The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday rejected an amendment proposed by outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) that sought to eliminate $3.3 billion in foreign aid to Israel from the 2027 State Department funding bill.
The final vote was 104-314, with 10 lawmakers voting present. Massie was the sole Republican to vote in favor of the measure, while 103 Democrats supported it and 10 Democrats voted present.
During floor debate, Massie argued that the United States should prioritize domestic issues over foreign assistance, citing the nation’s rising national debt.
“Madam Chair, my amendment is simple. It strikes $3.3 billion of foreign aid to the country of Israel from the State Department funding bill,” Massie said. “You know, we’ve got $39.4 trillion of debt. We’ve got needs at home, which include our infrastructure, our roads and bridges. We’ve got a shortfall in that fund. We’ve got our locks and dams that we’re perpetually trying to figure out new funding mechanisms to come up with.”
Massie also contrasted the foreign aid allocation with funding for domestic programs.
“And we’ve got homeless veterans. And we’re sending more money to Israel in this bill than we spend on homeless veterans in this country,” Massie said. “Just to put it in perspective, there are 3,000 counties in this country, and if you divide that into $3 billion, that’s a million dollars from every county.”
He noted that Israel has historically been the top recipient of U.S. foreign assistance, stating that the country has received $310 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars over the years. Massie maintained that Israel’s current economic standing makes the financial support unnecessary.
“Israel has the strongest economy in the Middle East,” Massie said. “Their debt per GDP is in much better shape than ours. They don’t need our money. In fact, they’ve claimed recently they want to get off of the welfare.”
He expressed concern regarding alternative partnerships, adding, “But I’m concerned that the other funding mechanisms they’re talking about, or commingling our technology and supply chains, will have even less transparency than what’s going on here today. So I’m opposed to that as well.”
Massie stated that his opposition extends to all international assistance programs rather than focusing exclusively on one nation, noting that he introduced similar measures for other countries in the region.
“I’m opposed to all foreign aid,” Massie said. “I didn’t pick on Israel here. I’ve offered an amendment to defund Egypt and also to defund the aid to Jordan, which we’ll talk about in a little bit.”
However, Massie noted specific objections to this year’s funding given the ongoing conflict in the region.
“But I am particularly concerned this year about the foreign aid to Israel. There have been 70,000 casualties in Gaza. And I don’t think we should be part of that,” Massie said. “American taxpayers should not be conscripted into funding the military adventures of Israel.”
Following the defeat of the amendment, the base funding bill for the State Department moved forward in the legislative process.
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