WASHINGTON – Today, Representative Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07) released the following statement:
“Under the leadership of Speaker Johnson, the Republican majority are proposing divisive legislation and making assistance to Israel contingent upon deep cuts to the IRS. We have never set preconditions on emergency aid in responding to natural disasters or protecting national security. House Republicans are setting a dangerous precedent by requiring offsets in domestic programs to pay for critical assistance to our allies. It is unconscionable for House Republicans to exploit an international crisis and push their extreme agenda by conditioning support for Israel on allowing the wealthy to cheat on their taxes.
“I will vote against House Republicans’ bad-faith legislation because Ukraine, Israel, and the innocent people of Gaza deserve our help. The House Republican supplemental adds billions to the deficit, lacks critical humanitarian aid, and divides Congress’ support for Israel in a time of need. We must stand with our democratic partners and put partisanship aside. We need to support Israel and Ukraine’s defense now, without conditions. Speaker Johnson must move immediately to pass President Biden’s supplemental request to protect our allies and provide desperately needed humanitarian aid for innocent civilians.”
The House Republican bill to provide aid to Israel pairs $14.3 billion in aid to Israel with $14.3 billion in cuts to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) funding that was enacted under the Inflation Reduction Act. These cuts include gutting the IRS’ ability to review complex tax cases for those making over $400,000, stopping the development of a direct file tax system and hindering the ability to provide better customer service.
The bill championed by Speaker Mike Johnson would add $26.8 billion to the deficit according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget office. Additionally, the IRS Commissioner recently stated that the cuts would make it harder to collect revenue from wealthy individuals and corporations increasing the deficit by $90 billion over 10 years. More information on the House Republican Israel supplemental bill can be found here.