The bill to provide Israel with $14.3bn in aid was supported by 226 congressmen

On 2 November, the US House of Representatives approved a bill to provideIsrael with $14.3 billion in aid to fight the Palestinian group Hamas.

The document was supported by 226 congressmen, while 196 voted againstit. Two Republicans did not support the bill, and 12 Democrats unexpectedlysupported the document, ABC News reported.

The bill provides financial assistance to the Israeli army, including $4billion for the purchase of Israeli Iron Dome and Sling of David defencesystems to counter short-range missile threats, as well as the transfer of someequipment from US stockpiles.

"This is the first step in this process, and I urge my colleagues tojoin me in supporting the bill so that we can provide funds to Israel as soonas possible," said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Kay Granger, amember of the House of Representatives.

The introduction of the bill was the first important legislative activityof the new Speaker of the House of Representatives from the Republican Party,Mike Johnson, Reuters reports.

At the same time, President Joe Biden threatened to veto the bill, andSenate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would not put it to avote.

Earlier, Biden asked Congress to approve a broader emergency spendingpackage of $106 billion, including funding for Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine, aswell as humanitarian aid. Schumer said that the Senate would consider abipartisan bill that addresses broader priorities.

Thefates of Israel and Ukraine are linked

Republicans hold a 221-212 majority in the House of Representatives, butBiden's Democratic Party allies control the Senate 51-49. To become law, thebill must be passed by the House and Senate and then signed by President JoeBiden.

Republican leaders in the House have said they will cover the cost of aidto Israel by cutting funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), whichDemocrats included in the 2022 inflation-reduction bill signed by Biden.

Republicans, who initially opposed the increase in IRS funding, said thatthe cuts were necessary to offset the cost of military aid to Israel, whichlaunched a ground operation in Gaza on 2 November.

Democrats opposed the cuts to the IRS, calling them a politicallymotivated "poison pill" that would increase the country's budgetdeficit by reducing tax collection. They also said it was important to continueto support Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion that began inFebruary 2022.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said that the IRS cuts andaid to Israel in a separate bill would add nearly $30 billion to the US budgetdeficit, which is currently estimated at $1.7 trillion.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee,blamed Republicans for delaying aid and supported the party's bill with aid toUkraine and humanitarian aid for civilians. "This bill (Johnson's - Ed.)abandons Ukraine. We will not abandon Israel and we will not abandon Ukraine.Their fates are linked," she said.

While Democrats and many Republicans still strongly support Ukraine. Asmaller but vocal group of Republicans is questioning the allocation of morefunds to the government in Kyiv at a time of severe budget deficits.

Mike Johnson, who repeatedly voted against aid to Ukraine before becomingspeaker in October 2023, plans to introduce a bill that combines aid to Ukrainewith money to strengthen security on the US-Mexico border.

"The aid package for Ukraine will appear soon. It will be the nextone. We want to combine border security with Ukraine, because I think we canreach bipartisan agreement on both of these issues," said House SpeakerMike Johnson.

As a reminder, on 20 October, US President Joe Biden submitteda bill to Congress on an additional funding package worth $106 billion. Thedocument proposes to allocate $61.3 billion of this amount to supply weapons toUkraine and $14.3 billion to Israel.

However, the newly elected Speaker of the House of Representatives, MikeJohnson, hassubmitted an alternative bill that provides $14.3 billion for Israel in aseparate package, without simultaneously providing arms aid to Ukraine.

The Democratic-majority Senate and the White House intend to blockJohnson's bill and lobby for the Biden package.