US senators have proposed a bipartisan $118 billion bill aimed at strengthening border security as well as providing aid to Ukraine and Israel. The package includes about $20 billion for US border security measures, $60 billion for Ukraine and $14.1 billion in security assistance for Israel. The proposal also includes $10 billion in humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza, the West Bank and Ukraine. US President Joe Biden said he strongly supports the bill.
The US president and Democratic and Republican leaders in the Senate have pushed to resupply Ukraine with wartime aid, but have faced resistance from conservative Republicans who have insisted on cracking down on illegal immigration at the border with Mexico.
Under the deal, the president will be given new powers to immediately deport migrants if authorities are overwhelmed with asylum applications, and border applications will be subject to faster and tougher enforcement.
“We have now reached 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.
However, House Speaker Mike Johnson declared him “dead” if he reached his chamber. “This bill is even worse than we expected and will not come close to ending the border disaster the president has created,” he said in a statement to the X. Despite support from Democrats, the bill faces uncertain prospects as Both the Senate and the House of Representatives, where Republicans hold the majority.
At the same time, the bill may be President Biden’s best chance to deliver wartime aid to Ukraine, as a delay in the US Congress approving $60 billion for Kiev has halted US shipments of ammunition and missiles, seriously damaged the Ukrainian forces against Russia.