Moderates pitch ‘pared down’ bipartisan spending deal for Ukraine, border security
Reps.
Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and
Jared Golden (D-Maine) on Sunday urged their House colleagues to back their
“pared down” proposal for Ukraine aid and border security, claiming the effort could serve as a “pressure point” to get spending passed.
A bipartisan Senate bill that included significant border security reforms and aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan has been stuck in the House for weeks, with top Democrats now pursuing a
discharge petition to get a floor vote without the help of Speaker
Mike Johnson (R-La.).
Golden said that effort isn’t likely to succeed, however, instead pitching
his own version of the deal, emphasizing that aid for Ukraine is needed immediately.
“This is time-sensitive. It’s existential,” he said in a CBS “Face the Nation” interview with Margaret Brennan on Sunday. “What our bill does is it combines border security with this foreign aid, both existential, and we are forcing this bill to the floor to make sure that everybody acts.
“Because as President Zelensky said, they have weeks and not months to get reinforcements on the front lines,” he added.
The moderates’ proposal reduces the spending ask from about $60 billion to $49 billion, cutting out humanitarian aid for Israel and Ukraine and adding the strict “remain in Mexico” border policy, all points unpopular with most Democrats.
Golden said that the changes are necessary in order to get something passed, and that the pair are planning an extensive amendment process to make all sides happy.
“The Senate started with a bill. They had to boil it down to whatever could get 60 votes. The House needs to go through a very similar process,” Golden said. “We need to find a way to get a deal that gets us to 218 [votes]. I think a deal like that has to grow out of the middle and is unlikely to begin with a one-party solution.”
Despite the compromises, Fitzpatrick said their potential deal could likely get “super majority” support in the House if it reaches a floor vote and could pass the Senate.
“Ukraine is weeks away from giving up significant ground, and we cannot allow Russia to win,” Fitzpatrick said. “So what we are doing is adding an additional pressure point to get a bill to the floor that has bipartisan support in the House.”
“My conversations with my Senate colleagues, any bill that comes out of the House with bipartisan support, in all likelihood, will emerge out of the Senate,” he added.
Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Jared Golden (D-Maine) on Sunday urged their House colleagues to back their “pared down” proposal for Ukraine aid and border security, claiming the effort could …
thehill.com
Nancy Mace says White House has ‘yet to define mission’ in Ukraine
Rep.
Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said the White House has “yet to define mission” in Ukraine as lawmakers struggle to agree on more support for the country.
House Republicans have held up aid for Ukraine as they have tied additional funding to stricter border security provisions. Mace said on “Fox News Sunday” that she wants the United States to focus on border security before doling out more aid to Ukraine, which just marked its
two-year anniversary of fighting Russia.
“The one thing that you did not hear Jake Sullivan or Joe Biden say today or really ever is defining our mission in Ukraine. They have yet to define that mission. They have yet to set the strategy. And they have yet to articulate how are we going to get out of this situation when every dollar we have is given to their country, and it is or is not successful, how do we get out of this?” she said Sunday.
“And you haven’t heard that defined to the American people. You certainly haven’t heard that defined to Congress. If we had the answer, we’d be talking about it and perhaps there’d be more support for it,” Mace added.
Senate negotiators unveiled a bipartisan border security deal earlier this month that included aid for Israel, Ukraine and Indo-Pacific allies, but the effort failed after Speaker
Mike Johnson (R-La.) declared it dead on arrival in the House.
The Senate later
passed a bill that would authorize funding for Ukraine, Israel and Indo-Pacific allies, but Johnson also
rejected that legislation due to the lack of border security provisions. The White House and Democratic leadership
have called on Johnson
to bring Ukraine aid to the floor, pointing to bipartisan support it had in the Senate.
Mace continued to emphasize the need for border security in her interview on Sunday before passing any aid for Ukraine.
“But the last thing I want to say is that this administration is putting the borders of other nations first rather than our own. Before anything else happens with Ukraine and U.S. funding for Ukraine, I want to know, is what we are doing about invasion and our national security at our southern border. That should be the number one priority of Joe Biden and this administration, full stop,” she said.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said the White House has “yet to define [its] mission” in Ukraine as lawmakers struggle to agree on more support for the country. House Republicans have held up aid for Ukr…
thehill.com
apnews.com
www.ft.com
