The previous aid package pushed by Republicans failed in the Senate in November. At that time, funding earmarked for the US tax administration would have been used to finance the arms aid to Israel.
Republicans in the US House of Representatives plan to bring a separate arms aid package to Israel to the House of Representatives again. The upcoming aid package would be 17.6 billion dollars.
The Speaker representing the Republican Party of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson said in a letter to Republican representatives on Saturday that the support package would be voted on in the House of Representatives next week.
A previous attempt by House Republicans to pass a separate arms aid package failed in the Democratic-led Senate. The funding earmarked for the IRS by the US Tax Administration would have been used to finance the previous package.
The new package is not intended to be financed from IRS funding.
“The Senate has no more excuses not to quickly approve this critically important support for our ally,” Johnson wrote in the letter.
President of the United States Joe Biden asked Congress last October to approve a $106 billion emergency aid package, including $61 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel.
Republicans have tried to include in the package a solution to the immigration situation on the country’s southern border, where the number of immigrants who crossed the border illegally has risen to a record during Biden’s presidency.
Also in the Senate, a vote on the support package
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said earlier this week that the Senate will vote next week on a package that would include funding for border security in addition to support for Israel and Ukraine.
– We can’t just avoid our responsibility if the task is difficult, Schumer told the Senate on Thursday. He added that the package will be tentatively voted on on Wednesday at the latest.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Johnson has already rejected the aid package planned by the Senate.
“From what I’ve heard, this so-called agreement does not include the revolutionary changes in policy that are needed to stop the disaster at the border,” Johnson said earlier this week.
Proposals for aid packages must be approved by both the Senate and the House of Representatives in order for the president to sign them.
Sources: Reuters, AFP, AP