President Biden has indicated that he would exercise his veto power to block a proposal from House Republicans that aims to provide assistance to Israel while simultaneously reducing funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and omitting support for other national security priorities.
The White House delivered this message today.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) extensively critiqued the House GOP’s proposal in a detailed statement of administration policy. They argued that the proposal injects partisanship into the realm of supporting Israel and falls short by neglecting humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza, as well as assistance for Ukraine and allies in the Indo-Pacific.
In no uncertain terms, the OMB stated, “This bill is detrimental to Israel, the Middle East region, and our own national security.” Additionally, the White House emphasized that the GOP proposal marks a significant departure from established bipartisan practices by seeking budget cuts as part of an emergency national security package.
The OMB further conveyed, “Congress has consistently cooperated across party lines to provide security assistance to Israel. This bill has the potential to needlessly disrupt this long-standing approach. Segregating Israel’s security assistance from other priorities within the national security supplemental could have global ramifications.”
The statement released by the OMB on Tuesday highlighted the administration’s intention to collaborate with Congress in order to reach an agreement on the supplemental request presented earlier in the month by the White House.
The GOP’s unveiled package, introduced on Monday, outlines a $14.3 billion aid allocation for Israel in its struggle against the animals of Hamas.
This proposal also entails cutting funding for the IRS, which was initially included in the Inflation Reduction Act, a comprehensive tax, health, and climate legislation signed into law last year, marking one of President Biden’s signature policy achievements.
Furthermore, the GOP package diverges from the White House’s strategy of combining support for Ukraine and Israel within the same legislative framework, which may complicate the passage of the bill.
Just last week, the White House outlined a supplementary national security funding request amounting to approximately $106 billion. This funding encompasses allocations for Israel and Ukraine, with the latter currently facing off against invading Russian forces. The request also encompasses investments in the Indo-Pacific, humanitarian aid, and border security measures.
The introduced package is one of the initial pieces of legislation presented under Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who assumed the position last week after a contentious battle over the succession of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) following his removal from the position.
The House Rules Committee is scheduled to deliberate on this legislation on Wednesday. However, it faces formidable odds in reaching President Biden’s desk, as it necessitates approval from the Democratic-controlled Senate, where lawmakers have expressed an inclination to link their support for Ukraine and Israel.
{Matzav.com}
There should always be only stand alone bills. That’s the only way to curb spending. With stand alone bills you also reduce pork spending. But the democrats in particular, like pork spending and bills containing several thousand pages. This way no one, politicians included have a clue what’s in the bill.
Susan Rice is still calling the shots.