The House Republicans want to pay for aid to Israel
Why the next Congress should not tackle the cost of foreign-aid emergencies: The White House Press Secretary warns that “political games” are dangerous
The emergency supplemental package and full-year funding bills should be passed by Republicans in the next Congress. The government will shut down if Congress can’t pass a spending bill by November 17.
Democrats oppose the bill in two different ways. They say the Ukraine money cannot be separated from Israel and they say emergency funding of this type is not usually offset with cuts. The press secretary for the White House said Monday that “politicizing ournational security interests is not something that we want to do.”
She said in a statement that House Republicans are setting a ” dangerous precedent” by suggesting that responding to emergencies is contingent upon cutting other programs.
Emergency supplemental funding is used to address urgent crises, explained Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee.
Senate Foreign Relations Chair Ben Cardin, D-Md., called it a “poison pill,” while Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D.-Fla., said in a statement that Johnson’s “political games are offensive to all pro-Israel Americans.”
Legislators on the other side of the aisle don’t want to tie emergency funding with spending cuts, so they will most likely oppose the bill.
MacGuineas says that by withdrawing funds from the IRS it doubled down on borrowing and would translate into a larger decline in collected revenues. “So that could be twice as expensive as the actual bill, if that were paired with pulling back some of the IRS funding.”
But she says taking money away from the IRS — which she describes as probably the only federal program that pays for itself — is “not the smartest offset if what you want to do is be fiscally responsible.”
The president of a bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget told Morning Edition that the idea of offsetting the cost of foreign aid was a good way to solve the nation’s fiscal problems.
Johnson said the bill aims to take some of the IRS funds to deal with the immediate national security need, adding that “we’ll deal with the rest of that issue later.”
The IRS has been underfunded since the 1980s, according to the Brookings Institution. Its enforcement budget was slashed nearly a quarter in the last decade, and further cutting its budget remains a top Republican priority.
It launched a new initiative using federal funding, aimed at ensuring large corporations pay their taxes.
The IRS has said it will use that money to update its decades-old computer systems, improve customer service and step up enforcement for collecting the estimated $600 billion in taxes that go unpaid every year, much of it from wealthy people who under-report their income.
The inflation reduction act that was passed by Biden would result in the loss of some fourteen billion dollars to the IRS.
The Case for More U.S. Aid to the Middle East: A Statement of Opposal by Rep. Mike Johnson on the Senate Appropriations Committee
The secretaries of state and defense went to the Senate Appropriations Committee to present the case for more U.S. help to both countries. Their testimony was repeatedly interrupted by protesters calling for a cease-fire in the Middle East.
He said that they aren’t just going to print money and send it overseas. “Because the other concern that we have that is overriding this is our own strength as a nation, which is tied to our fiscal stability. And that’s a big problem that we have as well. We need to keep in mind that we have to help everyone else.
Still, Johnson stressed the need to prioritize standalone aid to Israel while offsetting the costs. He said that standing with Israel is a more immediate need than IRS agents.
McConnell said that it was time for quick and decisive action to prevent more loss of life and to impose real consequences on the tyrants who have terrorized the people of Ukraine and Israel. “And right now, the Senate has a chance to produce supplemental assistance that will help us do exactly that.”
Democrats aren’t the only ones with objections. McConnell has repeatedly said the two issues are related. He specifically tied the two causes together during his speech on Monday at an event in Louisville.
Johnson acknowledged the bill is likely to drive away Democrats, telling FOX News he intends to call Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for a “direct and thoughtful conversation about this.”
House Republicans are increasingly opposed to sending aid to Ukraine due to their fiscal and foreign policy reasons more than a year into the war. Johnson opposed money for Ukraine before he became speaker, and has since advocated for limited spending and handling funding for Ukraine and Israel separately.
The bill would send $14.3 billion to Israel without addressing funding requests for the war in Ukraine. Johnson’s bill has $14.5 billion in cuts to the Internal Revenue Service.
The fight against Hamas is related to the fight against Russia, and the president said in an Oval Office speech last week that the two countries want to destroy each other. If they don’t pay the cost for their actions, Biden warned of more chaos, death and destruction.
It is not possible to demand offsets for meeting core national security needs of the United States in order to break with normal, bipartisan process and have devastating implications for our safety and alliances in the years ahead.
Source: House Republicans aim to pay for Israel aid with cuts to IRS funds
Up First Briefing: Israel refuses to a cease-fire; how tech messes with our senses (An update)
The Republican-led House passed a resolution in solidarity with Israel the same day as Speaker Mike Johnson was sworn in.
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Source: Up First briefing: Israel won’t agree to a cease-fire; how tech messes with our senses
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