U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) joined a group of colleagues Tuesday in urging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to oppose President Joe Biden’s funding request for humanitarian efforts in Gaza.
Biden, in his $105 billion funding proposal for Ukraine and Israel, requested approximately $9 billion of the funds be dedicated towards “life-saving humanitarian assistance in Gaza and support for Palestinian refugees in the West Bank and surrounding areas.”
Biden's request to send $9 billion in aid to Gaza is akin to funneling aid directly to Hamas.
I led my Senate colleagues in a letter to @SenSchumer urging him to reject Biden's grossly irresponsible funding request. pic.twitter.com/LoJMo3Xrq2
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) October 31, 2023
“We are writing to demand that, during Israel’s existential war against Iran’s terrorist proxies, you reject the billions of dollars in humanitarian assistance requested for Gaza as part of President Biden’s $106 billion aid package,” Blackburn and her colleagues wrote. “As you know, sending aid to the Palestinians in Gaza is akin to funneling aid directly to Hamas.”
“Israel is our strongest ally in the Middle East. As such, it is perplexing why the President would ask Congress to enable the United States to inadvertently fund Hamas” terror campaign against Israel,” the group of senators added. “As you must recognize, there is no way for the U.S. to have proper oversight over the billions of dollars that the administration intends to funnel to Gaza when Gaza is being ruled by a terrorist organization.”
“You have always been an ally of Israel, and you represent the state with the biggest Jewish community in the world outside of Israel,” the senators continued in their letter to Schumer. “We are asking you to keep your commitment to stand with the Jewish State. That should include not sending one more dollar in humanitarian assistance to Gaza until Hamas is removed as the ruling party. Sending aid to the Palestinians would be a gift to Hamas, the same group that slaughtered over 1,400 Israelis and abducted over 200 hostages, including Americans.”
“We implore you to ensure the U.S. does not send aid that will only strengthen Hamas’ ability to murder more Jews. This is the time to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our closest ally in the Middle East as they fight for their very existence,” the senators said.
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Marsha Blackburn” by Marsha Blackburn.
