The tug-of-war over foreign aid bills in both houses of the US Congress continues. "The House of Representatives will vote on an independence bill to aid Israel, with a showdown with the Senate. The Washington Post reported on February 4 that Johnson, the Republican speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, announced a $17.6 billion appropriations bill on the 3rd to provide aid to Israel and the U.S. military in the Middle East, but not to Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Democratic-controlled Senate is scheduled to vote next week on a bill that simultaneously aids Israel and Ukraine and "issues the southern border, with the House bill clearly posing a direct challenge to the Senate."
Speaker of the US House of Representatives McCarthy ic photo
The need to support our closest allies and our troops on the ground has never been more urgent. Johnson told lawmakers in a letter sent out that day that the House of Representatives will allocate $17.6 billion to strengthen Israel's military defense system and procure advanced munitions, as well as to ensure the safety of U.S. personnel in the region, and that some of the funds will be used to supplement U.S. supplies to Israel, which could be voted on in the full House of Representatives sometime next week. According to the report, this bill will be the second bill to be introduced in the House of Representatives in two months, and the latest version increases aid to Israel by $3.3 billion compared to the previous version, but no longer calls for budget cuts for the IRS — something Republicans have been asking for and Democrats have opposed.
At the same time, the Senate version of the bill is also expected to be released this week, but unlike the House of Representatives, which is "single-minded" on aiding Israel, the Senate bill will include funding for both Israel and Ukraine, as well as addressing immigration at the southern border.
In his letter, Johnson said that over the past two months, the world has witnessed the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict, attacks on U.S. forces in the Middle East, and retaliatory strikes by U.S. forces, all of which are reasons to prioritize assistance on the ground.
While the Senate appears poised to finalize the bill after months of closed-door negotiations, they have lost the ability to quickly consider any legislation because the House has failed to engage in negotiations on a broader bill. "The House of Representatives will continue to play a leadership role given the Senate's failure to push through appropriate legislation in a timely manner and the dangerous circumstances Israel is currently facing." ”
Israeli army marching towards the Gaza Strip on January 31, 2024, on the Israeli-Gaza border
The actions of the House Republicans sparked a backlash in the White House. White House press secretary Jean-Pierre said in a statement on the evening of the 3rd: "We strongly oppose this strategy, which does not contribute to border security and does not help Ukraine defend against Russian aggression, and also refuses to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians." ”
The Washington Post mentioned that since the new version of the bill does not include a request for budget cuts for the IRS, it is unclear how members of the far right of the House will react to it, and the House Liberal Caucus still opposes the passage of an appropriations bill that does not include this content.
In addition, Rep. Tyler Green, Republican of Georgia, threatened that if Johnson brought a bill containing aid to Ukraine to the House of Representatives, he would initiate a motion that had led to former House Speaker McCarthy**. Rep. Chip Roy, Republican of Texas, similarly said he would make a similar move if Johnson's proposed bill involved border security legislation supported by Democrats.
It is worth mentioning that seeing that the new round of aid to Ukraine promised by the White House has been "stuck" in the US Congress due to partisan disputes, Ukrainian Prime Minister Kuleba tried to put pressure on the US Congress through the US media earlier.
According to an article published by ABC on January 15, Kuleba warned in an interview in Kyiv that "time is running out" left for the US Congress to approve more military aid to Ukraine. He said that he did not want Ukraine to be the main topic in the debate in the United States in 2024, and hoped that the Ukrainian crisis would become "a matter of unity and not **". He also vowed that Ukraine would never submit to Russia, and even if there was no **, we would go with a shovel".
This article is an exclusive manuscript of the Observer.com, and it is not allowed to be unauthorized and shall not be allowed.