GOP Representative Beth Van Duyne said Tuesday that Israel needs help “now,” and that is why Republicans are pushing for a stand-alone bill for aid to America’s Mideast ally.
“You have those people that came in during the middle of the night, into communities, people were sleeping, they beheaded babies, they burned children alive, they gang-raped women, they killed innocent civilians, and then they took hundreds of people to be able to use as human shields back into Gaza,” said the Texas Republican.
“These are terrorist organizations, and we need to make sure that Israel is getting the funding that it needs, and we need to make sure that it’s getting it now,” added Van Duyne.
A bill released Monday by House GOP members includes $14.3 billion in emergency funding for Israel and offsets it by taking the same amount of funding from the IRS from the Inflation Reduction Act.
The bill puts newly elected Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Republican from Louisiana, at odds with Senate Republicans and Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, since it cuts aid to Ukraine and takes money from one of the Biden administration’s achievement bills.
The decision to move the legislation will cause a showdown with the White House and the Democratic-controlled Senate, both of which want to tie Israel and Ukraine aid together. Earlier in the month, President Biden requested a $106 billion package that includes $60 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel, and $14 billion to address the chaos on the southern border. It also allotted about $10 billion for humanitarian efforts in Israel, Gaza, and Ukraine and $7.4 billion for Taiwan and allies in the Indo-Pacific region.
Stand-alone bill has been met with disdain from WH, some pro-Ukraine aid lawmakers
The stand-alone bill has been met with disdain from pro-Ukraine aid lawmakers and the White House.
“Threatening to undermine American national security unless House Republicans can help the wealthy and big corporations cheat on their taxes — which would increase the deficit — is the definition of backward,” said Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary.
Democrat Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow, the chamber’s third-ranking Democratic leader, said the proposal is “not for me or anybody I know.”
“I think it would be totally irresponsible for our own security, as well as Ukraine, as well as a coalition of democracies around the world,” Stabenow continued.
Van Duyne emphasized that the focus should be on Israel and the aid it needs to fight Hamas.
“I think when you look at what’s happening in Israel right now and the fact that you’ve got Hamas, whose sole mission is to annihilate Israel and kill as many Jews as possible, we need to make sure Israel is re-equipped, rearmed, and has the capabilities of being able to destroy Hamas and its leaders,” she said.
