Ukraine/Israel aid bill moves ahead; GOP demands changes
An emergency aid bill for Ukraine and Israel inched ahead in the Senate on Thursday, providing glimmers of hope for the measure after a series of setbacks.
But hurdles remained as Republicans demand changes and feud over whether to back it.
In a bipartisan show of support, the Senate voted 67-32 to advance the bill, with 17 Republicans joining Democrats to move it forward. The legislation would provide $60.1 billion for Ukraine, $14.1 billion for Israel and $10 billion in humanitarian aid for civilians in global conflicts. But many Republicans were still withholding their backing as they demanded changes to the package, and many others opposed it outright.
“We hope to reach an agreement with our Republican colleagues on amendments,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. “We are going to keep working on this bill until the job is done.”
Some predicted that Senate consideration could still take days, and leaders in both parties expected to spend the weekend working through the remaining disputes. If it survives and can pass, the legislation still faces steep challenges in the House, where a large group of Republicans are vehemently opposed. Still, proponents of the measure said Thursday's action suggested that the aid package, which has been stalled for months, might finally have a path toward approval in Congress.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine called the vote “a very important first step to continue support for Ukraine's victory and increase our shared security,” in a social media post in which he wrote: “This is a bad day for Putin, and a good day for democracies.”
Among other things, Senate Republicans are insisting on the opportunity to add border restrictions to the package — despite having voted Wednesday to block a version of the legislation that included a bipartisan package of border restrictions. They spent much of Thursday haggling over which changes to seek.
The sluggish action was the latest manifestation of discord that has roiled the GOP and imperiled the emergency national security spending bill. Republicans have clashed over how to address international crises without angering the leader of their party and its likely presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump.
Among the border-related amendments that had been floated by Republicans were a measure reflecting Lankford's border deal and a more severe immigration enforcement bill that House Republicans passed last spring. Graham also wanted an amendment to cap the number of migrants that could be paroled into the United States at 10,000 annually.
There were also talks about a bid to revoke or change the Flores settlement agreement, which sets limits on how long children can be held in detention facilities, according to Senate aides who described the discussions on the condition of anonymity because no decision had been made about whether to pursue the proposal.