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"House Republicans are using aid for Israel as a political pawn in order to slash taxes for their wealthy donors," said Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden.
House Republicans released legislative text on Monday that pairs around $14 billion in military aid for Israel with steep cuts from Internal Revenue Service funding that has given the agency more capacity to pursue wealthy tax cheats.
The GOP bill would strip $14.3 billion in funds from the IRS, a move that would undercut the agency's renewed enforcement push and nix efforts to build out a free digital tax filing system to compete with private tax-prep firms, which have lobbied aggressively against the IRS alternative.
While the House GOP's proposed IRS cuts were widely presented as "offsets" for the new aid for Israel's military, such cuts would in fact add to the federal deficit by depriving the agency of resources to collect taxes from rich tax dodgers who are costing the U.S. tens of billions in revenue.
"Every $1 you cut IRS funding will lose about $2 of revenue," noted Marc Goldwein of the conservative Center for a Responsible Federal Budget. "So that means this bill would add about $30 billion to the deficit."
The IRS said earlier this month that it has collected $160 million in back taxes from millionaires this year thanks to new enforcement funding provided under the Inflation Reduction Act. The agency also recently launched an initiative aimed at cracking down on tax dodging by large corporations.
Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) argued on social media late Monday that "House Republicans are using aid for Israel as a political pawn in order to slash taxes for their wealthy donors."
"Making it easier for rich people to cheat on their taxes isn't an offset, it adds to the deficit," Wyden wrote.
House Republicans' bill comes in response to President Joe Biden's request for $14.3 billion in military aid for Israel as part of a broader $106 billion emergency funding request that also called for military assistance for Ukraine, disaster relief in the U.S., and some humanitarian aid for Gaza that human rights advocates say could bolster Israeli efforts to forcibly displace Palestinians.
The GOP legislation, which is likely dead on arrival in the narrowly Democratic U.S. Senate, only contains funding for Israel.
The bipartisan push to approve new military aid for Israel comes despite warnings from legal experts that the U.S. could be complicit in genocide and other war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel's bombing campaign has killed more than 8,000 people—including more than 3,400 children—and sparked a humanitarian catastrophe, displacing more than a million Gazans, destroying or damaging roughly 40% of the territory's housing units, and pushing the enclave's healthcare system to the brink of total collapse.
The National Priorities Project cautioned in response to Biden's supplemental funding request that "more military aid to Israel will mean more deaths."
"In the face of massive suffering in Gaza and disregard for international law by the Israeli government, the U.S. must not provide additional military aid or weapons that would cause more deaths," the group said. "Instead, the U.S. should use its considerable diplomatic strength to call for an immediate cease-fire."
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
House Republicans released legislative text on Monday that pairs around $14 billion in military aid for Israel with steep cuts from Internal Revenue Service funding that has given the agency more capacity to pursue wealthy tax cheats.
The GOP bill would strip $14.3 billion in funds from the IRS, a move that would undercut the agency's renewed enforcement push and nix efforts to build out a free digital tax filing system to compete with private tax-prep firms, which have lobbied aggressively against the IRS alternative.
While the House GOP's proposed IRS cuts were widely presented as "offsets" for the new aid for Israel's military, such cuts would in fact add to the federal deficit by depriving the agency of resources to collect taxes from rich tax dodgers who are costing the U.S. tens of billions in revenue.
"Every $1 you cut IRS funding will lose about $2 of revenue," noted Marc Goldwein of the conservative Center for a Responsible Federal Budget. "So that means this bill would add about $30 billion to the deficit."
The IRS said earlier this month that it has collected $160 million in back taxes from millionaires this year thanks to new enforcement funding provided under the Inflation Reduction Act. The agency also recently launched an initiative aimed at cracking down on tax dodging by large corporations.
Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) argued on social media late Monday that "House Republicans are using aid for Israel as a political pawn in order to slash taxes for their wealthy donors."
"Making it easier for rich people to cheat on their taxes isn't an offset, it adds to the deficit," Wyden wrote.
House Republicans' bill comes in response to President Joe Biden's request for $14.3 billion in military aid for Israel as part of a broader $106 billion emergency funding request that also called for military assistance for Ukraine, disaster relief in the U.S., and some humanitarian aid for Gaza that human rights advocates say could bolster Israeli efforts to forcibly displace Palestinians.
The GOP legislation, which is likely dead on arrival in the narrowly Democratic U.S. Senate, only contains funding for Israel.
