Washington, D.C. (July 25, 2014) -- The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) released the following statement today:
The RJC welcomes Senator Mitch McConnell's efforts to make the Senate's proposed $225 million supplemental funding for Israel's Iron Dome program a stand-alone bill.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has bundled the Iron Dome assistance with a bill that provides further funding for efforts to deal with the flood of illegal immigrants coming in from Latin America. Senate Republicans believe that such a bill must include changes to the 2008 trafficking law that would allow the administration to more quickly process and deport newly-arrived illegal immigrants. But Reid has signaled that he will not allow such an amendment to have a vote.
Regrettably, the Senate needs more time to come to terms on how best to address the border crisis, but Israel is at war today. With the Senate scheduled to recess for a month at the end of next week, the funding for Iron Dome should be expedited. Harry Reid should not play politics with Iron Dome funding. He especially should not attempt to use Republicans' strong support for Israel's security as a political weapon against them in the immigration fight. Rather, the Senate should proceed quickly on the Iron Dome funding, where there is consensus.
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