(ProsperNews.net) – The US Senate has approved a controversial bill that will give almost $50 billion to Ukraine and just $650 million for the construction of a wall along the southern US border. Democrat Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Republican James Lankford of Oklahoma, and Independent Senator Krysten Sinema negotiated the bill that includes funding for Ukraine and Israel, as well as border control measures demanded by Republicans. These include extra funding for Border Patrol agents, asylum officers, and machines to detect Fentanyl, but notably it allocates billions more in funding for Ukraine.
The legislation will give the Homeland Security Secretary the ability to remove any migrant within 100 miles of the border within 14 days of their entry to the US, and declare an emergency if the number crossing is higher than 5,000 for seven consecutive days. This is unlikely to please House Republicans who published impeachment articles against the Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas the same week, accusing him of resolute failure to secure America’s borders, and for lying to Congress by stating that he had.
The bill furthermore requires mandatory supervision of migrants processed at the border, and requires some asylum claims to be processed on site.
House Republicans say the measures do not go far enough and warn they will not pass the bill through the House. Donald Trump has urged GOP lawmakers to reject the legislation which he argues places the blame for the border crisis on Republicans just as the Presidential election looms. President Biden hinted that Trump’s concerns were valid when he advised Republicans that they would pass the legislation if they were serious about tackling the border crisis.
Meanwhile, a GOP bill to provide funding to Israel only – and exclude Ukraine – fell in the House of Representatives. The proposal, which sought to provide $17.6 billion to Israel to aid its war against Hamas, and required a two-thirds majority because lawmakers introduced it under an expedited procedure, was opposed by 250 to 180.
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