House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday did not commit to supporting potential legislation that would link billions of dollars in aid for Ukraine to US border security measures — as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) revealed that Bilateral negotiators are getting “closer” to making a deal.
Senate Republicans, led by James Lankford of Missouri, are demanding modifications to US immigration laws and the resumption of construction on a section of the US-Mexico border wall as a condition for approving President Biden’s request in October for an additional $61.4 billion in wartime funding for Ukraine.
Discussions between Lankford, chief negotiator Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Biden administration officials continued through the upper house recess, according to Schumer, who said, “There is unanimous agreement among Democrats and Republicans” that “we need to fix the border.”
The Senate is “closer than we are” to reaching agreement on legislation that would tie money for Ukraine to increased border security, Schumer said Wednesday. AP
“We are making progress. We’re closer than ever,” Schumer told reporters about the ongoing negotiations. “But this is a very difficult issue. And there are still different things, different issues to overcome.”
Among the issues is figuring out “how to do it in a way that 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 a necessary ingredient” for his caucus to consider a deal in the works on the Senate side.
President Biden asked 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 GOP lawmakers, told CNN. “This is about changing policy.”
He noted that it’s not just the conservative House Freedom Caucus but “most House Republicans” who are threatening a government shutdown if a proper immigration deal isn’t reached — one with teeth that would “seal the border.”
“There’s no draft bill, but I’ll tell you, I don’t care if they call it HR 2. I care about the provisions that will close the border,” Johnson said.
“I don’t think now is the time to do comprehensive immigration reform because in your view, it’s too complicated. It’s very complicated to do, but we can close the border. We can do it overnight. The president has existing authority under existing federal law to do so, and he refuses to do so,” he added.
House Speaker Mike Johnson wants the Senate deal to mirror border security measures in the “Secure the Border Act” passed by the House in May. Reuters
Schumer called the House GOP’s field trip to the border “very good” but suggested that it didn’t help get the deal hammered out.
“It’s great that you’re going to the border, but the way to get things done 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 people in Gaza,” he said.
“I think if the Senate does something in a bipartisan way, it will put a lot of pressure on the House to do something as well,” Schumer added.
The House and Senate will both reconvene next week.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
