On Thursday, under the leadership of the newly installed Speaker Mike Johnson, House Republicans successfully passed a stand-alone bill to help Israel fight Hamas following the October 7 attacks.
As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, Joe Biden is mulling over a supplementary request for a massive $100 billion, earmarked for defense assistance to Israel and Ukraine, along with border security funding in the US, and aid to nations in the Indo-Pacific, including Taiwan.
However, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson made it clear on Sean Hannity’s prime-time Fox News show last week that he intends to separate the issues of foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel. He argued that this support for Israel is being cunningly utilized to smuggle in aid for Ukraine.
“I told the staff, the White House today, that our consensus among House Republicans is that we need to bifurcate those issues,” said Johnson.
“I agree with your assessment in Ukraine, and that’s why the American people are demanding some real accountability for the use of those dollars,” he added. “But we have a responsibility, a stewardship responsibility, over the precious treasure of the American people. And we have to make sure that the White House is providing the people with some accountability for the dollars.”
On Thursday, House Republicans, led by Johnson, approved The Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2024, a $14.3 billion aid package for Israel, ensuring the country has the resources it needs to defend itself.
The bill was passed with a vote of 226 to 196.
The House of Representatives of the US Congress approved a draft law on aid to Israel – without mentioning Ukraine.
Biden on the move, but first the Senate. pic.twitter.com/6drhAuU2Kb
— Sprinter (@Sprinter99800) November 2, 2023
According to Kari Lake, “Radical Ruben Gallego just voted AGAINST sending aid to Israel to fight Hamas terrorists. This is the same Ruben Gallego who voted for the Iran Deal. Arizona deserves better. I’ll make sure they get it.”
Radical @RubenGallego just voted AGAINST sending aid to Israel to fight Hamas terrorists.
This is the same Ruben Gallego who voted for the Iran Deal.
Arizona deserves better.
I’ll make sure they get it. https://t.co/Sybpm1pyX5
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) November 2, 2023
This bill will use the money previously allocated to the IRS.
“This emergency supplemental appropriations package strictly deals with providing aid to Israel and ensuring our own military readiness. The funding for this package is offset by recessions from Joe Biden’s Inflation “Expansion” Act of 2022, specifically Section 10301, which appropriated enhanced funding for the IRS,” according to the press release.
ISRAEL SECURITY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT (Courtesy of Speaker Mike Johnson’s Office):
- Ensures American military readiness by providing $4.4 billion to replenish domestic defense stockpiles.
- Bolsters Israel’s defensive capabilities and stockpiles of munitions critical to its continued efforts, specifically by providing:
- $4 billion to replenish Iron Dome and David’s Sling missile defense systems.
- $3.5 billion in Foreign Military Financing for the procurement of advanced weapons systems and defense articles and services.
- $1.2 billion for the continued development of the Iron Beam system to counter short-range threats.
- $1 billion to support artillery and munitions production.
- Supports US personnel and citizens by providing:
- $150 million for an enhanced security presence at the US Embassy.
- $50 million for the evacuation of US citizens.
- Requires that the Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State provide written reports to Congress detailing US security assistance provided to Israel to ensure accountability.
- The funding is offset by recessions from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, specifically Section 10301, which appropriated enhanced funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
This decision prompted the White House to issue a veto warning, especially after the impartial Congressional Budget Office estimated that such cuts might result in a $27 billion revenue shortfall for the federal government, allegedly benefiting tax evaders.
The White House has previously released a statement:
Bifurcating Israel security assistance from the other priorities in the national security supplemental will have global consequences. Humanitarian aid is critically needed to alleviate the suffering of civilians in Gaza, but it is also crucial support for innocent Ukrainians facing the brutality of Putin’s war. It is vital assistance for people around the world who are suffering because Putin is blocking the shipments of grain from Ukraine – which was once the world’s “breadbasket.”
Failing to provide supplemental humanitarian assistance will leave displaced and conflict-affected civilians around the world – from Darfur, to Nagorno-Karabakh, from Zaporizhzhia to Gaza City, without access to food, water and sanitation, healthcare, hygiene programming, and emergency shelter support and protection.
This bill also fails to provide the resources we need to bolster integrated deterrence and maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. Our allies and partners in the IndoPacific face an increasingly assertive People’s Republic of China, yet this bill provides no assistance to address that threat. And despite strong bipartisan support for investing in border security as the President called for—including technology to detect fentanyl and hiring more CBP officers—the bill fails to respond to the President’s request for those needed funds.
This is an urgent requirement—as Ukraine heads into a winter of unrelenting attacks on its civilian infrastructure, they need air defense to protect their cities and munitions to keep pressure on Vladimir Putin. Failing to support Ukraine at this pivotal moment in the war would send a terrible message to Russia about our resolve, let alone to the rest of the world. We know from history that if we walk away and let someone like Vladimir Putin erase Ukraine’s independence, he will not stop there and would be aggressors around the world would be emboldened.
If the President were presented with this bill, he would veto it.
This story originally appeared on TheGateWayPundit
