Scholten Statement on Speaker Johnson’s Israel Supplemental that Fails to Meet the Moment, Adds Billions to Deficit

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Hillary Scholten (MI-03) released the below statement after voting against Speaker Mike Johnson’s Israel supplemental, which did not include much-needed humanitarian assistance for the region, but did include an unprecedented “offset” in cuts to the Internal Revenue Service that will actually add at least $12.5B to the deficit in the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office:

“Just last week, more than 400 bipartisan members of the House came together to condemn Hamas and show our strong support for Israel, underscoring how united this body is in our support for our democratic ally. Instead of putting a bipartisan emergency Israel aid package on the floor, Speaker Johnson, in an unprecedented move, chose to prioritize an extreme Republican policy wish list item. 

Not only that, this package fails to include much-needed humanitarian aid for innocent civilians in Israel and Gaza, and has no chance of becoming law. These theatrics are further delaying our ability to provide critical assistance during this time of crisis for our strong ally. This sends a false and dangerous signal that we are not committed to supporting our democratic partners around the world.

Also, of deep concern to me, as someone who prioritizes fiscal responsibility with our taxpayer resources, is that this bill ADDS $12.5B to the deficit. Republicans are showing once again that they need a math lesson–this is not a budget cut, it takes our deficit in the wrong direction.

Speaker Johnson needs to immediately work with Democrats in Congress and the White House on a package that meets this critical moment. The world is watching. We have no time to waste.”

Since coming to Congress, Rep. Scholten – a member of the Abraham Accords Caucus – has co-sponsored several pieces of legislation to support our democratic ally, Israel – including the U.S.-Israel Partnership and Abraham Accords Enhancement Act, a resolution acknowledging the special relationship between the U.S. and Israel and affirms the U.S’ support for Israeli democracy, and a resolution to condemn Hamas terrorism and reaffirm Israel’s right to defend itself following the terrorist organization’s deadly attack in early October.