House Approves Taking Money From IRS, Sending It to Israel

Biden, Senate Democrats say they won't approve splitting off funding for Ukraine
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 2, 2023 6:10 PM CDT
House Passes Bill Funding Israeli Aid With Cuts to IRS
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, center, joined by, from left, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, talks with reporters Thursday ahead of the debate on aid to Israel at the Capitol.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The Republican-run House approved $14 billion in emergency assistance for Israel on Thursday, but it has strings attached that President Biden and Senate leaders say they won't accept. The bill would cut about the same amount of funding from the Internal Revenue Service, the Washington Post reports. And the measure includes nothing for Ukraine, ignoring Biden's funding request after new Speaker Mike Johnson peeled it off from the Israeli aid. The president has threatened a veto of the measure, and Democratic leaders said they won't put it up for a vote in the Senate.

Assistance for Israel usually clears with the support of both parties, but this measure was approved on a largely party-line vote of 226 to 196, per the New York Times; just a dozen Democrats voted yes. "It provides Israel with the aid it needs to defend itself, free its hostages and eradicate Hamas, which is a mission that must be accomplished," Johnson said, while reducing federal spending. A nonpartisan analysis by the Congressional Budget Office disputes the last point, finding that the IRS cuts would hinder the agency's ability to audit big earners and tax evaders. That would cost at least $26.8 billion in lost tax revenue, the analysis said.

There's more bipartisanship in the Senate on the issue—but it's a unity in opposition. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Senate will write its own bill combining funding for Israel and Ukraine, as well as humanitarian aid for Gaza, per the Times. "It still mystifies me that when the world is in crisis and we need to help Israel respond to Hamas, the GOP thought it was a good idea to tie Israel aid to a hard-right proposal that will raise the deficit and is totally, totally partisan," Schumer said. (More House of Representatives stories.)

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