Schumer vows to bring Biden’s $100B spending package up next week

Chuck Schumer promised that senators would work “long days and nights and possibly weekends” to push through a massive foreign aid package and spending bills, all before the Senate leaves town on December 14.

The Democratic majority leader said he will put President Biden’s sweeping $106 billion spending package, which includes aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, on the Senate floor next week. He blasted Republicans, who are demanding border security provisions in exchange for more foreign aid, for injecting “a decades-old, deeply partisan issue into largely bipartisan priorities.”

Schumer also revealed that the Senate will take action to break Senator Tommy Tuberville’s hold on more than 350 military promotions “in the coming weeks” and will work with the House to pass a National Defense Authorization Act before the end of the year ( NDAA). . Tuberville, R-Ala., has blocked promotions for nine months over the Pentagon’s policy that provides financial assistance to service members if they have to leave the state to have an abortion.

“One of the most important tasks we must complete is to adopt and approve a financing bill to ensure that we, as well as our friends and partners in Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific region, have the necessary military capabilities to counter our adversaries to confront and deter. and competitors,” Schumer wrote in a Dear Colleague letter. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Mike Johnson have insisted that tightening border laws is essential to winning over Republicans to finance Ukraine.

He noted that border negotiations continued over Thanksgiving, but warned, “We will need cooperation and compromise between both sides to reach a reasonable, realistic agreement that both sides can support.” Congress has failed to pass bipartisan immigration reform since 1996.

The White House made a $106 billion request to Congress, including $13.6 billion for the border to hire new agents and asylum officials, $61 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel and $7.4 billion for the Indo-Pacific region, including Taiwan. “Senators must be prepared to remain in Washington until we complete our work,” Schumer warned, adding that they should expect “long days and nights, and possibly weekends in December.”

Senators are expected to leave town for the holidays on December 14 and not return until January 8. The House of Representatives recently passed a $14.3 billion aid package for Israel, which was offset by recovering funding from the IRS. Interest in aid to Ukraine has waned among Republicans in the House of Representatives, although Johnson has indicated he could pass it with the right border provisions.

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