GOP Plan to Fund Israel War with IRS Cuts Raises Questions

A Republican plan to fund an aid package to Israel via cuts to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) budget has sparked a debate among politicians, experts and commentators.

Under new House speaker Mike Johnson, the US House of Representatives seeks to provide $14.3bn in aid to Israel by cutting funding to the body, using some of the increased funding earmarked for it through President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act.

Responding, some have raised concerns that Republicans are using the aid as a political opportunity to cut funding to the IRS. Typically Congress doesn't cut funding elsewhere to make room for emergency aid or spending and Republicans have long opposed increasing the body's funding.

Indeed, under Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, the agency's funding was boosted by $80 billion to improve taxpayer services and pay for more enforcement actions against wealthy tax cheats. But due to Republican opposition Biden and House Republicans agreed to repeal roughly $20 billion of that $80 billion as part of a deal in May.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre issued a statement accusing Republicans of "politicizing national security" and calling their bill a non-starter.

Meanwhile, Rosa DeLauro, the ranking Democratic representative on the House Appropriations Committee, said in a statement: "House Republicans are setting a dangerous precedent by suggesting that protecting national security or responding to natural disasters is contingent upon cuts to other programs."

Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz said in a statement that "support for defending Israel should not come with conditions...When your neighbor's house is on fire, you don't haggle over the price of the garden hose," she wrote.

And Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden called it an "absolute nonstarter" and accused Republicans of prioritizing "giveaways to wealthy tax cheats."

However, speaking to Newsweek, Dustin Siggins, founder of PR agency Proven Media Solutions said the decision might "resonate with average Americans".

He said: "The choice to target IRS funding aligns with the bipartisan 2023 debt ceiling deal. It's also a message that may resonate with average Americans who support funding Israel, are more hesitant about Ukraine funding—and aren't likely to go out of their way to defend the IRS, the same agency which only earlier this year ended a decades-long practice of intimidating, unannounced visits to taxpayers' homes."

Meanwhile, others have raised concerns about Congress funding Israel and not Ukraine. Joe Biden had initially requested the House pass a $106bn package that would include aid for Israel, Ukraine and border security.

Johnson, who voted against aid for Ukraine before he was elected House speaker last week, had said he wanted aid to Israel and Ukraine to be handled separately. He has said he wants more accountability for money that has been sent to Kyiv and that supporting Israel in the aftermath of the Hamas attack on October 7 should be the U.S.'s top security priority.

"I understand their priority is to bulk up the IRS, but I think if you put this to the American people and they weigh the two needs, I think they're going to say standing with Israel and protecting the innocent over there is in our national interest and is a more immediate need than IRS agents," Johnson said in a Fox News interview.

At an event on Monday at the University of Louisville's McConnell Center, Senator Mitch McConnell urged support for Ukraine.

"Right now, loud voices on both sides of the aisle are suggesting that American leadership isn't worth the cost. Some say our support for Ukraine comes at the expense of more important priorities, but as I've said every time I've got the chance, it's a false choice," he said. "America is a global superpower with global interests, and enemies of democracy around the world like nothing more than to outlast our resolve to resist Russian aggression."

The House Rules Committee is expected to consider the Republican Israel bill on Wednesday. It will need bipartisan support to become law.

Newsweek has contacted the GOP by email to comment on this story.