Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the case Tuesday that the United States should immediately send aid to Israel and Ukraine, testifying at a Senate hearing as the administration’s massive $105 billion emergency aid request for conflicts in those countries and others has already hit roadblocks in the divided Congress. President Joe Biden’s Cabinet secretaries are advocating for the foreign aid to a mostly friendly audience in the Senate, where majority Democrats and many Republicans support tying aid for the two countries together. But it faces much deeper problems in the Republican-led House, where new Speaker Mike Johnson has proposed cutting out the Ukraine aid and focusing on Israel alone, and cutting money for the Internal Revenue Service to pay for it. As the congressional divisions have only deepened, Blinken and Austin told the senators that broad support for the foreign aid would be a signal of American strength to adversaries. “We now stand at a moment where many are again making the bet that the United States is too divided or distracted at home to stay the course,” Blinken said. “That is what is at stake.” Austin said that if the United States fails to lead, ”the cost and the threats to the United States will only grow. We must not give our friends, our rivals, or our foes any reason to doubt America’s resolve.” The two secretaries were repeatedly interrupted by dozens of protesters calling for Israel to end its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, and the hearing had to be suspended as police cleared the room. “Cease fire now!” they yelled. “Save the children of Gaza!” Biden has requested $14.3 billion for Israel, $61.4 billion to support Ukraine and replenish Pentagon stockpiles of weapons that have already been provided, $9.1 billion for humanitarian efforts in Gaza, Israel, Ukraine and other places and $7.4 billion for the Indo-Pacific, where the U.S. is focused on countering China’s influence. The White House request also seeks roughly $14 billion to protect the U.S. border, including a boost in the number of border agents, the installation of new inspection machines to detect fentanyl and an increase in staffing to process asylum cases. The drastically narrowed House proposal, which would cost around $14.5 billion, faced immediate resistance among Senate Democrats — and put pressure on Senate Republicans who support the Ukraine aid but are conscious of growing concerns about it within their party. The differing approaches signal problems ahead for the aid as both countries engage in long-simmering, defining conflicts that Biden and many U.S. lawmakers say could have fundamental ramifications for the rest of the world. “Right now, America faces an unavoidable moment of truth: democracy and freedom are under attack around the globe in ways we have not seen since the end of the Cold War,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., shortly after House Republicans made their proposal public on Monday. He said Republicans should resist “the false allures of isolationism” as Russian President Vladimir Putin has worked to re-assert Russia as a global power and as Hamas has sought the total annihilation of Israel. Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., said at the start of the hearing that she and the panel’s top Republican, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, are writing “strong bipartisan legislation” […]
View Source: Read More
Recent Post
Gallery
Featured Videos
