Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto via AP
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) is seen at a press conference near the George Washington Bridge in New Jersey on November 1, 2023.
A new caucus has arisen in the Democratic Party: the Tax Cheat Twelve.
These 12 House Democrats voted on Thursday for the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, which cut $14.3 billion in funding to the Internal Revenue Service that was appropriated by Democrats in 2022 for the express purpose of chasing down high-earning tax avoiders.
The IRS cut, proposed by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and his fellow Republicans, was a so-called “offset” in exchange for funding for weaponry and other support for Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza. In reality, it didn’t offset anything at all; the Congressional Budget Office correctly estimated that taking $14.3 billion in funding from the IRS would reduce tax revenues by $26.79 billion, further increasing the deficit.
The Tax Cheat Twelve include Reps. Josh Gottheimer (NJ), Jared Moskowitz (FL), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL), Lois Frankel (FL), Jared Golden (ME), Juan Vargas (CA), Angie Craig (MN), Darren Soto (FL), Haley Stevens (MI), Frederica Wilson (FL), Don Davis (NC), and Greg Landsman (OH).
The first ten of these 12 voted affirmatively to appropriate $80 billion to the IRS in the Inflation Reduction Act; Davis and Landsman weren’t in Congress at the time. Already, Republicans chipped away $20 billion of that funding in the debt ceiling deal. This time around, the Tax Cheat Twelve judged that military funding for Israel was worth the price of enabling wealthy tax cheats, increasing the deficit, and setting the precedent that emergency appropriations should include funding offsets that cost even more money.
Other members, including staunch supporters of Israel, had a different view. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), who represents one of the largest concentrations of Jewish voters in the country, called the legislation “despicable” in a floor speech, saying that despite the fact that “support for Israel is built into my DNA,” the vote was “a divisive political maneuver that … [pits] our national security and support for democratic allies against domestic expenditure.”
“The bill we are voting on today is just a partisan game. It is an insult to Jewish Americans,” Nadler said.
The Tax Cheat Twelve’s positive vote for Israel funding and tax avoidance for the wealthy could be seen as something of a payback to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which has lavished money on a number of these Democrats.
The IRS cut was a so-called “offset” in exchange for funding for weaponry and other support for Israel. In reality, it didn’t offset anything at all.
Davis is one of several of these Democrats who received large amounts of money in 2022 from AIPAC. Davis received $166,445 from individuals tied to AIPAC and the organization’s PAC for his 2022 run. He also benefited from $2,102,636 in spending from AIPAC’s super PAC United Democracy Project, helping him win a primary over a progressive challenger, Erica Smith.
Stevens was an even bigger beneficiary, with $681,466 from individuals and AIPAC’s PAC, and $3,878,025 from United Democracy Project in support for her primary against former Rep. Andy Levin. The two ran in the same district after 2020 redistricting. United Democracy Project ran $341,791 in negative ads and mailers against Levin last year, and $335,411 in negative advertising against Smith.
Gottheimer is regularly one of the biggest recipients of AIPAC money, with $216,610 in 2022. Wasserman Schultz took $99,610, Vargas got $55,600, Frankel $54,860, Golden $31,530, Moskowitz $28,900, Wilson $10,500, Craig $10,000, and Soto $4,200. Landsman is not recorded as having received contributions from AIPAC individuals or its PAC in 2022.
All in all, the Tax Cheat Twelve received over $8 million in campaign support from AIPAC and its affiliates just in last year’s election.
The bill has little chance of becoming law, with the Senate calling it “dead on arrival” and the White House issuing a veto threat. The Democratic leadership in the House aggressively condemned Republicans for “playing politics with aid to Israel.”
But the Tax Cheat Twelve stuck to their principles.
UPDATE: Just this morning, Rep. Haley Stevens said in a tweet that “Emergency funding in a time of crisis should not have to be offset. It’s bad policy, hamstrings our ability to meet the moment, and hurts our global leadership.”
She then voted for the bill.
Rep. Greg Landsman also stated that Speaker Johnson should “pull this bill & apologize. He’s putting politics over national security & pitting Israel’s security against ensuring billionaires pay all their taxes.”
Landsman then voted for the bill.
