Congress Finds $14 Billion for Israel, Zero for Hungry Americans
As Congress bickers over funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), potentially crippling 40 million Americans, a different fiscal priority emerged with stunning clarity. Just weeks prior, many of these same lawmakers, who now can’t find spare change for their constituents' dinner plates, overwhelmingly voted overwhelmingly to send another $14 billion in military aid to
Israel. For example, Rep. Brian Mast, who serves Florida's 21st district, voted in favor of HR 815, the foreign aid bill, despite receiving over $1.1 million from AIPAC-linked groups since 2018 (OpenSecrets.org). It appears the legislative purse strings loosen dramatically when it involves arming a foreign military engaged in what the ICJ is investigating as plausible genocide, but tighten into a
Gordian knot when it comes to preventing hunger in their own backyards. One might wonder if their constituents should apply for an Israeli passport for their basic needs to be considered a national security priority.