Steve Scalise defends cuts to IRS in House GOP’s Israel aid bill
House Majority Steve Scalise defended the bill of his party that would reduce Internal Revenue Service funding to offset United States Aid to Israel.
Last week, the House of Representatives approved a $14.3 billion package of aid to Israel. However, the IRS cuts that were made to offset the amount led to Democratic opposition and criticism. Only 12 House Democrats voted in favor of it, while two Republicans voted against it, and the Democratically-controlled Senate has indicated the bill is dead on arrival.
“We passed a law that addressed two issues that our Defense Department discusses: First, we need aid for Israel and we do. But when our generals testify in front of committees such as the armed services, then they claim that our debt is a major national threat. They say our debt, not other countries such as China or Russia. In a bipartisan vote, we addressed both issues in this bill,” Scalise told ABC’s This Week.
Despite Scalise’s claim, estimates reveal that the IRS cut wouldn’t cover the bill, and in fact, would increase the debt of the country over the next decade. This was revealed by a Congressional Budget Office report released earlier this week. According to the CBO, the bill will decrease revenues by $26.7 billion over the next ten years and increase the deficit by $12.5 billion.
The White House said that if the House bill passed last week reached Biden’s desk, he would veto it.
Last week, Emilie Simiens, the deputy press secretary of the State Department told reporters that “the bill they are currently putting forth inserts partisanship in support for Israel” and turns a key ally into a political pawn. It also denies assistance to those in need, such as Palestinian civilians. And it would set up a dangerous precedent by including offsets. We heard from CBO today that this would increase the deficit by 26 billion dollars.
The new House Speaker Mike Johnson has pursued an individualized package of aid to Israel after weeks of instability in the House as a result the Republican Party’s inability elect a speaker.
