Current:Home > Contact-usHouse GOP pushes ahead with $14.5 billion in assistance for Israel without humanitarian aid for Gaza-LoTradeCoin
House GOP pushes ahead with $14.5 billion in assistance for Israel without humanitarian aid for Gaza
View Date:2024-12-23 22:29:11
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House is pushing ahead Thursday toward passage of $14.5 billion in military aid for Israel, a muscular U.S. response to the war with Hamas but also a partisan approach by new Speaker Mike Johnson that poses a direct challenge to Democrats and President Joe Biden.
In a departure from norms, Johnson’s package is requiring that the emergency aid be offset with cuts in government spending elsewhere. That tack establishes the House GOP’s conservative leadership, but it also turns what would typically be a bipartisan vote into one dividing Democrats and Republicans. Biden has said he would veto the bill.
Johnson, R-La., said the Republican package would provide Israel with the assistance needed to defend itself, free hostages held by Hamas and eradicate the militant Palestinian group, accomplishing “all of this while we also work to ensure responsible spending and reduce the size of the federal government.”
Democrats said that approach would only delay help for Israel. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has warned that the “stunningly unserious” bill has no chances in the Senate.
The first substantial legislative effort in Congress to support Israel in the war falls far short of Biden’s request for nearly $106 billion that would also back Ukraine as it fights Russia, along with U.S. efforts to counter China and address security at the border with Mexico.
It is Johnson’s first big test as House speaker as the Republican majority tries to get back to work after the month of turmoil since ousting Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as speaker. Johnson has said he will turn next to aid for Ukraine along with U.S. border security, preferring to address Biden’s requests separately.
The White House’s veto warning said Johnson’s approach “fails to meet the urgency of the moment” and would set a dangerous precedent by requiring emergency funds to come from cuts elsewhere.
While the amount for Israel in the House bill is similar to what Biden sought, the White House said the Republican plan’s failure to include humanitarian assistance for Gaza is a “grave mistake” as the crisis deepens.
Biden on Wednesday called for a pause in the war to allow for relief efforts.
“This bill would break with the normal, bipartisan approach to providing emergency national security assistance,” the White House wrote in its statement of administration policy on the legislation. It said the GOP stance “would have devastating implications for our safety and alliances in the years ahead.”
It was unclear before voting Thursday how many Democrats would join with Republicans. But the vote could be difficult for lawmakers who want to support Israel and may have trouble explaining the trade-off to constituents.
To pay for the bill, House Republicans have attached provisions that would cut billions from the IRS that Democrats approved last year and Biden signed into law as a way to go after tax cheats. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says doing that would ends up costing the federal government a net $12 billion because of lost revenue from tax collections.
Republicans scoffed at that assessment, but the independent budget office is historically seen as a trusted referee.
As the floor debate got underway, Democrats pleaded for Republicans to restore the humanitarian aid Biden requested.
“Republicans are leveraging the excruciating pain of an international crisis to help rich people who cheat on their taxes and big corporations who regularly doge their taxes,” said Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee.
“The Republicans say they are friends to Israel. If I was Israel. I would un-friend them.”
In the Democratic-controlled Senate, Schumer made clear that the House bill would be rejected.
“The Senate will not take up the House GOP’s deeply flawed proposal, and instead we’ll work on our own bipartisan emergency aid package” that includes money for Israel and Ukraine, as well as humanitarian assistance for Gaza and efforts to confront China.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is balancing the need to support his GOP allies in the House, while also fighting to keep the aid package more in line with Biden’s broader request, believing all the issues are linked and demand U.S. attention.
McConnell said the aid for Ukraine was “not charity,” but was necessary to bolster a Western ally against Russia.
___
Associated Press writers Stephen Groves, Mary Clare Jalonick and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.
veryGood! (5648)
Related
- Jamie Lee Curtis and Don Lemon quit X, formerly Twitter: 'Time for me to leave'
- Fire still burning after freight train derails on Arizona-New Mexico state line
- NFL draft grades: Every pick from 2024 second and third round
- Frank Gore Jr. signs with Buffalo Bills as undrafted free agent, per report
- Investigation into Chinese hacking reveals ‘broad and significant’ spying effort, FBI says
- College protesters seek amnesty to keep arrests and suspensions from trailing them
- Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton hits game-winner in thrilling overtime win over Bucks
- Are you losing your hair? A dermatologist breaks down some FAQs.
- All Social Security retirees should do this by Nov. 20
- Retired pro wrestler, failed congressional candidate indicted in Vegas murder case
Ranking
- Sydney Sweeney Slams Women Empowerment in the Industry as Being Fake
- Mass arrests, officers in riot gear: Pro-Palestinian protesters face police crackdowns
- Fire still burning after freight train derails on Arizona-New Mexico state line
- Mass arrests, officers in riot gear: Pro-Palestinian protesters face police crackdowns
- Jason Kelce Jokes He Got “Mixed Reviews” From Kylie Kelce Over NSFW Commentary
- Can a new dream city solve California’s affordable housing problem? | The Excerpt
- Harvey Weinstein hospitalized after his return to New York from upstate prison
- Zillow to parents after 'Bluey' episode 'The Sign': Moving 'might just be a good thing'
Recommendation
-
‘Emilia Pérez’ wouldn’t work without Karla Sofía Gascón. Now, she could make trans history
-
Planning on retiring at 65? Most Americans retire far earlier — and not by choice.
-
Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker's Family Photos With Son Rocky
-
Police officer hiring in US increases in 2023 after years of decline, survey shows
-
Taylor Swift Politely Corrects Security’s Etiquette at Travis Kelce’s Chiefs Game
-
Massachusetts police bust burglary ring that stole $4 million in jewels over six years
-
PCE inflation accelerates in March. What it means for Fed rate cuts
-
David Pryor, former governor and senator of Arkansas, is remembered