US Senate Democrats block Republican bid to aid Israel, not Ukraine
reuters.com
U.S. Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a Republican effort to win quick approval for a bill providing emergency aid to Israel that passed the House of Representatives last week, but that provides no assistance for Ukraine's war against Russia. "Our allies in Ukraine can no more afford a delay than our allies in Israel," said Senator Patty Murray, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee.
To become law, legislation must pass the Democratic-controlled Senate as well as the Republican-majority House, and be signed into law by Biden, a Democrat. The White House had said Biden would veto the House bill.
The Republicans also tied the thing to massive cuts in the IRS budget. You know, the agency that literally makes it possible for the government to pay for things. The bill was never going to fly for multiple reasons.
The Republicans are tying everything to cuts in public spending, may it be the IRS, FTC, EPA, or any other agency. This is not new and has nothing to do with Ukraine, Israel, or any other 'external' factors imho. It's the Republican economic policy, an austerity policy we have been observing in the US for decades. Ronald Reagan would be proud today.
The phrase, "Sweet Summer Child" comes to mind. Cutting funding for the IRS isn't about reducing spending. It's about reducing enforcement against the richest people in the country.
For those not staggeringly wealthy who believe taxes=bad and therefore IRS=bad, the IRS doesn't need the funding to go after the poors. Squeezing you folks is cheap and easy. IRS needs the funding to fight the army of lawyers and accountants that the super-rich use to avoid paying taxes.
Israel is a rich 1st world country that's armed to the teeth. They need no help.
Yeeeaaahhh... it was a lot easier to support Israel two weeks ago...
This is the best summary I could come up with:
WASHINGTON, Nov 7 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a Republican effort to win quick approval for a bill providing emergency aid to Israel that passed the House of Representatives last week, but that provides no assistance for Ukraine's war against Russia.
Democrats objected, stressing the importance of providing aid to Ukraine as well as Israel, in addition to humanitarian aid, border security funding and money to push back against China in the Indo-Pacific that was in a $106 billion funding request President Joe Biden sent to Congress last month.
They also accused House Republicans of playing politics with the crisis in Israel, delaying aid for the Jewish State by tying support to cutting funding for the Internal Revenue Service, a favorite target for Republicans, rather than writing a bipartisan bill.
The House bill would provide $14.3 billion for Israel as it responds to a deadly Oct. 7 attack by Islamist Hamas militants, but also cut the same amount of money from the IRS.
The funds would include $4 billion for procurement of Israel's Iron Dome and David's Sling defense systems to counter short-range rocket threats as well as some transfers of equipment from U.S. stocks.
Senate leaders are writing their own supplemental funding bill and hope to introduce it as soon as this week.
The original article contains 348 words, the summary contains 217 words. Saved 38%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
Good, the bills on the floor are ridiculous anyway. Pay for aid to Israel by defining the IRS... ROFL!
Now tack those spending bills together and vote in them like adults and get it done. It's money for the military industrial complex anyway, while getting rid of old munitions and overstock anyway.