Congressman Cohen Votes Against Partisan Offset to Pay for Emergency Aid to Israel
Supports President’s supplemental request that includes humanitarian aid and aid to Ukraine and Taiwan
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) tonight voted against a cynical partisan measure that would provide emergency aid to Israel by cutting Internal Revenue Service (IRS) funding to go after tax cheats.
The measure passed on a vote of 226 to 196.
Congressman Cohen made the following statement:
“Under normal circumstances, I would support emergency aid to Israel, but not when it is tied to a Republican-inspired offset aimed at preventing the IRS from going after wealthy tax cheats. It is unprecedented to condition emergency funding for an ally, and a horrific precedent. Republicans claim we must offset any money we send to Israel in order to decrease the deficit, but the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report on Wednesday saying this Republican bill could add more than $26 billion to the deficit over the next ten years. I support the supplemental aid package President Biden sent us with aid for Israel and Ukraine – nations at war – and funding for humanitarian assistance for Palestinians and Israelis, funding to support Taiwan, funding for domestic defense manufacturing and money to assist management of the influx of migrants at the Mexico border. Playing partisan politics with aid to Israel, especially in its current crisis, is unacceptable.”
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