STATEMENT: Auchincloss: “I Am Voting No On The Israel Supplemental Stunt”
Washington, D.C. - The below statement regarding today's vote on the GOP Israel package can be attributed to Congressman Jake Auchincloss (D,MA-04):
“I strongly support Israel. I am voting 'No' on the Israel supplemental stunt, because it plays politics with Israel’s security with no prospect of actually providing funding to Israel.
“Speaker Johnson has made the craven, cynical decision to politicize support for Israel at its moment of crisis by tying its security assistance to IRS cuts, which would, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, increase the deficit. The bill is a dead letter: the president has vowed to veto it; and both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell oppose it.
“Therefore, the question before me is not whether I want Israel to receive funding, because this bill will not become law.
“Instead, the question before me is what this bill signifies, and what a 'Yes' vote would represent.
“A 'Yes' vote would signal the advent of conditioning aid for Israel. It would be the first time in U.S history that Congress has required emergency national security funding to be offset by domestic cuts. The precedent is awful: when other countries need support, Congress provides it; but when Israel needs support, party leaders extract partisan priorities in exchange.
“It would not stop at this bill: the next time Israel needs support in this war, what would stop a Republican Speaker from demanding cuts to food stamps in exchange? Or a Democratic Speaker from demanding cuts to the military's ICBM program in exchange? Israel would persistently be tossed on the seas of U.S. domestic politics.
“Unconditioned aid to Israel would receive supermajority support in the House, demonstrating bipartisan support for our ally, to partners and enemies alike, when it needs it most. Unfortunately, this rookie Speaker has precluded the possibility of overwhelming bipartisanship by filing a bill so clumsy and irresponsible that the Democratic president, Democratic Senate majority leader, and Democratic House minority leader have all dismissed it out of hand.
“I am firmly opposed to conditioning security aid to Israel, whether those conditions are based on Israeli domestic politics or American domestic politics. Support for Israel must be above partisanship.”
To learn more about Congressman Jake Auchincloss visit https://auchincloss.house.gov or connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube.