U.S. lawmakers reject proposal to provide $17.6 billion in military aid to Israel

The independent Israel bill would provide $17.6 billion in military aid to the country.

Washington:

U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday voted down a separate Israel aid bill, which critics decried as a “cynical” move to block a bipartisan border security and foreign aid package that would include cash for war-torn Ukraine .

The Democratic-led Senate on Sunday released a bipartisan bill that would provide billions of dollars in funding for Israel and Ukraine while imposing the toughest immigration restrictions in decades, with House Republicans scheduling the vote.

But support for the $118 billion package comes as Donald Trump, who is running for a second term in the White House, pressures Republicans to avoid giving President Joe Biden a legislative victory before the November election. has been reduced.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said after the border and foreign aid bill was unveiled that the bill would be “dead on the floor” if it reaches the lower chamber of Congress.

The independent Israel bill, which would provide $17.6 billion in military aid to the country in response to the deadly Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants, has strong bipartisan support from a clear majority of lawmakers.

But 167 Democrats voted no after Biden threatened a veto, angry that the legislation seemed aimed at derailing a larger package hammered out after months of negotiations with a bipartisan group of senators.

The stand-alone bill also faced opposition from 13 Republicans because it did not include the budget offsets that conservatives have been pushing for in every new spending proposal.

One of Johnson’s first actions after taking office in the fall was to push the House of Representatives to pass a bill providing $14.3 billion to Israel.

But it includes deep cuts to the Internal Revenue Service, which Biden opposes.

The ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus accused Johnson of bowing to pressure for a bigger package that was not offset by cuts.

Biden’s Office of Management and Budget said the Republican “strategy” would undermine efforts to secure the U.S. border and support Ukraine against Russian aggression while denying humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians caught in the crossfire of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

But Johnson countered at a news conference on Tuesday that it was “shameless and shameful” for Biden to suggest vetoing support for Israel “at a time when Israel needs it most.”

House Democratic leaders called the bill a “naked, cynical attempt” to undermine a larger package that would tie Israeli cash to $60 billion in aid to Ukraine and $20 billion for U.S. border security, but Deadlock in Congress.

“Unfortunately, the standalone legislation House Republicans introduced at the 11th hour over the weekend without notice or consultation is not nice.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)