The bipartisan push to approve new military aid for Israel comes despite warnings from legal experts that the U.S. could be complicit in genocide and other war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel's bombing campaign has killed more than 8,000 people—including more than 3,400 children—and sparked a humanitarian catastrophe, displacing more than a million Gazans, destroying or damaging roughly 40% of the territory's housing units, and pushing the enclave's healthcare system to the brink of total collapse.
The National Priorities Project cautioned in response to Biden's supplemental funding request that "more military aid to Israel will mean more deaths."
"In the face of massive suffering in Gaza and disregard for international law by the Israeli government, the U.S. must not provide additional military aid or weapons that would cause more deaths," the group said. "Instead, the U.S. should use its considerable diplomatic strength to call for an immediate cease-fire."
House Republicans released legislative text on Monday that pairs around $14 billion in military aid for Israel with steep cuts from Internal Revenue Service funding that has given the agency more capacity to pursue wealthy tax cheats.
The GOP bill would strip $14.3 billion in funds from the IRS, a move that would undercut the agency's renewed enforcement push and nix efforts to build out a free digital tax filing system to compete with private tax-prep firms, which have lobbied aggressively against the IRS alternative.
While the House GOP's proposed IRS cuts were widely presented as "offsets" for the new aid for Israel's military, such cuts would in fact add to the federal deficit by depriving the agency of resources to collect taxes from rich tax dodgers who are costing the U.S. tens of billions in revenue.
"Every $1 you cut IRS funding will lose about $2 of revenue," noted Marc Goldwein of the conservative Center for a Responsible Federal Budget. "So that means this bill would add about $30 billion to the deficit."
The IRS said earlier this month that it has collected $160 million in back taxes from millionaires this year thanks to new enforcement funding provided under the Inflation Reduction Act. The agency also recently launched an initiative aimed at cracking down on tax dodging by large corporations.
Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) argued on social media late Monday that "House Republicans are using aid for Israel as a political pawn in order to slash taxes for their wealthy donors."
"Making it easier for rich people to cheat on their taxes isn't an offset, it adds to the deficit," Wyden wrote.
House Republicans' bill comes in response to President Joe Biden's request for $14.3 billion in military aid for Israel as part of a broader $106 billion emergency funding request that also called for military assistance for Ukraine, disaster relief in the U.S., and some humanitarian aid for Gaza that human rights advocates say could bolster Israeli efforts to forcibly displace Palestinians.
The GOP legislation, which is likely dead on arrival in the narrowly Democratic U.S. Senate, only contains funding for Israel.
The bipartisan push to approve new military aid for Israel comes despite warnings from legal experts that the U.S. could be complicit in genocide and other war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel's bombing campaign has killed more than 8,000 people—including more than 3,400 children—and sparked a humanitarian catastrophe, displacing more than a million Gazans, destroying or damaging roughly 40% of the territory's housing units, and pushing the enclave's healthcare system to the brink of total collapse.
The National Priorities Project cautioned in response to Biden's supplemental funding request that "more military aid to Israel will mean more deaths."
"In the face of massive suffering in Gaza and disregard for international law by the Israeli government, the U.S. must not provide additional military aid or weapons that would cause more deaths," the group said. "Instead, the U.S. should use its considerable diplomatic strength to call for an immediate cease-fire."
"You'd be hard pressed to find a more shameless example of congressional Republicans taking their cues from special interests at the cost of the American people than Chip Roy copying and pasting a letter directly from... special interests."
A letter that a group of 20 far-right House Republicans released earlier this week as part of a campaign in support of slashing Medicaid appears to have been authored by the head of a research institute with ties to the Koch network.
Politico reported Friday that "digital metadata embedded in a PDF copy" of the letter that was circulated inside the House of Representatives "lists the author as Brian Blase, president of Paragon Health Institute."
InfluenceWatch notes that in 2021, Paragon received a nearly $2 million donation from Stand Together, "a right-libertarian funding organization that acts as the umbrella organization for the political network that is largely funded by right-leaning businessman and political donor Charles Koch."
Paragon recently urged federal policymakers to require states to conduct more frequent eligibility checks for Medicaid recipients in a purported effort to root out improper payments. Health policy advocates say such a change would make it more difficult for eligible enrollees to keep their Medicaid coverage.
The letter signed by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and other House Republicans aligns with Paragon's objectives, claiming that "political abuse" of Medicaid "is helping to bankrupt the federal government" and calling for "structural Medicaid reform" in the party's forthcoming reconciliation package.
Tony Carrk, executive director of the watchdog group Accountable.US, said in a statement that "you'd be hard pressed to find a more shameless example of congressional Republicans taking their cues from special interests at the cost of the American people than Chip Roy copying and pasting a letter directly from... special interests."
