US Congress seeks to pass additional aid to Ukraine and Israel before winter holidays - NBC

Party leaders in the US Congress plan to work "between Thanksgiving and Christmas" on an agreement on a bill that would provide funding for assistance to Ukraine and Israel, and and would also satisfy conservative demands on migration policy. This was reported NBC News, UNN reported.

I know that both sides sincerely care about approving aid to Israel and Ukraine and Ukraine and helping innocent civilians in Gaza. So I hope that we can come to an agreement, even if neither side gets everything that insists on. But this is - we will work on this on that immediately when we come back after Thanksgiving

Details

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, in his speech, made it clear that providing additional aid will be his top priority between Thanksgiving and Christmas. and Christmas.

In addition to the additional aid package for Ukraine and Israel,

Congressional leaders hope to make improvements to the US immigration system immigration system by the end of this year.

The Republican-led House of Representatives has already passed a a bill to help Israel, but it includes significant cuts to the IRS and excludes humanitarian service and excludes humanitarian aid - both items that the White House and Senate Democrats in the Senate consider untenable. 

At the same time, a group of conservative Republicans are pushing the new Speaker of the House House Speaker Mike Johnson to pass a bill led by the (on aid to Israel only - ed.) as a starting point for bilateral negotiations. for bicameral negotiations.

If the attempt succeeds, the House bill will be much more conservative. of Representatives bill would be much more conservative than the one that could emerge in the Senate, and could give hardliners in the upper chamber more leverage leverage in their negotiations over the final package.

"Johnson can't force the Senate to do the right thing. But guess what. If they're going to spend the money, if they're going to give Ukraine border security assistance border security, if they do it with real benchmarks, I mean I mean, it's going to be very hard for senators to vote against it," Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, a Johnson ally.

Johnson has not yet said how he plans to negotiate. But House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who is a strong supporter of funding for Ukraine and Israel, has been in constant communication with the speaker about additional aid, and in an interview last week he suggested that he expects the Senate to act first.

Four Senate sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations told NBC News, told NBC News that the window between Thanksgiving and Christmas is crucial, and that Republicans are and that there is concern among Republicans and Democrats that if the calendar slips before the New Year, the chances of getting all four plans passed aid to Israel, Ukraine, and the Indo-Pacific region, as well as border security, will be reduced. as well as for border security - are sharply reduced in the final stretch.

Additionally

Last week, Congress passed a short-term spending plan to to avoid a government shutdown, but postponed broader and more difficult discussions of a long-term budget to mid-January.

If negotiations drag on into the new year, Johnson may try to tie only aid to Israel to any funding bill that Congress passes. funding bill that Congress takes up in order to meet the first of two spending deadlines - which would make passage of aid to Ukraine much less likely, Senate sources said. likely, Senate sources said.

At the same time, some progressive politicians, including Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, have stated that any aid to Israel should be contingent on the IDF easing its bombing of Gaza.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, said in an interview with Meet the Press" that he would oppose providing aid to Israel under certain conditions. conditions.

"I don't know how the United States Congress, which has not yet budget, can impose conditions for fighting on an ally who is trying to defend himself," he said. is trying to defend itself," he said, adding that he "would hate to impose conditions. imposing conditions". it would effectively result in a straitjacket or handcuffs on the IDF. handcuffs on the IDF in this very, very unbearably difficult ordeal."