Republican Senators Introduce Stand-Alone Israel Aid Bill

The bill would give Israel an additional $14 billion in military aid

A group of Republican senators have introduced a bill that would give Israel $14.3 billion in additional military aid to support its onslaught on Gaza, separating the funds from the $105 billion request from President Biden that includes funding for Ukraine, Taiwan, and border security.

The bill was introduced by Sens. Roger Marshall (R-KS), J.D. Vance (R-OH), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Ted Cruz (R-TX). It would provide $10.6 billion for Israel through the Pentagon, $3.5 billion for the State Department’s Foreign Military Financing program, and $200 million to help protect US diplomatic facilities. Israel already receives $3.8 billion in military aid from the US each year.

The senators want to separate spending for Israel from Ukraine so additional military aid can be sent to Israel as quickly as possible. President Biden’s request includes about $61 billion for the Ukraine proxy war, an amount that’s expected to be able to fund the conflict for an entire year.

“My colleagues and I firmly believe that any aid to Israel should not be used as leverage to send tens of billions of dollars to Ukraine. Any package that does so would result in funds and resources being delayed in Israel’s time of need,” Marshall said. “The legislation we’ve introduced provides the aid to Israel requested by the Biden Administration and should be considered by the Senate immediately.”

The US has already shipped additional military equipment to Israel and deployed a huge amount of firepower to the region, including two aircraft carrier strike groups and additional fighter jets. The US has also sent military advisors to Israel and is deeply involved in the planning for Israel’s expected ground invasion. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, Israel’s relentless bombing campaign since the October 7 Hamas attack has killed over 7,000 Palestinians, including nearly 3,000 children.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.