The wording of a much-anticipated agreement that would strengthen US border security measures and unlock billions of dollars in additional aid for Israel and Ukraine was made public by US senators on Sunday, though it is uncertain if this agreement will become law.
According to a summary released by Senate Appropriations Committee chair Patty Murray, the so-called national security supplemental authorizes $118.3 billion in total funding, of which $60 billion, matching the White House’s request, is allocated to support war-torn Ukraine and $14.1 billion to provide security assistance to Israel.
The legislation also includes $20.2 billion for US border security and a myriad of immigration policy changes agreed to by Democratic and Republican negotiators.
It’s unclear if the 370-page plan has the 60 supporters it needs to pass the Senate’s first procedural vote, which is scheduled for no later than Wednesday in the 100-seat Democratic-controlled chamber.
Republicans have been pressuring senators to approve President Joe Biden’s request for financing to Ukraine in exchange for increased border security during the months-long negotiations over a counter-immigration package.
The White House quickly approved the text’s release, underscoring the decades-long effort to fix the nation’s “broken” immigration system.
“Now we’ve reached an agreement on a bipartisan national security deal that includes the toughest and fairest set of border reforms in decades. I strongly support it,” Biden said in a statement.
He also urged Republicans who control the House of Representatives and have been pressured by White House hopeful Donald Trump to oppose the deal to back the bipartisan package.
“If you believe, as I do, that we must secure the border now, doing nothing is not an option,” he said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson had previously declared the package “dead on arrival,” although he appeared to change tack when he told Fox Business last Friday that he’s “not prejudging anything.”
