Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky) Monday delayed and expedited Senate bill on funding for Israel's Iron Dome defense system. While the bill, which has sparked controversy in the House, is still certain to pass, Paul's stunt effectively means that that it is unclear when the Senate would vote on the $1 billion in funding for Iron Dome replenishment.
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Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) presented the Iron Dome funding bill to the Senate floor after the House voted to advance the legislation earlier this month. Menendez sought to expedite the vote on the bill, thus skipping a more formal debate and vote on the matter.
Paul foiled Menendez's effort by presenting an amendment to the bill that requires the Iron Dome funding to come from $6 billion in proposed US assistance to Afghanistan. Menendez rejected Paul's proposal, bringing the process to a halt.
Paul, a fiscal hawk notorious for blocking spending bills, is one of the most outspoken opponents of foreign assistance and has, in the past, proposed eliminating assistance to Israel altogether. A spokesperson for the Kentucky senator told Politico on Monday that Paul will drop his objection to the Iron Dome funding if the money came out of the $6 billion earmarked as assistance to the now Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
"The justification for my proposal for paying this is simple," Paul said. "Only an economically strong United States can be a militarily strong ally of Israel. I support Israel; I've voted for hundreds of millions of dollars to support Iron Dome. I'm glad the United States has a strong bond with Israel, but the United States cannot give money it does not have no matter how strong our relationship is. The United States is approaching $30 trillion in debt. Our out-of-control spending added $3 trillion to the debt just in this fiscal year."
He further argued that "it is very clear and very important that it be very clear that I've offered to fully pay for the Iron Some system with an extra billion dollars," and that "the objection is coming from the Democrat side. They're objecting to it being paid for. We've offered this fund of $6 billion."
Today, @RandPaul joined @AOC, @Ilhan, @RashidaTlaib, @RepThomasMassie in not supporting emergency funding for Iron Dome.
Their objections to funding Iron Dome undermine Israel's security, cost innocent lives, make war more likely, and embolden Iran-backed terrorists.
— AIPAC (@AIPAC) October 4, 2021
He warned that "a day of reckoning is coming sooner than you think," adding that "The billion dollars under consideration today is on top of the more than 1.6 billion the US has already given for Iron Dome, and that's not all. The US provides Israel with just under $4 billion in aid annually. To date, the United States has provided over $146 billion in aid to Israel. In addition to Iron Dome, the US has helped Israel fund other missile defense systems as well. We spent 2 billion on David Sling and 3.7 billion on Arrow programs," he said.
Menendez rejected Paul's amendment saying it would "slash refugee assistance being used at this very moment to evacuate and resettle US allies and partners who served alongside Americans in the war on terror."
Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman stressed that in reality "US dollars are not going to the Taliban, nor will they. ... Senator Paul's amendment would actually raid the funding that delivers life-saving humanitarian aid to the Afghan people, and they need it more than ever."
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Christian United For Israel, and the Republican Jewish Coalition slammed Paul's move.
"Iron Dome is a matter of life and death for Israelis and Palestinians, and Sen. Paul, true to form, is treating the replenishment of this vital system as a political game..." said CUFI founder and Chairman Pastor John Hagee.https://t.co/T5jDxHMUVw#israel #irondome
— Christians United for Israel (@CUFI) October 4, 2021
"Iron Dome is a matter of life and death for Israelis and Palestinians, and Senator Paul, true to form, is treating the replenishment of this vital system as a political game," said CUFI founder and Chairman Pastor John Hagee.
"Whatever concerns he has on other issues should be addressed in a manner that does not put innocent lives at risk," Hagee said. "The legislation he is blocking advanced through the House of Representatives with overwhelming bipartisan support. Senator Paul needs to stop playing games with the safety of the Israeli people."
"Today, Rand Paul joined Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Thomas Massie in not supporting emergency funding for Iron Dome," AIPAC tweeted.
"Their objections to funding Iron Dome undermine Israel's security, cost innocent lives, make war more likely, and embolden Iran-backed terrorists."
"America stands with Israel unequivocally. Period. Full stop." - @SenTedCruz #standwithIsrael
— Christians United for Israel (@CUFI) October 4, 2021
Republican Jewish Coalition Executive Director Matt Brooks said issued a statement saying, "This is a very different scenario from when radical Democrats in the House opposed funding for the Iron Dome self-defense system because of their hostility to Israel."
"Senator Paul, who is a friend of Israel, is objecting not because he doesn't support the critical work of Iron Dome, but because he wants to see additional budget cuts to offset the cost," said Brooks. "We have communicated to Senator Paul that we recognize his concerns, but there should be no roadblocks put up to slow this critical funding for the life-saving Iron Dome system."
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