(RightWing.org) – A bipartisan group of Senators introduced an appropriations bill in February to provide foreign assistance to Ukraine and Israel and address border security. Senate Republicans killed the bill within 24 hours. The House and Senate passed a stripped-down version of the bill that only included foreign aid, and President Joe Biden signed H.B. 815 into law on April 24. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (R-NY) recently announced his plan to reintroduce the border measures.
On May 19, Schumer posted a statement on his X/Twitter account announcing that the Senate was “prepared to take up the bipartisan Border Act this week,” the deleted portion of H.B. 815 that covered border security. He called the measure a “tough” and “serious proposal to secure [the nation’s] border.” He also posted a copy of a letter he sent to senators earlier that day discussing the bill’s future.
Schumer’s letter began by praising the measure and highlighting some of its provisions, such as investing in “cutting-edge technology” to combat the flood of fentanyl across the nation’s border. He also noted the bill’s overhaul of current asylum and border laws and the allocation of billions of dollars to hire new officers. Schumer characterized the Border Act as a “tough, serious-minded, and… bipartisan proposal.”
True to form, Schumer used the letter as an opportunity to carry the torch for Democrats and bash Donald Trump. He wrote that the former president called on Congressional Republicans to “kill the legislation.” He also accused Trump of wanting to “preserve the issue” of border security to help his chances of defeating President Joe Biden in November.
Schumer also alleged that several Republican lawmakers heeded Trump’s advice and announced their “new-found opposition to the bipartisan proposal.” Ultimately, the Senate blocked the vote, 58 to 41, with 45 Republicans voting against it.
Schumer ended his message by asking Senators to “work together” to pass the stand-alone border bill. He did concede that the measure had its detractors on both sides of the fence.
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