Tipsheet

House Dems Block Last-Ditch Attempt to Reinstate $1B Iron Dome Funding

Spencer Brown
Spencer Brown  |  September 22, 2021 9:50 AM

As Reagan reported Tuesday afternoon, "House Democrats pulled the allotted $1 billion in funding for Israel’s Iron Dome from the continuing resolution spending bill on Tuesday, at the demand of progressive lawmakers who threatened to oppose the bill."

It was a stunt aimed at appeasing radical anti-Israel lawmakers that could have deadly consequences for U.S. ally Israel on the same day President Biden pledged at the United Nations that "the United States will continue to defend ourselves, our allies, and our interests against attack, including terrorist threats, as we prepare to use force if any is necessary." Clearly, President Biden is not on the same page as his radical congressional compatriots. 

In a final attempt to preserve funding for Israel's Iron Dome defense system as originally included in the continuing resolution, Representative Kay Granger (R-TX) took to the House floor Tuesday night to offer a motion to recommit in order to restore funding for Israel's defense.

“My amendment would provide $1 billion to replenish Israel's Iron Dome security system," Granger explained. "Four months ago, Israel was under attack from terrorists. The rocket fire into Israel was on a scale that had never been seen before."

“Countless civilian lives were saved because of the Iron Dome system that the United States has supported year after year," Granger added. "Because of the attacks this spring, Iron Dome rocket interceptors need to be restored immediately."

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"Members have expressed their support for this funding for months, so has the President of the United States, and so has the Secretary of Defense," Granger noted of previously stated support for the aid to Israel.

“Now is the time to ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself in the face of real and growing threats," said Granger. "This is a commonsense motion that would fund the Iron Dome system and reassure our ally that America will never turn its back on the great State of Israel.”

In the end, 214 Democrats in the House voted to block Granger's motion to recommit, joined by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie (KY).

Even though some Democrats and their allies in the media may try to claim that the opposition to helping Israel defend itself from rocket attacks from its neighboring enemies comes from a few woke members of Congress, Tuesday night's vote in the House suggests that anti-Israel sentiment pervades the Democratic caucus.

For their part, House Democratic leaders claimed to Israel that the $1 billion removed Tuesday will somehow be approved and sent "in the near future," blaming their willful removal of the aid from Tuesday's bill on "a technical delay."