US progressive lawmaker AOC rejects cutting funding for 'Israel's' air defense system
By voting "no" on the amendment, Ocasio-Cortez effectively voted to maintain the funding.
The amendment, H.Amdt.55 to H.R.4016, aimed to eliminate $500 million allocated for "Israeli Cooperative Programs," which include systems like the Iron Dome.
Rep. Greene argued that the US, facing a $37 trillion national debt, should cease providing foreign aid, stating that "nuclear-armed Israel" is capable of defending itself.
She highlighted that the US already provides 'Israel' with $3.8 billion annually in foreign aid, with an additional $8.7 billion allocated in April 2024.
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly rejected Greene's amendment with a vote of 6 in favor and 422 against (Roll Call No. 207). The six members who voted to cut the funding were Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Al Green (D-TX), Summer Lee (D-PA), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez was not among those who voted to cut the funding.
Previously in April 2024, she cast a "PRESENT" vote on a separate $1 billion supplemental military funding bill for 'Israel's' Iron Dome.
She had a controversial emotional reaction after the vote, where she was seen crying on the floor before voting.
In a letter explaining her decision, she cited the 'rushed' legislative process, which, she said, 'created very real spillover effects.'
'Yes, I wept. I wept at the complete lack of care for the human beings that are impacted by these decisions, I wept at an institution choosing a path of maximum volatility and minimum consideration for its own political convenience,' the New York representative said.
US support for 'Israel's' security has been a long-standing foreign policy, with over $130 billion in bilateral assistance provided since 1948.
This includes an annual provision of $3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing and $500 million for cooperative missile defense programs, formalized through a 10-year Memorandum of Understanding.
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