The Senate is making slow progress on the foreign aid legislation.
The House may approve a financial assistance plan of $95 billion for Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific region as early as next week, following several obstacles in the Senate.
On Friday night, the Senate voted 64 to 19 to commence discussions on the foreign aid bill. They are expected to continue working throughout the weekend after certain Republicans insisted on including border security measures and others expressed complete opposition to the bill.
The voting process will lead to multiple days of discussion and additional votes that will probably overlap with the beginning of the Senate’s two-week break, scheduled to commence on Monday.
Successfully passed the initial obstacle in advancing the supplementary measure despite resistance from Republicans.
A deal on border security that has been agreed upon by both political parties.
The foreign aid was incorporated into the original bill and later extracted from it, under deliberation by the Senate.
postponed a voting process to advance the stripped-down version that was expected to happen Wednesday night amid disagreements about how to proceed.
“Schumer stated that the Senate made progress yesterday by successfully overcoming the initial obstacle to enacting the national security funding increase. This was a significant and crucial starting point.”
Schumer stated that there is currently no agreement between Democrats and Republicans on amendments, which would help speed up the final approval process.
He stated that Democrats are open to considering amendments that are fair and reasonable.
Senator Rand Paul, a member of the Republican Party from Kentucky, stated that he will oppose any measure that accelerates the approval of this unfavorable bill for foreign spending.
If the bill successfully overcomes any remaining conflicts and is able to be approved by the Senate, it will still encounter opposition in the House from numerous Republicans who are against providing more aid to Ukraine.
Republican lawmaker Mike Johnson, who serves as House Speaker in Louisiana, did not give a definite answer on Wednesday regarding the bill’s fate in the House.
Johnson informed reporters that they will let the process continue and address it once it is received.
On Thursday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries suggested that Democrats may try to push for a vote on the foreign aid bill. They could use a method called a discharge petition to bypass House GOP leaders, but this would only be successful if a few Republicans also supported it and provided the necessary 218 signatures. With a discharge petition, legislators can compel a vote on the House floor, but the process may take several days or even weeks.
“I am ready to utilize all possible legislative measures to ensure that we successfully pass comprehensive national security legislation,” stated the Democrat from New York in a press release.
Caitlin Yilek
Source: cbsnews.com