During his October 26 television show (video below), Sean Hannity interviewed newly-elected House Speaker Mike Johnson. One of the issues the two discussed was President Biden’s proposed military aid packages for Ukraine and Israel. Biden has proposed $61 billion in new aid for Ukraine, and $14.5 billion for Israel.
The American people are very concerned about increases in government spending because we are nearly bankrupt. We hold $33 trillion in government debt, we have ballooning interest expenses, and any new spending we will fund through loans with high interest rates.
Johnson clearly understands these concerns, and he attempted to address them in his discussion of the Biden military aid package.
Regarding the Ukraine military aid, Johnson said (time stamp 17:15) that “the American people are demanding some real accountability for the use of those dollars…(in Ukraine)”, and that Congress “has a stewardship responsibility over the precious treasure of the American people”. He therefore says the White House must specify how those dollars will be used, the objective, and what the endgame is.
Regarding the Israel military aid, Johnson says (time stamp 18:56) that the House is putting together a standalone spending measure, and that the aid will be funded through offsetting spending cuts elsewhere.
Offsetting the increased spending on aid to Israel by taking spending cuts elsewhere does not assuage Americans’ concerns. Even if the increased spending is offset by cuts elsewhere, the fact remains that the American people are still going to be taking out loans to fund the $14.5 billion in aid to Israel. Let that sink in: the American people will still be taking out loans and then handing that cash over to another country to fund its war.
Just as with Ukraine, the American people need to better understand why we would take out $14.5 billion in loans, and then give that money to another country to fund its war. There are two things Congress must do to provide that accountability.
First, Congress must show the American people Israel’s balance sheet so we see whether Israel actually needs the money. If Israel has sufficient cash to cover its future war expenditures, then there’s no need for the American people to take out loans to pay Israel’s war bills.
Second, if Israel does not have the cash to fund its war, then the American people need to be shown that Israel has bad credit and can’t take out its own loans to fund its war.
If Congress can show the American people those two things — that Israel has run out of cash, and that it has poor credit and therefore can’t get its own loans — then the American people can decide whether they want to take out loans on Israel’s behalf and have their great grandchildren pay them off.
Mike Johnson seems like a great guy, and he presents himself in a very dignified manner. However, he needs to work a bit on the consistency thing. His willingness to hold aid to Ukraine to one standard of accountability, and aid to Israel to a lesser standard, smacks of insincerity and betrays his dignified facade.
