[ad_1]
WASHINGTON – Months after Senate Republicans demanded a border security bill in exchange for support for additional aid to Ukraine, Republican lawmakers on Wednesday blocked a bill that would do just that.
But in a last-minute development, the Senate passed a separate $95 billion package without border provisions that would earmark additional funding for Ukraine, Israel and humanitarian aid, similar to what President Joe Biden requested in October. We plan to promote it.
The Senate voted 49-50 against advancing the $118 billion package to fund foreign aid and overhaul U.S. border and immigration policy. The reforms would, among other things, strengthen asylum laws and create new mechanisms to close borders if a certain threshold of illegal immigrants is reached.
Four Republican senators tried to work with Democrats to push the bill. Moderate Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), and leader Sen. James Lankford (R-Utah). (Republican, Oklahoma). Republican negotiators on the bill.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (D.V.), Sen. Bob Menendez (D.N.J.), Sen. Alex Padilla (D.C.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), and Sen. Ed Markey (D.M.). ), four Democrats voted to reject it. -mass.
Preparing to vote: See who’s running for president and compare their positions on important issues with our voter guide
Former President Donald Trump opposed the bill long before it was introduced, increasing pressure on conservatives in Congress to defeat it. When it was finally announced Sunday, about half of Republicans said they opposed it within 24 hours.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) declared Tuesday afternoon that there is no path forward for passing the bill. But House Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York announced Wednesday morning that he would ask the Senate to move forward with another aid bill, effectively forcing Republicans to quickly take a position on the Ukraine funds and forcing their caucus to move forward with another aid bill. It is controversial within the country.
Republicans in the House and Senate have been reluctant in recent months to provide more aid to the war-torn country unless they clear a series of hurdles.
The emergency aid bill that lawmakers are spearheading would allocate $60 billion to the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, which has been trying to seize territory from the small Eastern European nation since early 2022. It would also earmark $14 billion for Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. $9 billion for humanitarian aid in places like Gaza, and nearly $5 billion for U.S. trading partners in the Indo-Pacific.
Democrats win due to Republican reversal
Wednesday’s vote brings to an end a months-long process in which a bipartisan group of negotiators worked to finalize a deal to address the U.S. southern border that has support from both parties in the Senate. But Republicans quickly rejected the proposal, criticizing it as too lenient on immigrants and arguing that Mr. Biden could take action to close the border on his own.
Democrats denounced the reversal as a sign of capitulation by their Republican colleagues to Trump, who has spoken to some members of Congress and publicly denounced the bill. Nevertheless, the White House said in a statement Wednesday that it supports the reduced aid bill currently being considered by lawmakers.
“Even if some congressional Republicans’ approach to border security is driven by politics, that is not the case with President Biden,” spokesman Andrew Bates said. “We need reforms and more resources to secure our borders.”
Republicans pushed back against accusations that Trump influenced policy decisions, calling it bad policy that only worsened the border crisis.
“Democrats are shifting the blame here when no one in their right mind believes that Donald Trump is to blame for Joe Biden’s failures,” said Sen. Eric Schmidt (R-Missouri). “They’re trying very hard to do that,” he said. “It’s such a ridiculous argument.”
It’s unclear whether a standalone foreign aid bill could pass the House, but the divisions over additional aid to Ukraine run deeper than in the Senate.
“If we pass it in the Senate, I’m hopeful that the House will follow suit,” Schumer told reporters Wednesday.
[ad_2]
Source link
