'There are American hostages': House GOP slammed for 'exploiting a war to pass a tax cut'

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30 October 2023

The House GOP under Speaker Mike Johnson has put forth legislation to provide aid to Israel for its war against Hamas terrorists, but in what some say is an unprecedented move Republicans are claiming they must include “offsets” to pay for the $14.3 billion package. Those “offsets,” or “pay-fors,” some say, will actually cost Americans more money: they come from cuts to the IRS.

Punchbowl News cofounder Jake Sherman reports the “offset will NEVER, EVER fly. Dems will reject it out of hand.”

Aaron Fritschner, the Deputy Chief of Staff for U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) points out: “This is not an ‘offset’ and the use of that word in this context is not appropriate. Every relevant authority from CBO [Congressional Budget Office] on down has said that cutting IRS funding this way would *increase* deficits. This isn’t an offset, it’s exploiting a war to pass a tax cut for the rich.”

U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) says it is an “obvious trap set by unserious people.”

“Was this in the Bible?” Moskowitz adds, appearing to refer to the large number of reports detailing Speaker Mike Johnson’s Christian nationalism. “To choose between Israel and the IRS. This is dead in the Senate. It violates Republicans single subject spending rule. It adds to the deficit. Playing political games with Israel’s security. I will support Israel.”

“Foreign Policy and National Security being conducted as a future political mailer,” Moskowitz later added. “’You chose the IRS over Israel’. I am not going to take the bait. There are American Hostages. This is not a game.”

Fritschner goes one step further, noting that the Congressional Budget Office’s “score” of the bill’s impact “will not be accurate because the bill ends with a section in which the Republicans instruct CBO not to count the effects of the bill that increase the deficit!”

“Fool people into believing you are cutting deficits using this one weird trick,” he adds, mockingly.

Mother Jones’ Washington, D.C. Bureau Chief David Corn labels the bill, “Helping the wealthy get away with cheating on their taxes so Israel has more bombs to drop.”

Colin Seeberge, a senior adviser at the liberal public policy research organization, Center for American Progress, writes: “This isn’t a pay-for, it’s a back door tax cut for the wealthy. Just outrageous.”

Journalist John Harwood: “House GOP’s price for helping Israel: making it easier for rich people to cheat on their taxes.”

Mark McDevitt, Chief of Staff to U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan (D-MA), blasted Republicans: “Deeply f*cking unserious people during very f*cking serious times. What a disgrace.”

Matt Glassman, Ph.D., of Georgetown University’s Government Affairs Institute sarcastically called the GOP’s bill a “galaxy-brain move.”

“‘Offsetting’ spending by cutting IRS funding is such a galaxy-brain move, since you could also offset it by *increasing* IRS funding,” Glassman writes.

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