Foreign aid bill amendments spark heated exchanges among representatives over space lasers, conscription, and echoes of Neville Chamberlain
House members are competing through amendments to bills supporting Ukraine and Israel aid. Marjorie Taylor Greene sparks controversy with unconventional additions, including a proposal for conscripting those in favor of the Ukraine bill into the Ukrainian military. Other amendments involve space lasers for border protection and provocative renamings. Tensions rise as representatives clash over these unconventional proposals.
House members are looking to out-troll one another through amendments to bills funding aid to Ukraine and Israel.
Overall, 171 amendments have been introduced to add to the bills, with most of them serious. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) began the unserious additions on Wednesday, introducing an amendment that would require anyone who voted in favor of the Ukraine bill to be conscripted, or enrolled compulsorily, into the Ukrainian military. She has added nearly two dozen amendments.
Here are some of the oddest amendments to the aid bills, which seek to give $61 billion to Ukraine and $26 billion to Israel.
Use of Israeli funds to finance space lasers to protect the southern border
Greene introduced an amendment to the Israeli funding bill to finance “space laser technology” on the United States southern border, ostensibly to combat illegal immigration.
“By the funds made available by this Act, such sums as necessary shall be used for the development of space laser technology on the southwest border,” the amendment reads.
The amendment is a not-so-subtle reference to a social media post by Greene before she was elected, in which she voiced support for a conspiracy theory that space laser technology, financed by banking families such as the Rothschilds, was used to start wildfires in California. Though she made no reference to Judaism, critics have accused her of antisemitism over the remarks.
Another amendment introduced by the Georgia Republican called for an Iron Dome missile defense system to be built on the southern border.
Designation of Greene as ‘Vladimir Putin’s Special Envoy‘
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), who has openly clashed with Greene numerous times, introduced an amendment to designate her as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy.
“Whereas Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA-14) has repeatedly attempted to block aid to Ukraine, empowering Vladimir Putin’s unlawful violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity … It is the sense of Congress that Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA-14) should be
appointed Vladimir Putin’s Special Envoy to the United States Congress,” the amendment reads.
Greene has also been bashed for her criticism of Ukraine by some Republicans. Former Rep. Ken Buck derisively called her “Moscow Marjorie” after leaving office.
Renaming Greene’s office the ‘Neville Chamberlain Room‘
Moskowitz also introduced an amendment to rename Greene’s office the “Neville Chamberlain Room,” a reference to the former United Kingdom prime minister who oversaw the controversial appeasement policy prior to World War II.
Chamberlain is best remembered for his work on the Munich Agreement in September 1938, during which Britain, France, and Italy cleared Nazi Germany to annex the majority-ethnic German Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia, without the Czechoslovaks’ input. Chamberlain infamously hailed the agreement as “peace for our time.” Germany annexed the rest of Czechoslovakia soon after, then invaded Poland less than a year later, launching World War II.
Chamberlain has since become a cultural symbol for figures naively seeking to appease or accommodate expansionist or non-democratic powers. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 saw a resurgence in references to the former prime minister, particularly to those skeptical of fully backing Ukraine.
Requirement for representatives voting in favor of Ukraine bill to be ‘conscripted’ into Ukrainian military
Greene introduced an amendment to require the conscription into the Ukrainian military of any House members who voted in favor of the Ukraine aid bill.
“Any Member of Congress who votes in favor of this Act shall be required to conscript in the Ukrainian military,” the amendment reads.
“I mean if you want to fund the war, why don’t you go fight in it,” Greene said of the amendment. “Show your support for Ukraine.”
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Prohibiting the imposition of the bill until Zelensky certifies that Donald Trump didn’t seek his assistance in 2020 election
Reps. Bob Good (R-VA) and Andy Biggs (R-AZ) introduced an amendment seeking to settle old scores, regarding the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump.
“None of the funds made available by this Act may be dispersed or otherwise allocated until Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy certifies in writing to Congress that President Donald John Trump did not seek President Zelenskyy’s assistance in influencing the 2020 United States Presidential election,” the amendment reads.
In December 2019, Trump was impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress after a whistleblower complaint, which alleged that Trump solicited Ukraine’s assistance in discrediting Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s son, during a call on which he and Zelenskyy were discussing foreign aid.
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