File photo of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (L) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
US senators on Sunday released the text of a much-anticipated deal that would unlock billions in new aid for Ukraine and Israel while tightening US border laws — although its prospects for becoming law are unclear.
The so-called national security supplemental legislation provides for $118.3 billion in total funding, including $60 billion to support for war-torn Ukraine, matching the White House’s request, and $14.1 billion in security assistance to Israel, according to a summary released by Senate Appropriations Committee chair Patty Murray.
The deal also includes $20.2 billion for US border security and a myriad of immigration policy changes agreed to by Democratic and Republican negotiators.
It is not clear that the bill has the 60 backers it will need to clear the first procedural vote in the Democratic-controlled Senate, expected on Wednesday at the latest.
Senators have been negotiating for months on a deal to combat illegal immigration, with Republicans insisting on bolstered border security in return for approving President Joe Biden’s funding request for Kyiv.
The release of the text was met with swift approval from the White House, which highlighted the decades-long pursuit to reform the country’s “broken” immigration system.
“Now we’ve agreed on a bipartisan national security deal that includes the toughest and fairest set of border reforms in decades. I strongly support it,” Biden said in a statement.
He also urged Republicans — who control the House of Representatives and have been pressured by White House hopeful Donald Trump to oppose the deal — to back the bipartisan package.
“If you believe, as I do, that we must secure the border now, doing nothing is not an option,” he said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson had previously declared the package “dead on arrival,” although he appeared to change tack when he told Fox Business on Friday that he’s “not prejudging anything.”
The influential US Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., voted last December against giving Israel about $10 billion in emergency U.S. aid. Many observers expect him to vote against this bill too this time.
“I do not believe we should be appropriating over $10 billion for the right-wing extremist Netanyahu government to continue its current military approach,” Sanders said on Deceber 6, in remarks on the Senate floor, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
U.S. With $34 trillion in government debt, makes up over a third of the world’s total.
In an interview published by The Wall Street Journal earlier on Sunday, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir leveled criticism at U.S. President Joe Biden, saying Donald Trump would have been better for Israel during the current war.
On the other hand Israeli PM Netanyahu has rejected on several occasions Bidens call for a two-state solution.
France 24/ AFP
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.