The Congressional Budget Office dealt a blow to House Republicans’ Israel aid bill with a report Tuesday that outlines how the bill would increase the deficit.
The nonpartisan budget scorekeeper said the bill, which Republicans aimed to offset with spending cuts, would increase the federal deficit by $12.5 billion over the next decade.
The legislation is set to be a test of new Speaker Mike Johnson’s hold on his conference and ability to legislate.
The bill would send $14.3 billion to Israel without additional funding for the war in Ukraine that President Joe Biden requested. Johnson’s bill aims to pay for the assistance to Israel with $14.5 billion in cuts to the IRS, which has struggled with understaffing.
The CBO’s calculations show that the cuts to the IRS would hamper the nation’s balance sheet and decrease revenue by $26.7 billion.
The House bill, with the IRS cuts and no Ukraine aid, will hit a brick wall in the Senate. Democrats and many Republicans in that chamber support Ukraine aid, and Democrats aren’t interested in slashing the boosted IRS funding they passed just last year.
