Senate Democrats call IRS cuts a ‘nonstarter’ after House unveils Israel aid

Democrats dismissed a House bill to aid Israel as dead on arrival in the Senate after Republicans announced the $14 billion in funding would be offset with cuts to the IRS.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had already put the House on a collision course with the Democratic-led Senate by scheduling a stand-alone vote on the funding, bucking President Joe Biden’s request to consider it together with money for Ukraine and Taiwan.

JOHNSON SPEAKERSHIP SPELLS TROUBLE FOR DEMOCRATS IN WASHINGTON SPENDING FIGHT

He all but guaranteed Democrats would reject it, however, when House Republicans released the legislative text on Monday, revealing the aid would be paid for with cuts to the Inflation Reduction Act, the president’s signature policy achievement.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) cast doubt on the bill’s prospects following a visit to the White House, telling reporters, “We believe, our Democratic caucus, we should be doing all of it together — Israel, Ukraine, South Pacific, etc.”

“Obviously, a pay-for like that makes it much harder to pass,” he added.

But the White House put a finer point on it, releasing a statement calling the proposal a “nonstarter” that plays “political games” with what should be bipartisan aid. Democratic senators, arriving at the Capitol on Monday evening for the first vote of the week, gave much the same assessment.

“This will not fly,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “This is a nonstarter in the United States Senate.”

The idea of offsetting emergency spending is a break from precedent. Nonetheless, Republicans argue the ballooning national debt has made such cuts necessary, even as the party voices support for Israel.

Democrats counter that the GOP plan jeopardizes Israel’s national security following the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas. Israel is conducting ground operations and airstrikes in the Gaza Strip in retaliation.

“Well, that’s a recipe for disaster,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), another appropriator, said upon hearing of the House legislation. “If anything fits the definition of emergency aid, doesn’t a brutal terrorist attack killing 1,400 people in one of our most trusted, important allies qualify?”

“I mean, I had a brief moment of hope the House might be getting their act together, but that sounds disastrous to me,” he added.

Johnson’s proposal comes days after his election as speaker. The House had endured months of turmoil as hard-line conservatives hounded his predecessor, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), for not moving aggressively enough to cut federal spending.

Johnson appears determined not to give those conservatives a reason to doubt his leadership.

Clawing back IRS funding — the Inflation Reduction Act approved $80 billion across 10 years — has been a goal of House Republicans since they assumed the majority in January. McCarthy won a largely symbolic concession in negotiations over the debt ceiling in the spring, successfully cutting $1.4 billion to be used in fiscal 2023, but conservatives want to zero out the remainder as part of the appropriations process.

At least one Democrat, centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), expressed openness to offsetting the Israel aid with IRA money — money he helped get signed into law as the deciding vote in the Senate.

He reasoned only $40 billion or $50 billion is needed for the agency to modernize.

But Democrats generally cast the proposal as something that would increase, not decrease, the deficit, given that hiring new agents helps the government pursue tax cheats.

“You can’t with a straight face say it’s an offset,” Van Hollen said. “That’s just a fabrication.”

Van Hollen reiterated the case defense hawks have been making for weeks — that considering Ukraine aid separately would spell disaster for the Eastern European ally’s war against Russia. The United States has so far committed more than $100 billion to the conflict.

“What the Republicans are saying — let’s be really clear — is they want to leave the Ukrainians to be pulverized by Putin and his forces,” he said.

The argument for joint aid has been made forcefully by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who stands with Schumer on the matter. He offered another impassioned plea for Ukraine aid while introducing Ukraine’s ambassador in Kentucky on Monday.

Yet Senate Republicans, even those who want to keep Biden’s supplemental intact, expressed a willingness to offset the Israel aid.

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“I would support that,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said on Monday, clarifying that the offset is a preference, not a red line for him.

On Tuesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee will hold a hearing on Biden’s supplemental request, which carries a price tag of $106 billion.