WASHINGTON (JTA) — Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky is the latest lawmaker to receive on the way $1 billion in new aid to Israel to refill its Iron Dome anti-missile system.
Paul on Thursday revealed himself to be a single senator and refused to “hotline” the bill, now approved by the US House of Representatives. “Hotlining” occurs when all 100 senators agree to allow a bill to go straight to the floor for a vote, greatly speeding up the process.
Paul is one of the most vocal opponents of foreign aid, and several years ago proposed an end to aid to Israel. Now, a spokesman for Paul told Politico that Paul will drop his objection to the Iron Dome hotlining if the $1 billion comes from the proposed aid to Afghanistan.
Paul’s stand is the latest wrinkle in a funding request that has shaken Congress. Progressives called last-minute plans by Democratic leadership in the House to slip money into an unrelated emergency stopgap government funding bill that included congressional conventions.
Instead, Democratic leadership pushed funding into a standalone bill, which the House approved after a brief debate. The standalone bill passed overwhelmingly, including progressives in the Democratic caucus.
Israel sought $1 billion to replenish supplies after Israel’s Gaza conflict in May, in addition to the $500 million that the Iron Dome receives each year.
Final tally of House vote on Iron Dome funding bill, September 23, 2021. (screen capture/c-span)
On Twitter, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee urged Paul to “stand with our ally Israel.”
“Withholding emergency funding to ensure Israel can protect its citizens from terrorist rockets rewards Hamas and undermines America’s interests and values,” the lobby said.
The bill is still expected to be passed by an overwhelming majority of the Senate, and a vote could still take place in the coming days.