOP measure is intended to help Israel replenish and expand its weapons systems, including $4 billion to replenish the Iron Dome and David’s Sling missile defense systems. It also includes $200 million for the protection of U.S. personnel and the evacuation of U.S. citizens. Humanitarian aid for Gaza, which Mr. Biden has called for and which many Democrats see as crucial, is left out.
“It provides Israel with the help it needs to defend itself, free its hostages and root out Hamas, which is a mission that must be accomplished,” Mr. Johnson said at a news conference. “All this while we also work to ensure responsible spending and reduce the size of the federal government to pay for that commitment to our friend and ally.”
Mr. Johnson said he was not using the cuts “for political purposes” but because Republicans in the House of Representatives were “trying to get back to the principle of fiscal responsibility.”
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday that the cuts enshrined in the bill would actually increase the deficit by $12.5 billion over the next decade because the measure would reduce revenue collections.
Mr. Johnson appears to have structured Israeli legislation in an effort to keep his conference, deeply divided over the financing of foreign wars, united in the early days of his speakership. His predecessor, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, was ousted after passing two bills, one in favor prevent the country’s first bankruptcy on his debts and the others to prevent a shutdown – which did not receive majority support from its Republicans in the House of Representatives.