On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) did not commit to supporting potential legislation that would tie billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine to U.S. border security measures, as the Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) revealed that bipartisan negotiators are getting “closer” to reaching an agreement.
Senate Republicans, led by James Lankford of Missouri, are demanding changes to U.S. immigration laws and resumption of construction on sections of the U.S.-Mexico border wall as a condition of approving President Biden’s October request for $61.4 billion. of additional dollars in war funds for Ukraine. .
Talks between Lankford, top Democratic negotiator Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Biden administration officials continued over the House break, according to Schumer, who said: “There is virtually unanimous agreement between Democrats and Republicans” that “we need to fix the border.”
The Senate is “closer than ever” to reaching a deal on legislation that would tie money for Ukraine to increased border security, Schumer said Wednesday. AP
“We are making progress. “We are closer than ever,” Schumer told reporters about the ongoing negotiations. “But this is a very difficult topic. And there are still different things, different problems to overcome.”
Among the issues is figuring out “how to do it so that you can get 60 votes here in the Senate and a majority in the House,” the Senate majority leader said.
For Johnson, the House GOP immigration bill passed in May – HR 2 – “is the necessary ingredient” for his group to consider the deal being prepared on the Senate side.
President Biden called on Congress to approve more than $60 billion in aid for war-torn Ukraine. Shutterstock
“This is not about sending more money here,” Johnson, who visited the southern border on Wednesday with a delegation of about 60 House Republican lawmakers, told CNN. “It’s about changing policy.”
He noted that it is not just the conservative House Freedom Caucus but “the majority of House Republicans” who are threatening a government shutdown if a proper immigration deal is not reached, one with teeth that would “seal the border.”
“There is no bill, but I will tell you that I don’t care if you call it HR 2. I do care about the provisions that will seal the border,” Johnson said.
“I don’t think now is the time to carry out comprehensive immigration reform because, according to you, it is very complicated. It is very complex to do, but we can seal the border. We could do it overnight. “The president has existing authority under existing federal law to do that, and he refuses to do it,” he added.
House Speaker Mike Johnson wants the Senate deal to reflect the border security measures contained in the “Border Security Act” passed by the House in May. REUTERS
Schumer called the House GOP’s trip to the border “very nice,” but suggested it doesn’t help reach a deal.
“It’s very nice that you go to the border, but the way to achieve something is to work, as we are in the Senate, on a bipartisan solution to the border crisis, which will then unlock money for Ukraine, Israel, the Indo-Pacific. and humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza,” he said.
“I think if the Senate can get something done in a bipartisan way, it will put enormous pressure on the House to get something done as well,” Schumer added.
The House and Senate will reconvene next week.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn