Johnson Seeks to ‘Change’ Congress With Israel Aid Offset By Spending Cuts
With legislation to provide billions in new funding for Israel and corresponding cuts in federal spending, House Speaker Mike Johnson is attempting to restore some fiscal sanity in the GOP-controlled House.
The Louisiana Republican moved legislation to provide $14.8 billion in assistance to Israel, which is locked in a war against Hamas after the terrorist group launched a surprise attack against the Jewish state a month ago, killing nearly 1,400 people. Twelve Democrats broke ranks and joined nearly all Republicans in passing the measure, despite a veto threat from President Joe Biden.
The legislation also calls for identical spending cuts in funds meant for the Internal Revenue Service, which has been a priority for the GOP.
During an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Johnson fired back at Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who dismissed the Speaker’s legislative move as not “serious.”
“The proposal is simply not a serious one, and worse, it still wastes precious time at a moment when we need to help Israel and Ukraine and send humanitarian aid to Gaza ASAP,” Schumer said.
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Johnson noted that the White House had also requested tens of millions of dollars more for Ukraine, so it was “really surprising to hear Sen. Schumer say that it’s not a serious proposal.”
“What they don’t like is that in the House, we’re trying to be good stewards of the taxpayers’ resources,” he added. “We offset that spending. Instead of printing new dollars and/or borrowing it from another nation to send over to fulfill our obligations and help our ally, we want to pay for it. What a concept, and we’re trying to change how Washington works.”
“And so, by taking that money from this giant fund—over $65 billion that’s sitting there to build up the IRS—we weighed those priorities and said, You know what? It’s more important to protect Israel right now than it is to hire more IRS agents,” he continued.
“Apparently, Senator Schumer disagrees with that. But I’ll take that debate to the American people all day long,” he added.
The Daily Wire noted further:
