US House Passes Defense Bill With Over $600 Million in Israel Aid
US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson stands in the House of Representatives ahead of US President Joe Biden’s third State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, March 7, 2024. Photo: Shawn Thew/Pool via REUTERS
The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a massive defense bill which included over $600 million in defense aid for Israel.
The legislation, titled the “Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025,” allocated $500 million in US-Israel missile defense cooperation, $47.5 million for US-Israel cooperation on technology development, and $80 million for a US-Israel anti-tunneling effort.
The legislation also included a provision which would mandate the creation of the United States and Israel Trauma and Amputee Rehabilitation Education and Training Program. In addition, the bill would ban the US Department of Defense from using casualty data provided by the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
“In making assessments of casualties and fatalities during hostilities, the Department of Defense may not cite as authoritative in public communications, fatality figures that are derived by United States-designated terrorist organizations, governmental entities controlled by United States-designated terrorist organizations, or any sources that rely on figures provided by United States-designated terrorist organizations,” the legislation reads.
In the year following Hamas’s invasion of southern Israel last Oct.7, the Biden administration has come under scrutiny over its repeated use of casualty figures provided by the Gaza Health Ministry. In February, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin cited its casualty numbers during a congressional hearing. President Joe Biden also sparked outrage after he cited the Hamas-run entity’s data during his annual State of the Union speech.
The National Defense Authorization Act passed the House by a margin of 281-140. The bill fractured Democrats, with 81 voting in favor of the legislation. Moreover, 14 Republicans voted against the legislation.
The legislation still needs approval by the Senate before being signed into law by Biden.
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