U.S. Senate candidates clash over immigration bill
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and his likely Republican opponent in November, David McCormick, traded barbs over social media last week after a bipartisan border security package failed to advance in the Senate.
Immigration and the yearslong flood of fentanyl that began long before the recent surge of migrants already are early flashpoints in Pennsylvania’s pivotal U.S. Senate race.
Republicans have blamed President Joe Biden for a historic wave of migrants while Democrats have accused the GOP of refusing to act on comprehensive and bipartisan border security proposals because former President Donald Trump told them not to do it.
“David McCormick pretends to care about border security, but he said himself that he would have voted no on the bipartisan border deal,” Mr. Casey posted on the social media site X. “We need to secure our border and stop the flow of fentanyl onto our streets. I supported the bill, because we can’t put partisanship ahead of America’s safety and security.”
Mr. Casey, a three-term Democratic incumbent, previously highlighted the bill’s inclusion of major provisions from two earlier bills he backed, which would declare a national emergency and ramp up sanctions on cartels and linked traffickers or money launderers in Mexico or China.
But Mr. McCormick, a former hedge fund CEO who served in George W. Bush’s administration, quickly shot back
“Nice try, Bob,” he responded. “You’ve had 18 years and the border has never been worse. It’s time to give someone else a chance to lead, and secure the border.”
Earlier this week, Mr. McCormick described the bipartisan package as “not a compromise,” but “a capitulation.”
“To protect Americans and fight the scourge of fentanyl, we need to close the border to illegal immigration,” he said.
Republicans say Biden administration policies — including ending Mr. Trump’s policy requiring those seeking asylum to remain in Mexico while applications are processed — paved the way for a surge of migrants.
The bipartisan proposal rejected Wednesday would have made it significantly tougher to claim asylum, provided resources for detention, removal, asylum processing and immigration courts, and included $20 billion for new border security agents and asylum officers.
The deal also would have created more visas for families and workers, provided funding to reimburse cities and states grappling with an increase in border arrivals, and expanded legal pathways for the children of immigrant workers.
Mr. Biden agreed to add immigration provisions after congressional Republicans insisted on them as their price for supporting aid to Ukraine and Israel. But once a bipartisan bill was written, most Senate Republicans opposed the measure after Mr. Trump denounced the legislation.
The Senate still may vote soon on legislation that excludes the immigration and border proposals but includes $ 60 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel and $10 billion in aid meant for civilians in Ukraine, Gaza and the West Bank.
In other Washington news:
Concern over helium reserve
U.S. Reps. Chris Deluzio, D-Aspinwall, and Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, are worried about federal efforts to privatize the National Helium Reserve.
They’ve asked the Bureau of Land Management and the General Services Administration to delay the efforts.
“The Federal Helium Reserve has been a great source of stability for helium supply in the United States,” the lawmakers wrote to both agencies. “It is a critical resource for the U.S. economy in regards to semiconductor manufacturing, the operation of MRI machines, the space industry, and other economic sectors. For those reasons, we must avoid any disruptions in the reserve’s operations and ensure a smooth disposal process.”
The helium is stored in Amarillo, Texas, in a massive underground cavern. The Bureau of Land Management wants a private company to take it over. But Mr. Deluzio and Mr. Reschenthaler say there are too many questions yet to be answered before the agency can even think about selling it.
New effort on tax credits
Mr. Casey is one of several Senate Democrats pushing to permanently expand tax credits for child care.
They’ve introduced legislation to increase the credit to $4,000 per child, allowing it to automatically increase with inflation; and phase it out for families earning more than $400,000. For families who earn too little to get the full credit taken off their taxes, they could receive payments of up to $8,000.
“We must do everything in our power to put affordable child care within reach for every family, as we did when we expanded tax credits to help families pay for child care in 2021,” Mr. Casey said. “Child care costs were too high for too many families well before the pandemic and that problem isn’t going away unless we take action to lower costs.”