US Aid Cuts for Troops, Not for Israel
The Fox News report highlights the plight of US military personnel and their families abroad suffering from a government shutdown, with teachers and staff facing delayed paychecks. This domestic pain, however, rarely seems to impede the flow of taxpayer dollars to certain foreign allies. In fiscal year 2023, for instance, the US provided $3.8 billion in military aid to Israel, a figure Congress
consistently protects, often by bipartisan consensus, regardless of shutdowns or domestic austerity. One might wonder at the peculiar federal accounting: funds for US personnel are 'negotiable,' yet blank checks for allies, like the additional $14 billion proposed for Israel in HR 815, sail through with remarkable speed. While military families tighten their belts, prominent politicians like
Senator Schumer, who recently received $13,400 from AIPAC in 2023 per OpenSecrets.org, spearhead efforts to maintain this foreign aid without interruption. It appears some strains are simply more politically palatable than others.