"This remarkably blatant kowtowing to conservative billionaires is a sad reflection of the congressional Republicans' willingness to make devastating cuts to Americans' healthcare to pay for lower taxes for the richest," said Carrk.
The letter was released as congressional Republicans grappled internally with how and how much to cut Medicaid as they seek to offset the massive projected costs of another round of tax breaks for the rich.
Earlier this week, as Common Dreams reported, Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said he would not accept more than $500 billion in cuts to Medicaid over the next decade. Cuts of that magnitude would still be the largest in the program's history and would strip health coverage from tens of millions of people.
"We now have a federal government that will threaten or arrest an elected official—or even everyday American citizens—who have broken no laws, committed no crimes, and done nothing wrong."
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers hit back Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump's border czar suggested the Democratic leader could be arrested for distributing guidance to state employees on what to do if confronted by federal immigration agents.
The guidance is straightforward and unremarkable, instructing state employees to "stay calm," ask federal agents for their name and badge, contact an attorney, and decline to answer questions or provide agents access to any documents without a lawyer present.
"State employees may not grant [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] or another agent access to any such data or information absent authorization from their legal counsel pursuant to a valid judicial warrant," the guidance reads.
In a speech addressed to Wisconsinites and the nation, Evers said that the "goal of this guidance was simple—to provide clear, consistent instructions to state employees and ensure they have a lawyer to help them comply with all federal and state laws."
"But Republicans and their right-wing allies, including Elon Musk, lied about this guidance, spread misinformation, accused me of doing things I didn't do or say, and fueled a fake controversy of their own creation," Evers said.
One Republican member of the Wisconsin State Assembly on Friday morning posted an AI-generated image of Evers in handcuffs at the state capitol, with Trump standing behind him in police uniform.
"I'm used to Republicans and the right wing lying about me. It comes with the job," Evers said Friday. "But, this time, these lies came at a cost. I haven't broken the law. I haven't committed a crime. And I've never encouraged or directed anyone to break any laws or commit any crimes."
"But when President Trump's hand-picked appointee, Tom Homan, was asked about me and this guidance after he apparently threatened to arrest elected officials across the country, he said, 'Wait 'til you see what's coming,'" the governor continued.
"Overnight, Republican lawmakers piled on, encouraging the Trump administration to arrest me."
Watch Homan's comments to reporters:
NEW: When asked about Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers telling state officials not to cooperate with ICE, Border Czar Tom Homan seems to signal arrests could be imminent:
“Wait until you see what’s coming. I meant what I said.” pic.twitter.com/xJxw5sBVY6
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 1, 2025
Homan's thinly veiled threat against Evers and other officials came days after FBI agents arrested Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan on obstruction charges alleging that she helped an undocumented immigrant evade arrest by misdirecting federal authorities. Dugan's legal team says she is innocent and will be vindicated in court.
Evers said Friday that Homan's threats are "chilling" and "should be of concern to every Wisconsinite and every American who cares about this country and the values we hold dear."
"These threats represent a concerning trajectory in this country," said Evers. "We now have a federal government that will threaten or arrest an elected official—or even everyday American citizens—who have broken no laws, committed no crimes, and done nothing wrong."
"And as disgusted as I am about the continued actions of the Trump administration, I am not afraid," he added. "I have never once been discouraged from doing the right thing, and I will not start today."
Watch Evers' remarks in full:
The Wisconsin governor's full address is transcribed below:
Good morning, Wisconsin. Governor Tony Evers here.
I’m speaking to you today as your governor but also as a concerned American.
Yesterday, a Trump administration official, in not so many words, apparently threatened to arrest me for distributing guidance that asked state agency employees to consult with an attorney if federal agents show up at state buildings with legal documents.
The goal of this guidance was simple—to provide clear, consistent instructions to state employees and ensure they have a lawyer to help them comply with all federal and state laws. Nothing more, nothing less.
But Republicans and their right-wing allies, including Elon Musk, lied about this guidance, spread misinformation, accused me of doing things I didn’t do or say, and fueled a fake controversy of their own creation.
Now, I’m used to Republicans and the right wing lying about me. It comes with the job. But, this time, these lies came at a cost. I haven't broken the law. I haven't committed a crime. And I’ve never encouraged or directed anyone to break any laws or commit any crimes.
But when President Trump's hand-picked appointee, Tom Homan, was asked about me and this guidance after he apparently threatened to arrest elected officials across the country, he said, "Wait 'til you see what's coming." Overnight, Republican lawmakers piled on, encouraging the Trump administration to arrest me.
