Topline
The House passed a $14.3 billion aid package for Israel on Thursday evening, though the Republican-led bill will likely not survive the Democratic-controlled Senate as it proposes offsetting the aid by cutting money from the Internal Revenue Service.
Key Facts
The bill passed 226 to 196, with two Republicans opposing it and 12 Democrats supporting it.
The aid package for Israel is the first major piece of legislation passed under newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who has said getting Israel aid is a “pressing and urgent need,” but proposed paying for the aid with some of the $80 billion in increased funding earmarked for the IRS through President Joe Biden’s signature Inflation Reduction Act.
Senate Democrats have said they won’t support the bill when it arrives in the chamber, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) saying Wednesday it was “a totally unserious and woefully inadequate package” as it left out aid to Ukraine or the Indo-Pacific and humanitarian assistance to Gaza, according to CBS.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also said he wouldn’t support the bill and has instead called for a package that would give aid to Ukraine and Israel.
Big Number
$26.8 billion. That’s how much would be added to the country’s deficit if the aid package proposed by Republicans in the House passes, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Key Background
Congress has been working on an aid package since Biden asked it to pass $105 billion in emergency funding—including about $14 billion for military support to Israel and $61 billion for assistance in Ukraine—about two weeks ago. Some House Republicans are skeptical of funding Ukraine’s war efforts, which set the proposed bill up as a point of tension between House and Senate Republicans, who generally support more funding for Ukraine. The bill also received criticism as it breaks protocol by proposing the cost of aid be offset with other cuts when Congress doesn’t usually cut funding elsewhere to make room for emergency aid.