The Senate will begin considering aid bills for Israel and Ukraine starting next week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday, adding that a relief bill is needed even if it is not reaches agreement with Republicans on border funding.
“I’ll bring them to the floor next week, hopefully with bipartisan support, because that’s the only way to get things done,” Schumer said at his weekly news conference.
Biden asked Congress last month to approve $106 billion for national security, including aid to Ukraine after the Russian invasion, support for Israel after the October 7 attacks by Hamas (designated a terrorist organization in the United States) and additional security along the border. United States border with Mexico.
However, the funding has not yet been approved, raising concerns that funds for Ukraine will not be allocated at all, especially after the Republican-led House of Representatives passed a bill that included aid for Israel but not for Ukraine.
Sen. Patty Murray, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the Senate must pass funding legislation that includes security aid for Ukraine and Israel, humanitarian assistance and aid to U.S. allies in the Indo-Central region. Peaceful.
“We can’t tell the world that the United States only supports some of its allies from time to time,” Murray said.
Biden’s request to Congress included $60 billion for Ukraine — about half of which would go toward replenishing U.S. military supplies — as well as about $14 billion for Israel and border security with Mexico.
Senate Republicans have said they will reject a supplemental spending bill unless it includes help to bolster border security.
An increase in the number of undocumented immigrants crossing the southwestern border of the United States has threatened the country’s ability to detain and process newly arrived migrants, a political challenge for Biden as he prepares for re-election next year.
Congress has approved $113 billion for Ukraine since the invasion began in February 2022. These funds may run out within a few months.
