House GOP’s $14B Israel aid bill offset with cuts to IRS cash in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act

House Republicans have attached an aid package to Israel worth $14 billion to the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, which calls for cuts to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) funding in order to pay for the measure. The package, which was included in the Republican-sponsored bill, would provide $1.5 billion for Israel’s missile defense system and $12.5 billion for various diplomatic and defense projects.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) justified the funding by saying that it would help to promote peace and stability in the Middle East, while also protecting Israel from Iran’s attempts to gain nuclear capabilities. The funding was included in the package despite President Biden’s campaign promises to reduce flowery military spending, and Republicans argued that the aid would be beneficial to both countries.

According to reports, in order to offset the cost of the package, the bill would result in cuts to the IRS’s budget, which is already stretched thin and has seen multiple cuts since President Trump took office in 2017. President Biden has argued that cutting the IRS’s budget would make it more difficult for the agency to carry out its mission of collecting taxes and enforcing tax laws. Democrats have also expressed concern that cuts to the IRS could make it more difficult for average Americans to file their taxes.