The Kentucky Senator said that while he supports the Iron Dome, he thinks “it should be paid for.” CUFI: “Senator Paul, is treating the replenishment of this vital system as a political game.”
WASHINGTON – Republican Senator Rand Paul delayed on Monday a vote to fast track a bill that would have provided Israel with a billion dollars for Iron Dome replenishment. More than ten days after the House of Representatives passed a suspension bill to replenish Israel’s Iron Dome system, it is still not clear when the Senate would vote on it.
In recent days, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and Christian United For Israel (CUFI) pressed Paul to support the bill. Paul on Thursday revealed himself to be the single senator refusing to “hotline” the bill now that it has been approved by the US House of Representatives. “Hotlining” is when all 100 senators agree to allow a bill to go straight to the floor for a vote, substantially accelerating the process.
Paul is one of the most outspoken opponents of foreign assistance, and for a period a number of years ago proposed eliminating assistance to Israel. Now, a spokesperson for Paul told Politico that Paul will drop his objection to the Iron Dome hotlining if the $1 billion comes from proposed assistance to Afghanistan.
The debate started when Senator Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) introduced the motion to fast track the bill, and asked the Senate for unanimous consent. “There is no conceivable reason why anyone in this chamber on either side of the aisle should stand in the way of US support for this lifesaving defense to be fully ready for the next attack,” said Menendez. “I strongly urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join the House of Representatives in passing this funding on a broadly bipartisan effort.”
Senator Paul objected to the motion and said that while he supports the Iron Dome, he thinks “it should be paid for.”
“I think the American taxpayer dollars that pay for it should come from money that could go to the Taliban,” said Paul. He suggested taking the funds from some $6 billion in it that was designated for the Afghan government. “That money, I think, could be spent on the Taliban, if we do not rescind that money.”
“The justification for my proposal for paying this is simple,” he continued. “Only an economically strong United States can be a militarily strong ally of Israel. I support Israel; I’ve voted for hundreds of millions of dollars to support Iron Dome. I’m glad the United States has a strong bond with Israel, but the United States cannot give money it does not have no matter how strong our relationship is. The United States is approaching $30 trillion in debt. Our out of control spending added 3 trillion to the debt just in this fiscal year.”
Menendez rejected Paul’s amendment and clarified he opposes it. “This amendment would slash refugee assistance being used at this very moment to evacuate and resettle US allies and partners who served alongside Americans in the war on terror,” he said.
“The reality is that US dollars are not going to the Taliban, nor will they,” Menendez continued. “Let me be clear, no US foreign aid will go to a Taliban-controlled Afghan government. This does not mean that we remain any less committed to supporting the Afghan people. On the contrary. US humanitarian aid could be routed through highly vetted partners like the world food program that we trust to put the interests of the Afghan people first. So let me be clear. Senator Paul’s amendment would actually raid the funding that delivers life-saving humanitarian aid to the Afghan people, and they need it more than ever.”
ON THE OTHER HAND, Paul argued that “it is very clear and very important that it be very clear that I’ve offered to fully pay for the iron dome system with an extra billion dollars,” and that “the objection is coming from the Democrat side. They’re objecting to it being paid for. We’ve offered this fund of 6 billion.”
He warned that “a day of reckoning is coming sooner than you think.”
He said that “Interest on the debt will be larger than what we spend on national defense in just a few years,” and that “if the debt weakens us to the point where we have difficulty funding our own military needs, how can the United States continue to be a reliable ally to Israel? Getting our fiscal house in order does not mean that we are failing to support Israel. Far from it.”
“The billion dollars under consideration today is on top of the more than 1.6 billion the US has already given for Iron Dome,” said Paul.
“And that’s not all. The US provides Israel with just under $4 billion in aid annually. To date, the United States has provided over $146 billion in aid to Israel. In addition to Iron Dome, the US has helped Israel fund other missile defense systems as well. We spent 2 billion on David Sling and 3.7 billion on Arrow programs,” he said.
“I know my colleague has not been particularly supportive of foreign aid in general and in this case in particular, but the reality is that we have an opportunity here,” Menendez replied. “I’m convinced that Iron Dome will get done. We will get the resources to our ally, the state of Israel, but it’s a shame that we have to have the uncertainty that is pending as a result of the objection.”
CUFI condemned Paul after his vote. “Iron Dome is a matter of life and death for Israelis and Palestinians, and Senator Paul, true to form, is treating the replenishment of this vital system as a political game,” said CUFI founder and Chairman Pastor John Hagee.
“Whatever concerns he has on other issues should be addressed in a manner that does not put innocent lives at risk,” Hagee said. “The legislation he is blocking advanced through the House of Representatives with overwhelming bipartisan support. Senator Paul needs to stop playing games with the safety of the Israeli people.”
AIPAC also sharply criticized the Senator. “Today, Rand Paul joined Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Thomas Massie in not supporting emergency funding for Iron Dome,” AIPAC tweeted.
“Their objections to funding Iron Dome undermine Israel’s security, cost innocent lives, make war more likely, and embolden Iran-backed terrorists.”
As reported by The Jerusalem Post