The House of Representatives approved $14.3 billion in additional military aid for Israel as it wages war with Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip Thursday, going against the will of President Biden and Senate leaders who favored a joint package with Ukraine.
The Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2024 passed 226-196, with 214 Republicans and 12 Democrats voting in support.
Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) were the only GOP lawmakers opposed to the emergency funding bill, along with every other House Democrat.
The vote comes as Israel has begun a ground assault in Gaza after Hamas terrorists attacked the Jewish state Oct. 7, killing more than 1,400 people — including at least 33 American citizens.
More than 200 additional civilians were taken as hostages back to Gaza, where the Israel Defense Forces continues to carry out airstrikes on senior Hamas commanders as ground troops encircle Gaza City.
On Tuesday, the White House pledged to veto the legislation if it came to the president’s desk, with Biden’s Office of Management and Budget calling it “bad for Israel, for the Middle East region, and for our own national security.”
Biden, 80, also declared at a campaign event Wednesday night that he was pushing for a “pause” in the Israel-Hamas war.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) criticized House Republicans’ bill as a “joke” when speaking with reporters earlier on Thursday.
“We need to stand with Israel. … We need to help Ukraine,” he said. “The Senate will work on its own emergency aid package.”
Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have instead been proposing to pass Biden’s requested $106 billion package that would provide the $14.3 billion in aid to Israel as well as $61.4 billion to Ukraine, $14 billion for US immigration enforcement and $16.55 for Taiwan’s defense and other issues.
The House legislation, which was introduced by Appropriations Committee Chair Kay Granger (R-Texas), will be paid for by redistributing all funds from Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act that were set aside for the IRS.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) championed the “standalone Israel funding bill” in a Fox News appearance on Sunday, calling it “a present and urgent need.”
He also sought to allay Senate Republicans by informing them in a Wednesday meeting that the lower chamber would pass a separate Ukraine funding bill, a source confirmed to The Post.
In an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity last week, Johnson also stressed that Ukraine aid needed “accountability,” which Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) said could come in the form of a federal office to audit the use of funds.
The aid package allotted $4 billion for Israel’s Iron Dome and David’s Sling missile defense systems to counter rockets from Hamas, $3.5 billion for its military and $1.2 billion for its Iron Beam defense system.
Another $4.4 billion will replenish US military stockpiles as well as boost defense services, military education and training provided to Israel by the Pentagon.
It also set aside $850 million for the Jewish state’s defense from US Army, Navy and Air Force weapons and ammunition stockpiles until Sept. 30, 2026, and $200 million for ongoing diplomatic efforts.
Some House Democrats who opposed the measure pointed to a Congressional Budget Office report that found it would add $12.5 billion to the national deficit over the next 10 years.
Massie, who has long opposed funding foreign military aid, also said on Monday he wouldn’t support the bill because it wasn’t paid for.
“If Congress sends $14.5 billion to Israel, on average we’ll be taking about $100 from every working person in the United States,” he said Monday in a post on X.
“This will be extracted through inflation and taxes,” he added. “I’m against it.”