Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
House Passes Foreign Aid Bills
In a rare Saturday session, the House of Representatives passed four bills to send aid for allies of the US. The grand total comes to $95 billion or so. That seems like a lot until one considers that the F-35 program has cost America $2 trillion with very little improvement in national security. This funding makes America safer by supporting allies. These bills should have been passed months ago, but Republican infighting and the cowardice of the Speaker delayed the votes. Indeed, it still took Democratic votes to get these bills through the process. From here, the Senate will likely pass the bills and Mr. Biden will sign them into law. Better late than never.
The most important bill is the one that keeps Ukraine in the field against Russian aggression. The Ukrainians will receive almost $61 billion in military equipment (not cash). They will receive more Patriot anti-missile batteries, F-16 support and ammunition. The majority of Republicans voted against this measure. Reuters reported, "The vote on passage of the Ukraine funding was 311-112. Significantly, 112 Republicans opposed the legislation, with only 101 in support."
The Israeli aid bill had an easier time of it thanks to the Iranian attack on Israel earlier last week. Reuters also said "Saturday's vote, in which the Israel aid was passed 366-58, had 37 Democrats and 21 Republicans in opposition." Opposition from the right came from the usual isolationists. The Democrats who voted against it are pro-Palestinian lefties who decided that they did not want to approve $9.1 billion in humanitarian aid to Gaza as part of a $26 billion aid package. Yes, the Israelis will get more weapons (they do not need any for short- or medium-term actions), but the starving in Gaza will get fed.
Meanwhile, the $8.12 billion for Taiwan and other partners in the Indo-Pacific sailed through. The PRC will not be pleased, but it is deterrence.
Finally, there was a bill that requires the Chinese owners of TikTok to divest themselves within a year. The access the ChiCom government has to all the data on TikTok users is a national security risk, so some say. This journal cares not one whit about ownership of the app. It seems to be a very minor threat if it is a threat at all. But it made the GOP happy.
Of course, this now puts the job of Speaker Mike Johnson at risk. Marjorie Taylor-Greene has put a motion to vacate the chair on the table of the House, but she has not called the question yet. She sounded like she might act. "Mike Johnson is a lame duck . . . he's done," she told reporters after the bills passed.
Two others in the House GOP have joined her. One expected her to make her move once these bills hit the floor of the House. However, the House went into recess Saturday without any motion on that front. The reason is quite simple. The votes to oust the Speaker are not there.
They barked, of course, despite the lack of bite. Representative Bob Good, chair of the hardline House Freedom Caucus, told reporters on Friday that the bills represent a "slide down into the abyss of greater fiscal crisis and America-last policies that reflect Biden and [Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer and [ Democratic leader Hakeem] Jeffries, and don't reflect the American people."
Like most rightists, Mr. Good cannot count. The bills passed with a majority of the House that reflects the will of the American people better than any other federal body. And the districts the yeas represent have many more people than those that voted against. So, they do reflect the wishes of the American people.
But that is typical. Conservatives know the cost of everything but the value of nothing.
© Copyright 2024 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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