Pols from Both Parties Increase Pressure for Ukraine and Border Aid

A group of bipartisan lawmakers has issued a letter to their House colleagues to urge action on their border and foreign aid bill introduced last week.

Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Jared Golden, D-Maine, co-authored the Sunday letter along with eight other signatories, urging action on the legislation, titled “Defending Borders, Defending Democracies Act.”

The bill, totaling $66.32 billion for a one-year period, includes $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 also allocates $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 a response to the $95.3 billion foreign bill, without border provisions, from the Senate last week, which House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., promised not to bring to the House floor. 

The Fitzpatrick-Golden bill aims to reinstate the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” immigration policy for asylum seekers. This proposal is viewed as too extreme by most House Democrats and not strict enough by conservatives.

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

Fitzpatrick also emphasized the need for the House to present alternatives 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.”