Bipartisan Politicians Increase Efforts to Pass Bill Connecting Ukraine Aid with Border Security

A group of bipartisan lawmakers has sent a letter to their colleagues in the House to urge urgency on their border and foreign aid bill introduced last week.

Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Jared Golden, D-Maine, penned the Sunday letter co-signed by eight others — four Republicans and four Democrats — to push for action on the “Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act.”

The bill proposes $66.32 billion for a year, with $47.69 billion allocated for Ukraine and $10.4 billion for Israel. It also includes nearly $5 billion for the Indo-Pacific and $2.4 billion for U.S. Central Command operations. This comes in response to the $95.3 billion foreign bill passed by the Senate, which did not have any border provisions. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has vowed not to bring the Senate bill to the House floor.

The Fitzpatrick-Golden bill aims to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” immigration policy for those awaiting asylum hearings, a move that is controversial among House Democrats and conservatives. The lawmakers emphasized the need to prioritize critical military essentials for Ukraine and Israel, while also encouraging the international community’s aid in providing humanitarian support to both Ukraine and Gaza.

Fitzpatrick also urged the House to present options rather than simply rejecting proposals from the Senate. “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.”