House GOP’s Israel aid bill projected to grow deficit by $12.5B

House GOP’s Israel aid bill projected to grow deficit by $12.5B

The Congressional Budget Office dealt a blow to House Republicans’ Israel aid bill with a report Tuesday that outlines how the bill would increase the deficit.

The nonpartisan budget scorekeeper said the bill, which Republicans aimed to offset with spending cuts, would increase the federal deficit by $26.8 billion over the next decade.

The legislation is set to be a test of new Speaker Mike Johnson’s hold on his conference and ability to legislate.

“Only in Washington when you cut spending do they call it an increase in the deficit,” Johnson said Wednesday.

The bill would send $14.3 billion to Israel without additional funding for the war in Ukraine that President Joe Biden requested. Johnson’s bill aims to pay for the assistance to Israel with $14.5 billion in cuts to the IRS, which has struggled with understaffing. The IRS cuts alone would add $12.5 billion to the deficit, according to CBO.

The House bill, with the IRS cuts and no Ukraine aid, will hit a brick wall in the Senate. Democrats and many Republicans in that chamber support Ukraine aid, and Democrats aren’t interested in slashing the boosted IRS funding they passed just last year.

Jordain Carney, Caitlin Emma and Jennifer Haberkorn contributed to this report.

Clarification: This report has been updated to specify the overall deficit projection for the bill from the CBO and the specific deficit projection from the IRS cuts.

CLARIFICATION: This report has been updated to specify the overall deficit projection for the bill from the CBO and the specific deficit projection from the IRS cuts.