Republican senators continue to push for a review of the Ukraine-Israel aid bill
An emergency spending bill to speed military aid to Ukraine and Israel faces its next critical hurdle in a rare vote on Sunday, as Republican senators continue to look for an opportunity to make politically divisive revisions to the legislation.
The $95 billion measure, which would also fund humanitarian aid to civilians in conflict zones and address threats to the Indo-Pacific region, easily passed a series of test votes last week with bipartisan support, even as Republican senators voted to destroy an earlier version. of the bill that included measures to address border security.
Some Republican senators who helped push the foreign aid bill have warned that their support for its final passage — a vote leaders hope to hold Tuesday — depends on the ability to push for changes in the House. including several related to the border. While they have acknowledged that such proposals are unlikely to garner the 60 votes needed to amend the bill, by voting they can still sway the Republican base — and former President Donald J. Trump, whose criticisms undermined the earlier version dead had written down – show. that they were trying to implement the changes.
But as of Saturday evening, party lawmakers had not yet drawn up a final list of possible revisions that Democratic leaders would accept.
“We continue to hope that our Republican colleagues can work with us to reach an agreement on a reasonable list of amendments,” said Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and majority leader, adding: “We will continue to work on this. invoice until the job is completed.”
Even if leaders can reach an agreement, the Senate could remain in session for an extended period on Sunday. Although the scheduled procedural vote was scheduled to take place around 1 p.m., aides were making plans this weekend to ensure senators could watch the Super Bowl, drag extra televisions into the Capitol and order pizza in case they needed to vote . to a sudden flood of amendments.
The Republican wish list of revisions to the foreign aid bill focuses mainly on the southwest border. It includes a measure that mirrors a restrictive border enforcement bill that the House of Representatives passed last spring with only Republican votes.
Democrats have responded with their own demands for revisions, such as a proposal by Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, to grant lawful permanent residence to certain undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children .
It is unlikely that such proposals will receive enough support to be included in the final bill.
Not every proposed revision concerns migration. Among the other changes Republicans have called for is a measure to cut $7.9 billion in economic aid for Ukraine from the bill, saying the United States should focus on weapons and let European countries help maintain the country's infrastructure during the war. Some Democrats have also sought votes to limit the impact of Israel's military campaign in Gaza, including a measure to ban forcible displacement of Palestinian civilians.