White House Threatens to Veto House GOP Israel Spending Bill

The White House in Washington on Oct. 26, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

President Joe Biden would veto the House GOP bill to provide supplemental funding to Israel and strip funding to the Internal Revenue Service, the White House announced on Oct. 31.

The bill would provide $14.3 billion in assistance to Israel, which has come under terrorist attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah and has a major counterattack underway in Gaza. The measure would take away that same amount in funding to the IRS allocated under the Inflation Reduction Act—a nonstarter for Democrats.

The legislation, according to the Congressional Budget Office, would “decrease revenues by $26.8 billion over the next decade ... resulting in a net increase in the deficit of $12.5 billion over that period.”

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which is part of the White House, lamented in a statement that “rather than putting forward a package that strengthens American national security in a bipartisan way, the bill fails to meet the urgency of the moment by deepening our divides and severely eroding historic bipartisan support for Israel’s security.”

OMB warned that the bill “inserts partisanship into support for Israel, making our ally a pawn in our politics, at a moment we must stand together” and omits humanitarian assistance for Palestinians.

The agency said that by stripping IRS funding, the bill “sets a new and dangerous precedent by conditioning assistance for Israel, further politicizing our support and treating one ally differently from others.”

This offset, added OMB, is a “poison pill.”

Notification Required

The bill allocates $4.4 billion for defense maintenance through Sept. 30, 2025, which is the end of the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The secretary of defense would be required to notify Congress of the transfer of funds “not less than” 15 days beforehand.

The legislation sets aside $801.4 million—which can be used until Sept. 30, 2026, the end of the 2025-2026 fiscal year—for Israel procuring army ammunition, $10 million for naval weapons acquisitions, and $38.6 million for air force missiles.

Most notably, the bill allocates $4 billion—which can be used until Sept. 30, 2026—for the Iron Dome missile defense and David’s Sling air defense systems. There is no specific funding for the Arrow missile defense system.

However, money is fungible and it is likely that Air Force missile procurement could be used for that crucial element of Israel’s defense systems.

There is $1.35 billion for research, development, testing, and evaluating Israel’s defense—for use until Sept. 30, 2025—$1.2 billion of which can be used for developing the Iron Beam defense system, which is designed to intercept short-range rockets.

Moreover, the bill allocates $3.65 billion for U.S. State Department operations in Israel that can be used until Sept. 30, 2025.

The House is expected to pass the bill on Nov. 2. House Democrat leadership has called for its members to vote against it. The bill would be dead on arrival in the Senate, according to Senate President Pro Tempore and Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.).

OMB called for Congress to pass President Biden’s supplemental funding request that includes assistance for not only Israel but also Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific, and border security. It also requests humanitarian assistance for Gaza, which Hamas controls, and Israel.