Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) is pushing for an amendment to be added to the supplemental aid package for Israel that requires the aid to get to them within a month.
The House is moving forward on separate aid bills for Ukraine, Israel/Gaza, Taiwan, and a fourth that includes funding for other national security measures instead of doing it all as one, as President Joe Biden’s initial pitch suggested. Biden first asked Congress to pass this legislation in the fall, but Congress, and in particular House Republicans, has been unable to pass it until they were prompted by Iran’s unprecedented attack against Israel last week.
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) proposed Israel aid bill would provide them with roughly $26 billion, while Mast is pushing for an amendment to be added to it that would require the U.S. to make “any funds appropriated” through this legislation “not later than 30 days after enactment of this Act.”
“We need to ensure that any aid Congress passes gets into the hands of the Israeli government as fast as possible,” Mast told the Washington Examiner. “We cannot take the risk that the Biden administration will try to use this aid as leverage to demand Israel accept a ceasefire with terrorists.”
It’s unclear whether the amendment will, in fact, be added to the legislation. Johnson told his caucus that the bills would be brought to the floor under an open amendment process, allowing members to propose additional measures before a final vote.
Biden has said he would support the legislation if it is passed by both chambers of Congress.
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“The House must pass the package this week and the Senate should quickly follow,” he said. “I will sign this into law immediately to send a message to the world: We stand with our friends, and we won’t let Iran or Russia succeed.”
Mast, who lost both his legs while serving in Afghanistan in 2010 and later volunteered with the Israel Defense Forces, donned the IDF uniform in the first days after Hamas’s terrorist attack.