Bipartisan Pols Turn up Heat for Ukraine, Border Support

A cadre of bipartisan lawmakers sent a letter to their colleagues in the House in an attempt to ratchet up the urgency on their border and foreign aid bill that they introduced late last week.

Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Jared Golden, D-Maine, authored the Sunday letter that was co-signed by eight others — four Republicans and four Democrats — in a call to action the legislation, titled “Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act.”

The $66.32 billion bill, for a period of one year, would allocate $47.69 billion for Ukraine.

“We cannot turn our backs on the Ukrainian people as they fight and die by the tens of thousands to preserve their democracy and sovereignty. They have proven that when equipped with American arms and ammunition, they can win this struggle. We know that without them, they may fail,” the lawmakers wrote to the full House. 

The bill would also provide $10.4 billion for Israel, nearly $5 billion for the Indo-Pacific and $2.4 billion to support U.S. Central Command operations. The bill is an answer to the $95.3 billion foreign bill — with zero border provisions — handed down by the Senate last week, which House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., vowed not to bring to the floor of the lower chamber.  

The Fitzpatrick-Golden bill would bring back the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” immigration policy for those awaiting asylum hearings. That goes too far for most House Democrats and not nearly far enough for conservatives.

“While our responsibility to protect American interests and democracy is great, so too is our duty to be mindful of America’s resources. That is why our bill narrows prior foreign aid proposals to critical military essentials for Ukraine and Israel,” the letter went on. “The international community has the will and resources to provide important humanitarian assistance to both Ukraine and Gaza, and the United States should offer to aid in the logistics of its delivery as necessary.”

Fitzpatrick said separately that the House should put forth options rather than just shooting down proposals from the upper chamber.

“The Senate has now put forth two bipartisan proposals. The House has not put any forward until this,” Fitzpatrick told Punchbowl News. “The only thing that’s not acceptable is to say something’s dead on arrival and not offer an alternative.”