In the US Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to vote on US President Joe Biden's request for billions of dollars to help Ukraine and Israel as soon as the week of Dec. 4, UNN reports citing Politico.
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Schumer's announcement on Sunday puts pressure on lawmakers to come to a border security agreement that can be combined with much-needed aid for the two US allies. Republicans in the US Senate are indicated to be seeking to make changes to border security policy as part of any supplemental spending bill, hoping that such a deal would help to gain a majority for the Ukraine-heavy GOP in the House.
Schumer called this border requirement "the biggest obstacle" to providing new funds to defend Ukraine from Russia and Israel's war with Hamas.
"This has resulted in a hyper-partisan issue that emerged decades ago becoming a priority for the vast majority of both parties," Schumer said in a letter to "dear colleagues" addressed to senators. The Democratic Party leader said his 51-member caucus is "willing to work on reasonable solutions to the immigration problem," but warned that if the GOP takes too hard a line, it could "jeopardize the entire" supplemental spending bill.
He also urged Democrats to engage more actively with Republicans to try to strike a deal, which he also tried to do right before the Thanksgiving break. He warned of long nights and days ahead, as well as possible weekend work.
The bipartisan group reportedly formed several weeks ago in hopes of striking a deal that would combine Biden's requests for more than $100 billion for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and the border issue with changes in U.S. asylum policy, among other things.
In the run-up to the Thanksgiving holiday, asylum was the biggest obstacle to moving forward, according to people familiar with the talks.
"The 60 votes are almost certain to send tens of billions of dollars more to Ukraine, but Republicans have warned they will not do so without a border deal because they believe Speaker Mike Johnson will not bring up a bill that lacks border security provisions. Schumer's push for a Senate vote in early December provides a deadline for Senate negotiations, and that may be necessary: Congress has twice passed spending bills this fall that do not include aid to Ukraine, and the situation will get tougher in the new year," the newspaper writes.
"Nothing would make autocrats like Putin or Xi Jinping happier right now than to see the United States waver in our support for the Ukrainian people and its armed forces," Schumer wrote in his letter. - "It's not just about Ukrainian or transatlantic security, it's about American security, because an uncontrolled Putin will be a Putin who dares.
Schumer also said that a briefing for all senators on Ukraine will be held in the coming days.
To recap,
On November 17, US President Joe Biden signed a bill to temporarily fund the government without aid to Israel and Ukraine.