A group of eight bipartisan House lawmakers unveiled a new $66.3 billion foreign aid bill that would fund Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan support while also including provisions on the border.
The new bill comes as part of efforts to break the House stalemate on the issue before Kyiv's war effort sputters. The latest measure is spearheaded by Ukraine Caucus co-chair Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.
It is a narrower version of the $95 billion aid package that was passed by the Senate this week. The House counterproposal removes tens of billions of dollars in humanitarian and economic aid for both Gaza and Ukraine in the upper chambers' bill. It also leaves the military portion that was in the Senate bill.
The new bipartisan bill also has provisions that seek to tighten border security and win over Republican lawmakers who would not approve Ukraine aid with addressing the border. The bill is sponsored by an equal number of Democrats and Republican lawmakers, as per Politico.
Other than Fitzpatrick, the bill is co-sponsored by GOP Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Mike Lawler of New York, and Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon. On the other hand, four centrist Democrats also signed the bill: Reps. Jaren Golden of Maine, Ed Case of Hawaii, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, and Jim Costa of California.
The new bill comes as Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson opposes the Senate version of the package. It is also unclear how he will respond to the newly unveiled bipartisan foreign aid package.
However, the latest proposal creates yet another bipartisan pressure point as Ukraine advocates look to force a vote on the House floor after months of inaction. The bill would allocate $47.7 billion in support of Kyiv, including $13.8 billion for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.
The bill, known as "Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act," would also automatically reject migrants who legally or illegally cross the border without proper paperwork for one year. This would restrict asylum but would have humanitarian exceptions in certain cases, according to Axios.
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Including Border Provisions
It also blocks the use of federal funds to transfer migrants between detention centers or other locations unless the reason is for adjudicating their immigration case. The bill also seeks to implement a Trump-era policy that would require migrants and asylum seekers to be turned back to Mexico to await their court hearings.
The policy mandates cooperation from the Mexican government and cannot simply be enforced from the side of the United States. Other than the Ukraine aid, the bill would also include $10.4 billion for Israel and $.49 billion for U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific to combat China.
The idea of sending more money to Ukraine is a touchy subject for factions of the House GOP, who argue that United States President Joe Biden should produce an end-game strategy for the war-torn region before providing additional aid.
Texas Republican and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul said that the new legislation was "not well thought out." He added that it would have a hard time getting to the floor without a proposal to pay for it, said the Washington Times.
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