Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked Republican efforts to force the Upper House to consider a stand-alone Israel aid bill that the House passed earlier this month.
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) asked for unanimous consent to pass House-passed legislation that would give Israel $14.3 billion for its war against Hamas and offset spending by cutting Internal Revenue Service funding appropriated in President Biden’s so-called. Inflation Reduction Act.
The legislation, supported by 12 House Democrats on Nov. 2, was blocked by a handful of Senate Democrats.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) argued that funding for Ukraine and humanitarian aid must be included in any Israeli package before it reaches the president’s desk.
“Once again, I had to block the attempt by Senate Republicans to pit aid for Israel against support for Ukraine and humanitarian aid,” Murray wrote in a post X. “I’ve said this before & I’ll say it again: we can’t do things by halves only us It’s not only wrong — it’s dangerous and it’s naive.”
Murray, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, also made his argument on the Senate floor.
“We cannot send a message to our allies or to the world that America only supports some of its allies — that our words are only good at times,” Murray said.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) argued that it would be “dangerous” not to pass aid to Israel and Ukraine together, in one bill. Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
Marshall and other Senate Republicans slammed the move.
“Time is of the essence now. There is a powder keg in Israel that will go off. There are easily three battlegrounds in the near future. And that’s why we need to send a loud and clear message to Hamas, to Iran, to all their proxies, that we do not tolerate violence we do not tolerate crimes against humanity,” Marshall said after his efforts were blocked.
“This is the second hour I’ve spent on the floor debating my colleagues from across the aisle and they spent three-quarters of their time telling us why we should fund Ukraine.”
“They seem to be allergic to the word ‘Israel,'” he added.
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) is backing a stand-alone spending bill for Israeli aid that would be funded through cuts to the IRS.ZUMAPRESS.com
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), JD Vance (R-Ohio), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Marshall introduced the House version of the Senate bill last month, after Biden, 80, made an emergency request for about $105 billion in spending, including $61 billion for Ukraine.
“What I find interesting about the people who are here today is that they represent a cross-section of opinion on the Ukraine question,” Vance said Tuesday. “Even Sen. [Eric] Schmitt and Senator Lee, as much as we agree, we disagree with every permutation of how we deal with the Ukraine situation. However, what we all agree on is that the American people deserve a separate debate.”
Attempts to move the bill through the Senate last week were also blocked by Democrats.
President Biden has asked Congress to pass a bill to send $14.3 billion in aid to Israel and more than $60 billion in aid to Ukraine. AFP via Getty Images
“Democrats have blocked our efforts to get aid to Israel for 2 weeks. Enough,” Marshall wrote moments before trying to go through with the stand-alone move again on Tuesday.
The senator’s second effort today failed after the Senate voted 51-48 in favor of Murray’s motion to table the bill.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby has said that the president will veto any package that contains only funding for Israel.
The White House Office of Management and Budget has also slammed the House Israel bill and has insisted that Biden will veto the legislation.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
