Democratic members of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday obstructed their Republican counterparts' effort to swiftly approve a bill that provides emergency aid to Israel, which the House of Representatives passed last week but does not include any assistance for Ukraine in its war against Russia. Republican Senator Roger Marshall stated, "Time is of the essence, and it is crucial that the Senate does not delay the delivery of this vital aid to Israel by another day."
Democrats objected to the bill and demanded aid for both Ukraine and Israel, in addition to humanitarian assistance and border security funding. They accused House Republicans of politicizing the crisis in Israel and delaying assistance by conditioning support on cutting funding to the Internal Revenue Service.
The bill passed by the House would provide $14.3 billion to Israel in response to the deadly attack launched by Hamas, with this amount to be reduced from the Internal Revenue Service budget. The aid includes $4 billion earmarked for purchasing defense systems for the Iron Dome and David's Sling to counter short-range missile threats, along with some transfers of equipment from U.S. stockpiles.
Senator Patty Murray, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, remarked, "Our allies in Ukraine cannot afford any delay more than our allies in Israel." For the bill to become law, it must be approved by the Democrat-controlled Senate and the Republican-led House of Representatives, and signed by Democratic President Biden. The White House has indicated that Biden will veto the bill.
