Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) and his Republican colleagues in the Senate sent a letter to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) demanding that federal funding for Israel “not be leveraged for more Ukraine funding.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, President Joe Biden (D) prepared to request $100 billion in funding for both Israel and Ukraine.
Sen. Scott’s press release shared the opinion of the letter; the two wars are “separate conflicts that cannot be considered with the same weight.
“We write today in the wake of over 1,400 Israeli civilians and at least 30 American citizens having been killed over the last week after brutal Hamas terrorists invaded Israel. Other Americans remain unaccounted for,” wrote Sen. Scott and his colleagues. “Hamas has slaughtered farmers on their kibbutzim, massacred teenagers attending an outdoor concert, desecrated the bodies of raped and murdered women, and stolen children from their homes.”
The senators continued, saying it would be “irresponsible” to try and couple funding for Israel and Ukraine together.
“That being said, we know there will no doubt be efforts to attach any funding to Israel to more aid to Ukraine, in excess of the already $113 billion Congress has provided to Ukraine. These are two separate conflicts and it would be wrong to leverage support of aid to Israel in attempt to get additional aid for Ukraine across the finish line,” penned Scott and the legislators. “Furthermore, it would be irresponsible and we should not risk a government shutdown by bundling these priorities together and thus complicating the process and lessening the likelihood of a funding package.”
They concluded with a final request, stating, “We urge you to keep separate attempts to provide military aid to Israel from additional funds to Ukraine or other matters.”
Sen. Scott joined Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS) in this letter.
Signees of the letter included Senators Mike Lee (R-UT), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Mike Braun (R-IN), J.D. Vance (R-OH), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Josh Hawley (R-MO).
This is not the first time that the President has tried to couple Ukraine funding with other tragic events.
As Hurricane Idalia was fast approaching the Gulf Coast of Florida, CNN’s Jake Tapper questioned the Biden administration’s decision to couple emergency funding for the recent natural disasters with funding for the Ukraine war effort.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told Tapper that “I don’t want to get into hypotheticals,” and that “The President put forward what he thinks is incredibly important that we need.”
Sen. Scott responded, saying that the effects felt by Hurricane Idalia are not “hypothetical.”
Floridians are facing once-in-a-lifetime devastation & destruction from #Idalia. This isn’t a “hypothetical.” It’s Florida families’ livelihoods, and my Federal Disaster Responsibility Act makes sure the federal government shows up.
Stop playing politics. Floridians can’t wait. pic.twitter.com/4xz4hqbh5V
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) August 30, 2023
“Floridians are facing a once-in-a-lifetime devastation & destruction from Idalia. This isn’t a ‘hypothetical.’ It’s Florida families’ livelihoods, and my Federal Disaster Responsibility Act makes sure the federal government shows up. Stop playing politics. Floridians can’t wait,” stated Sen. Scott.
This is a developing story.
