Rep. Beth Van Duyne on Tuesday said Israel needs help “now” and that’s why House Republicans are pushing a stand-alone bill for aid to America’s Mideast ally.
“You have those people that came in during the middle of the night, into communities, people were sleeping, they beheaded babies, they burned children alive, they gang-raped women, they killed innocent civilians and then they took hundreds of people to be able to use as human shields back into Gaza,” the Texas Republican said of Hamas on Fox Business.
She added, “These are terrorist organizations, and we need to make sure that Israel is getting the funding that it needs and we need to make sure that it’s getting it now.”
A bill, released Monday by House Republicans, includes $14.3 billion in emergency funding for Israel and offsets that by taking the same amount of IRS funding from the Inflation Reduction Act.
The bill puts newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, at odds with Democrats and Senate Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, since it cuts out Ukraine aid and takes money from one of the Biden administration’s achievement bills.
The decision to move the bill will cause a showdown with the White House and the Democratic-controlled Senate, both of which want to tie Ukraine and Israel aid together. Earlier this month the president requested a $106 billion package that includes $60 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion to address the southern border and $14 billion for Israel. It also allotted $7.4 billion for Taiwan and allies in the Indo-Pacific and around $10 billion for humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza.
The stand-alone bill has already been met with disdain from the White House and pro-Ukraine aid lawmakers.
“Threatening to undermine American national security unless House Republicans can help the wealthy and big corporations cheat on their taxes — which would increase the deficit — is the definition of backward,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, the chamber’s third-ranking Democratic leader, said the proposal is “not for me or anybody I know.”
“I think it would be totally irresponsible for our own security, as well as Ukraine, as well as a coalition of democracies around the world,” she said.
Ms. Van Duyne said the emphasis should be on Israel and the aid it needs to fight Hamas.
“I think when you look at what’s happening in Israel right now and the fact that you’ve got Hamas whose sole mission is to annihilate Israel and kill as many Jews as possible, we need to make sure Israel is re-equipped, rearmed and has the capabilities of being able to destroy Hamas and its leaders,” she said.
— Ramsey Touchberry contributed to this report.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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