Speaker Johnson reveals standalone Israel bill House will vote on to provide $17.6B in aid

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) revealed to GOP on Saturday a bill that will be voted on in the coming week. It's a "clean" standalone bill, meaning it only deals with one issue and doesn't try to sneak anything else into it.

The new bill, the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, would provide $17.6 billion in military assistance for Israel, as well as funding for US forces in the region, according to Calvert’s office. Compared to what we already gave Ukraine, this amount is a pittance. 

The legislation, to be introduced by Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA), has backing from the House Republican leadership and the Republican-controlled Appropriations Committee.

In a letter to his GOP colleagues detailing the new bill, Speaker Johnson blasted the Senate for shutting him and the House out of the bipartisan negotiations over a border security deal, which will likely be tied to foreign aid for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan. In other words, not a clean bill by the Senate.

“While the Senate appears poised to finally release text of their supplemental package after months of behind closed doors negotiations, their leadership is aware that by failing to include the House in their negotiations, they have eliminated the ability for swift consideration of any legislation,” Johnson wrote. “The House will have to work its will on these issues and our priorities will need to be addressed.” 

Johnson continued to blast the Senate for its  “failure to move appropriate legislation in a timely fashion” amid the “perilous circumstances currently facing Israel.” 

He also said that the House would take the lead to ensure aid for the United States’ Middle East ally. “Next week, we will take up and pass a clean, standalone Israel supplemental package,” he wrote.

“During debate in the House and in numerous subsequent statements, Democrats made clear that their primary objection to the original House bill was with its offsets. The Senate will no longer have excuses, however misguided, against swift passage of this critical support for our ally.”

Last year, the House approved $14.3 billion in aid to Israel after they were viciously attacked by Hamas, which was offset by IRS spending cuts that the left opposed because they are like drunken sailors when it comes to spending.

The fact that this bill is clean puts pressure on the Democrats to back it, and it will be interesting to see who, beyond the anti-Semites in the so called Squad will go against our closest ally in the Middle East.

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