Chilling threats like this should be of concern to every Wisconsinite and every American who cares about this country and the values we hold dear.
We live in the United States of America, folks. We are a country of laws. The rule of law matters. Following the law matters.
In this country, the federal government doesn't get to abuse its power to threaten everyday Americans. In this country, the federal government doesn’t get to arrest American citizens who have not committed a crime. In this country, we don't threaten to persecute people just because they belong to a different political party.
These threats represent a concerning trajectory in this country. We now have a federal government that will threaten or arrest an elected official—or even everyday American citizens—who have broken no laws, committed no crimes, and done nothing wrong.
And as disgusted as I am about the continued actions of the Trump administration, I am not afraid. I have never once been discouraged from doing the right thing, and I will not start today.
I swore an oath when I took this office to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the state of Wisconsin and to faithfully discharge the duties of this office to the best of my ability. I will never waver from that promise.
I hope and pray every elected and appointed official in this country, including the president of the United States of America, will do the same.
Forward, and for Wisconsin, always.
Thank you.
"Why do Elon 'Social Security's a Ponzi scheme' Musk and his DOGE cronies need to stick their fingers in your personal data—your work history, income, benefits, and health records?" asked Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
President Donald Trump's administration requested in an emergency filing on Friday that the U.S. Supreme Court allow members of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to access highly sensitive Social Security data, complaining that a lower court ruling is inflicting "ongoing, irreparable harm on urgent federal priorities."
The filing, authored by U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer, asks the conservative-dominated Supreme Court to lift a preliminary injunction issued last month by Maryland-based U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander, who has accused Musk's team of engaging in "a fishing expedition" at the Social Security Administration (SSA) "in search of a fraud epidemic, based on little more than suspicion."
The Trump administration's request escalates a monthslong fight over access to the sensitive records that began in February, when the then-acting head of SSA left her post after Musk's lieutenants began infiltrating the agency and attempting to seize data.
A court ruling issued a month later ordered DOGE to "disgorge or delete all unlawfully obtained, disclosed, or accessed data." Musk, the richest person in the world, has falsely described Social Security as a "Ponzi scheme" and peddled discredited claims of large-scale abuses in the program.
The Center for American Progress noted last month that "while President Trump and Elon Musk repeat the long-debunked claim that dead people are claiming Social Security benefits, DOGE staffers are reportedly searching for dead claimants."
"As a result, according to The Washington Post, more than 10 million new people have been marked as dead since early March, including many seniors who are very much alive," the think tank wrote in an analysis warning that DOGE's efforts at SSA pose a grave threat to Social Security recipients. "For example, the SSA erroneously declared 82-year-old Seattle resident Ned Johnson dead. Before Johnson was even aware of or could remedy the mistake, the agency cut off his retirement benefits, took thousands of dollars out of his bank account, and cut off his Medicare."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote in response to the administration's Supreme Court filing that "Trump and Musk need to get their hands off Americans' Social Security."
"Why do Elon 'Social Security's a Ponzi scheme' Musk and his DOGE cronies need to stick their fingers in your personal data—your work history, income, benefits, and health records?" Warren asked.
"Many Social Security field offices have lost half their staff, even as DOGE is forcing millions more people a year to visit those offices. What good are earned benefits that Americans can't access?"
As the Economic Policy Institute recently explained, Social Security personnel "protect a trove of personally identifiable information."
"Sensitive information stored in SSA databases includes not only Social Security numbers, but also detailed earnings, tax, banking, and medical records," the group observed. "Until DOGE entered SSA headquarters, this information was carefully protected, with limited access granted to specially trained employees only for specific purposes."
The Trump administration's aggressive push to access SSA data comes amid a broader assault on the agency and Social Security itself, despite the president's vow to protect the program.
Earlier Friday, the White House released a budget proposal that calls for leaving SSA funding flat, which advocates said is effectively a cut given rising costs.
"The truth is that Social Security is extremely understaffed, which is increasing backlogs and wait times," Nancy Altman, the president of Social Security Works, said in a statement. "This budget will make those backlogs and delays worse. It will make mistakes—including the Orwellian nightmare of being inadvertently declared dead when you are not—harder to fix."
"This budget's cuts to Social Security are right in line with Elon Musk's DOGE, which has pushed out over 7,000 SSA workers, including some of the most experienced and highly trained," Altman added. "Many Social Security field offices have lost half their staff, even as DOGE is forcing millions more people a year to visit those offices. What good are earned benefits that Americans can't access?"
