Florida House Democrats Split on Israel Military Funding Bill

WASHINGTON—The U.S. House of Representatives voted and passed the Israel Security Assistance Support Act (H.R. 8369), but House Democrats were split on the issue.  This Republican measure aimed at preventing President Joe Biden from halting any more military aid to Israel.

House members voted 224-187 with 19 not voting, to pass the measure, with Florida’s Democratic Caucus appeared fractured in the 224-187 vote margin as four of the seven members—Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Maxwell Frost, and Kathy Castor—all voting against the Israel military funding measure.

Reps. Jared Moskowitz, Lois Frankel, and Darren Soto, all voted in favor of the resolution.

Republicans filed the measure after President Biden threatened to cut military aid from Israel if they conducted offensive military operations into Rafah.

The Biden administration paused a shipment of 3,500 unguided munitions to Israel, most of which were 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs.

Rep. Wasserman Schultz’s “Nay” vote surprised most, but perhaps should not have.

Wasserman Schultz, who is Jewish-American and staunchly pro-Israel, took to the House floor where she called the Republican bill a divisive and “unserious bill” simply to score a “cheap political point.”

“Instead of uniting Congress in a bipartisan manner to defeat Hamas and unequivocally support Israel’s survival, House Republicans brought a divisive, unserious bill to the floor with the sole intention of dividing Americans and scoring cheap political points,” said Rep. Wasserman Schultz.

Wasserman Schultz’s office put out her remarks, where the congresswoman continued railing against House Republicans for putting forth a “dangerous, cynical, and counterproductive” piece of legislation

“I have and will continue to proudly vote to back Israel’s right to defend itself through the supplemental assistance bills and support their fight to eradicate Hamas as a threat, as well as humanitarian aid for Gazans used as human shields by Hamas.

“This bill would make America and Israel less safe. Undermining American security undercuts Israeli security. Threatening to defund our national security leadership, our military, and our diplomats who work nonstop in support of our ally Israel, would be profoundly damaging to our security and our interests.

“This is not pro-Israel legislation. It is dangerous, cynical, and counterproductive. It takes aim at Israel’s strong bipartisan support instead of uniting against Hamas.

“Today’s vote was a partisan stunt, which Republicans hoped would paper over their failure to provide aid to Israel for six months. I remain committed to working with my colleagues across the aisle on legislation and continued funding for our historic and vital partnership with Israel. This legislation did not rise to that standard.”—Rep. Wasserman Schultz