Arkansans split vote on foreign war-aid package
Boozman a yes, Cotton no; both want changes in House
WASHINGTON — Arkansas’ U.S. senators were divided in backing a $95.3 billion package with support for Ukraine and Israel, but both legislators expressed similar yearnings for the House of Representatives to make changes.
The Senate voted 70-29 early Tuesday for billions of dollars in military assistance, efforts to replenish defense supplies and equipment, and humanitarian aid for people affected by ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
While most members of the Senate Democratic Caucus backed the legislation, Senate Republicans were split. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., and 21 other Republicans supported passage while Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and 25 Republican colleagues opposed the proposal.
Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., were the only Democratic caucus members who voted against passage.
“An increasingly dangerous world underscores the need for strong, reliable and resolute American leadership,” Boozman, of Rogers, said Tuesday in a statement.
“The Senate has taken the first step to ensure the U.S. continues to play this vital role, especially with respect to supporting key partners and allies facing serious threats, as well as replenish our own lethal munitions and equipment to deter conflict.”
The package would set aside $60.1 billion in support for Ukraine from Russian military forces, including funds dedicated to restocking American weapons provided to Ukraine and purchasing munitions from U.S.-based defense industries. Additional related funds would go toward military training, intelligence sharing and other operations supporting initiatives.
“For us in Ukraine, continued US assistance helps to save human lives from
Russian terror. It means that life will continue in our cities and will triumph over war,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday on social media.
“American assistance brings just peace in Ukraine closer and restores global stability, resulting in increased security and prosperity for all Americans and all the free world.”
The legislation additionally includes $14.1 billion in security assistance to Israel, $4.8 for regional partners in the Indo-Pacific and $9.2 billion in humanitarian aid for people affected by conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and other regions.
The Senate’s action occurred nearly four months after President Joe Biden first proposed a $105 billion supplemental addressing the United States’ support for its international allies with funding for security at the U.S.-Mexico border, including additional agents and implementing new technology.
Congressional Republicans have been pressuring the Biden administration for months to address border security amid rising illegal encounter numbers. Cotton, of Little Rock, was part of a Senate Republican working group that put forward a list of policy recommendations in November, including stricter asylum standards and limitations on grant parole.
Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., represented Republican senators in lengthy bipartisan discussions involving other Senate colleagues that ended with a deal addressing border security and immigration policies.
“Unfortunately, the Democrats weren’t serious enough to accept those reforms,” Cotton told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Tuesday. “The problem is not James Lankford; the problem is the number of Democrats who put open borders ahead of everything else.”
Cotton had opposed a $118.3 billion proposal combining international security funding and the border security plan. Senate leaders last week agreed to remove the language after House GOP leaders and other senators challenged the provisions.
Boozman and Cotton had voted against advancing the $95.3 billion proposal leading up to the Tuesday morning vote. Boozman wanted Senate leaders to allow the full body to consider amendments, but he supported the legislation with the hope of the House approving policy changes.
“I’m disappointed that, at every turn, opportunities to amend and improve this measure were met with inflexible resistance,” Boozman said Tuesday. “Yet it was still important to advance the process so the House of Representatives can influence these policies and help secure even better outcomes. If and when that occurs, I look forward to considering any modifications to this baseline bill.”
Cotton emphasized his interest in helping Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, but acknowledged his opposition stemmed in part from the lack of border security language.
“I support all of those priorities, but we have to put our own country’s borders first,” he said.
Another reason involved spending in the $95.3 billion proposal. While commending the work of Maine Sen. Susan Collins, the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Cotton took issue with billions of dollars in nondefense spending, mentioning $7.9 billion in budget support for Ukraine and the lack of guardrails regarding humanitarian aid in Gaza, noting the latter “benefits Hamas.”
“The rest of the military aid is a pretty good template for whatever might follow on, whether it’s a bill companion to this one and [the House] sends it back to us or whether it’s in the regular spending bills we pass every year,” Cotton said.
The Biden administration on Tuesday urged the House to take action, but the path to a floor vote is unclear. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., blasted the Senate for failing to “meet the moment” in addressing border security, adding Tuesday the nation “deserves better than the Senate’s status quo.”
Cotton expressed hope the president and speaker could discuss a possible border agreement, recognizing Biden and then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s shared interest in avoiding a breach of the debt ceiling last summer.
The senator also dismissed suggestions reaching an agreement would be impossible in the current political climate in the middle of a presidential election cycle. Cotton noted President Bill Clinton’s 1996 approval of social welfare changes, which he signed after vetoing two previous attempts.
“It is possible for big and important things to happen in an election year,” the senator said.
As the Senate began consideration of the measure last week, Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., traveled to Ukraine to speak with Zelenskyy as part of a House delegation. The Little Rock congressman told the Democrat-Gazette that the United States has to “draw the line here and back the Europeans” in challenging Russia’s ongoing invasion.