US House stand still on Israel assistance bill
Two-thirds majority of the House was needed to approve the measure
The USA House of Representatives failed to pass a bill on aid for Israel proposed by Republicans.
The bill which did not include any aid to Ukraine was supported by 250 members of the lower chamber of the US Congress, while 180 lawmakers voted against it. Two-thirds majority of the House was needed to approve the measure.
The bill was to provide $17.6 billion to Israel, as Democrats said they wanted a vote instead on a broader measure that would also provide assistance to Ukraine, international humanitarian funding and new money for border security.
The vote was 250 to 180, falling short because it was introduced under an expedited procedure requiring a two-thirds majority for passage. The vote was largely along party lines, although 14 Republicans opposed the bill and 46 Democrats supported it.
Israel is one of the largest recipients of U.S. foreign aid and has traditionally received strong bipartisan support in Congress. But many opponents called the House legislation a political ploy by Republicans to distract from their opposition to a $118 billion Senate Bill combining an overhaul of U.S. immigration policy and new funding for border security with billions of dollars in emergency aid for Ukraine, Israel and partners in the Indo-Pacific region.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson had said the Senate bill was “dead on arrival” in the chamber even before it was introduced.
Democratic President Joe Biden, who supports the Senate bill, has promised to veto the House’s Israel-only measure.
The Israel bill’s supporters insisted it was not a political stunt, saying it was important to move quickly to support the Jewish state as it responds to the deadly Oct. 7 assault by militants from Hamas-ruled Gaza.
“This bill simply provides necessary resources to our closest ally in the region and our own military,” said Republican Representative Ken Calvert, the Republican Defense Appropriations Subcommittee chairman who introduced the measure.
Some Democrats also blasted the House bill for failing to provide humanitarian assistance for Palestinian civilians. Gaza’s health military says at least 27,585 Palestinians have been confirmed killed in the campaign, with thousands more feared buried in neighborhoods reduced to rubble.
Members of Congress have been struggling for months to find a way to send security assistance abroad, particularly to Ukraine. Biden has twice sent Congress requests for emergency spending bills, most recently in October.
The Republican-majority House passed an Israel only bill in November, but it was never taken up in the Democratic-led Senate, as negotiators worked on Biden’s request for a broader emergency security package and Republican demands that any security assistance be combined with changes in immigration policy and security at the border with Mexico.
The failed Israel House vote was the second in quick succession for Johnson’s Republican majority on Tuesday. It came immediately after the chamber voted against impeaching Biden’s top border official, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
