News/Commentary

‘Dead on arrival’: Tom Cotton throws cold water on Biden’s $105B request over ‘needs of Gazans’

October 22, 2023 | | Print Article

In a statement on Friday, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) pronounced President Joe Biden’s $105 billion request for foreign aid to be “dead on arrival.”

As BizPac Review reported, President Biden, in a national address from the Oval Office, announced that he was “going to send to Congress an urgent budget request to fund America’s national security needs, to support our critical partners, including Israel and Ukraine.”

Biden conflated Israel’s fight against Hamas terrorists with Ukraine’s border war against Russian President Vladimir Putin, stating, “Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but they share this in common: They both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy, completely annihilate it.”

In his supplemental spending proposal, $60 billion was earmarked for Ukraine, while Israel would reportedly receive $10 billion, and, according to Cotton, $3.5 billion would go to assist Gazans.

“President Biden’s slush fund proposal is dead on arrival, just like his budgets,” Cotton stated. “We will not spend, for example, $3.5 billion to address the ‘potential needs of Gazans,’ essentially functioning as a resupply line for Hamas terrorists.”

“We will also not spend $11.8 billion to fund the Ukrainian government’s own non-war spending, such as funding retirement pensions for Ukrainian government employees,” the senator continued. “Nor will we spend $4.7 billion for housing, transportation, and ‘services’ for illegal aliens in the United States rather than deporting them.”

On X, other Republican lawmakers are echoing Cotton’s resolve.

“I’m voting NO for money to defend foreign countries borders and if Joe wants to do something about our border then put a moratorium on immigration and deport ALL the illegals he let in!!” exclaimed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). “The American people can’t afford to fund Joe’s foreign wars anymore!!”

Biden’s bid for billions comes as House Republicans continue their struggle to elect a speaker — a fact Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) noted.

“You know why we fight the establishment?” Roy asked. “B/c the next Speaker will negotiate Biden ask for UNPAID FOR supplemental spending of up to $118 billion, incl: $8-12bb Taiwan, 60-80bb Ukraine, 10bb Israel, 4-8bb Border, 8bb Global Humanitarian aid which will provide no real checks on Ukraine, offer ZERO actual border security while providing more money to process more people, provide billions of humanitarian aid (how much to Hamas?), & continue to rack up mountains of debt.”

“Enough,” Roy stated, adding “#JordanForSpeaker #BeatTheSwamp.”

Unfortunately, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) repeatedly failed to get the votes needed to secure the gavel and was booted from consideration in a closed-door vote.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is pressing for the quick passage of Biden’s package.

“This legislation is too important to wait for the House to settle their chaos,” he said, according to the Daily Wire. “Senate Democrats will move expeditiously on this request, and we hope that our Republican colleagues across the aisle will join us to pass this much-needed funding.”

Unsurprisingly, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has voiced his support for the aid package, but said the Senate “must produce our own supplemental legislation that meets the demonstrated needs of our national security.”

While Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) supports the aid to Ukraine, he fears it is in “serious jeopardy.”

“I support aid to Israel and Ukraine,” he said on X. “But without meaningful and substantive policy changes that will address the #BidenBorderCrisis such aid is in serious jeopardy. No more money should be spent simply to facilitate current border policy.”

Senator Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) said that handing the Biden administration more money for the border is “insanity.”

“Giving the Biden Admin more money to fuel its disastrous open-borders resettlement operation is insanity,” he said. “It would worsen the border crisis, not stop it.”

Cotton remains optimistic that Republican senators will step up.

“The Biden proposal is going nowhere,” he said in his statement, “and Senate Republicans will take the lead on crafting a funding bill that protects Americans and their interests.”

 

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