House PASSES bill to give $14 billion in aid to Israel by cutting IRS funding: ... trends now
The House passed a bill to send emergency aid to Israel on Thursday to help in its campaign to eradicate Hamas.
The $14.3 billion bill passed 226 to 196, garnering 12 Democratic votes and losing two Republicans.
Reps. Thomas Massie, Ky., and Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ga., voted against the bill on the Republican side.
The bill's fate is likely doomed in the Senate as Democrats have insisted aid must be tied to Ukraine and take issue with the with the pay-for: the bill repurposes money designated for the IRS.
The money comes from an $80 billion boost to the IRS in the Democrat-passed Inflation Reduction Act from last Congress.
Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy's debt limit deal already stripped some of that money away, but much of it remains.
Even as the IRS pay-for threatens the emergency aid bill's future, Johnson insisted the foreign aid must be offset.
'$67 billion, it's sitting over there to refurbish, build up and hire new IRS agents and you have to look at the scope and the importance of our commitments right now,' Johnson said in a news conference. 'My belief is that this dire situation in Israel is so important.'
He reasoned that the national debt, sitting at $33 trillion is 'the greatest national security threat' above anything else.
'Ukraine (funding) will come in short order. We'll do that next,' the speaker said, adding it would be paired with border security.
The White House said President Biden would veto the bill if it made it to his desk.
House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar tore into the bill. 'They're seeking to condition life saving aid to Israel, for the sole purpose of making it easier for billionaires to cheat on their taxes.'
'We're learning a lot about this new speaker this week, with these first legislative decisions. And this has been a
