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
The Republican-controlled House passed a bill on Thursday to provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel amid its war against Hamas, setting up a likely fight with the Democrat-led Senate.
The measure, which pairs aid for the Jewish state with $14.3 billion in cuts to IRS funding, passed in a 226-196 vote. Twelve Democrats voted with all but two Republicans to pass the bill. Representatives Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia voted against the bill.
While House Republicans are looking to send stand-alone aid to Israel, both Republicans and Democrats in the Senate have advocated packaging aid to Israel with additional aid to Ukraine.
Senate Democrats have also highlighted an analysis from the Congressional Budget Office that found the measure to provide aid to Israel while cutting funding to the IRS would result in some $26.8 billion in lost revenue over ten years.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Senate “will not be considering this deeply flawed proposal from the House GOP.”
“Instead, we will work together on our own bipartisan emergency aid package that includes aid to Israel, Ukraine, competition with the Chinese government and humanitarian aid to Gaza,” he said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said he paired the cut in IRS funding with aid for Israel in an effort to “get back to the principle of fiscal responsibility.”
“That was the easiest and largest pile of money that’s sitting there for us to be able to pay for this immediate obligation,” he said.
Johnson said the House would pass a Ukraine aid package once aid for Israel is arranged but said aid for Ukraine would have to be conditional on passing stricter border-security provisions.