In order to reduce the deficit and control the federal budget it was necessary to “offset” the aid given to Israel and Ukraine with other programs.
In recent years, the practice of giving away free food has decreased due to pandemics and a general lack of budget discipline.
Republicans in Congress are trying to cut $14.3 billion from the IRS budget in order to aid Israel in its fight against Hamas. The money is part of an $80 billion budget increase for the IRS, which was part of the “Inflation Reduction Act”. The money was to be used “to improve customer service at the IRS” and auditing wealthy Americans.
I was assured that no one earning less than $250,000.00 a year would be included in increased supervision. You can buy bridges over the Chicago River for a bargain if you believe this.
Joe Biden last week proposed a $105 billion package that included military and humanitarian aid for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, as well as money for improving border security. Republicans are trying to separate aid to Israel from Ukraine so they can vote separately.
Democrats oppose splitting aid to Ukraine and Israel. Biden should use his legislative gambit to push through the hugely popular Israel Aid and to drag along with it the much less popular Ukraine Aid.
Karin Jean Pierre, a spokesperson for the White House, said the White House wasn’t happy with the request. She stated that it has “strong bipartisan support” and “politicizing the national security isn’t an option.”
She stated that the bipartisan process would not be followed if offsets were required to meet the core national security needs of the United States, such as supporting Israel or protecting Ukraine against atrocities and Russian imperialism. This could have devastating implications for future safety.
Republicans have had enough.
“I’m sick and tired of it all.”
Washington Post:
The GOP is determined to reverse Biden’s expansion in the IRS, which he achieved through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 increased funding for the IRS by 80 billion dollars. This was to provide better services to taxpayers and pay for more enforcement against wealthy tax cheats.
The GOP legislation would cut funding to the IRS in many areas. This includes increased enforcement and a portal that lets taxpayers file their taxes directly with the government. However, the legislation does not reduce funding to improve services for taxpayers which helped the IRS to reduce call waiting times.
While the offset proposal passed in the House, it was dead in the Senate. Nevertheless, it’s good to see Republicans consider offsets as a way to gain some control over the federal government budget.
