December 6, 2023
Senate Republicans just blocked a bill meant to provide more funding for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and significant new funding for our own US border. The President said if Ukraine loses to Russia because US funding dries up – which it is scheduled run out in the coming weeks – not only Ukrainians but Americans are going to be faced with a harsh reality.
But that warning didn’t seem to matter today. The $111 billion bill to fund military aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan which also included more than $10 billion of additional money for the US border failed. The final vote was 49-51. It needed 60 votes to pass. Both Senators Schumer and Sanders voted no for procedural purposes.
But why did it fail? No. It wasn’t the price tag. That was fine. The Republicans chose to block the bill today because they said it didn’t go far enough when it came to our own border security. Border policy negotiations between Senate Democrats and Republicans had been going on for weeks quietly behind the scenes — but then suddenly the talks broke down last week and that’s what led to today’s failed vote. Democrats say the Republicans want to take unreasonable extreme measures on the border and are unwilling to compromise and Republicans say Democrats won’t go far enough and they aren’t backing down on their position.
The President says he’s willing to go farther than he has before on the border and his own immigration policy if the two sides would just talk.
Any bill that comes to the floor of the United States senate by definition with this current makeup must be bipartisan. It needs 60 votes. So it can’t be packed full of priorities for one side of the aisle without giving something to the other side.
Now here’s the thing – time is running out. The Senate is schedule to go on their holiday break at the end of next week. And whatever the senate passes must also pass in the United States house – which is a whole different ball of wax. So it could be possible that lawmakers will leave DC and leave Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and our own border out of luck.
