10:51, 5 February 2024
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 5, ARMENPRESS. U.S. Senators on Sunday released the details of a $118.2 billion bipartisan aid proposal for Ukraine, Israel and the southern U.S. border, after months of negotiations, CNBC reports.
The bill requests $60.1 billion for Ukraine aid, $14.1 billion for Israel and $20.2 billion to improve security at the U.S. border. It also includes smaller pockets of funding for humanitarian assistance in war-torn regions, and defense operations in the Red Sea and Taiwan.
U.S. President Joe Biden initially proposed a more than $105 billion aid package in October. The Senate’s new deal roughly matches the funding proportions Biden had requested for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
The central difference in the new proposal is over $13 billion more in border security funding, which was a major point of contention in the months-long Senate talks.
Republicans have criticized the Biden administration for its handling of the border, which has seen record numbers of migrant crossings in recent months. Democrats have countered that the president needs further executive authority to institute more aggressive border security.
The president said Sunday that he supports the Senate’s bipartisan proposal, including the term that gives him “new emergency authority to shut down the border when it becomes overwhelmed.”
“I urge Congress to come together and swiftly pass this bipartisan agreement. Get it to my desk so I can sign it into law immediately,” Biden said.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said a vote is scheduled for the bill on Wednesday.
Despite the backing of top Democrats, the bill faces uncertain prospects in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a majority. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Sunday that the Senate deal would be “dead on arrival” if it reaches his Republican-controlled chamber.
