(HorizonPost.com) – The US Senate on Sunday released the proposed text of a foreign aid bill that would include the first significant overhaul in US immigration policy in years but the bill’s fate in the House is uncertain, ABC News reported.
The agreement negotiated between Arizona Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema, Democrat Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, and Oklahoma Republican Senator James Lankford aims to increase border security and immigration enforcement while also authorizing additional military aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murphy (D-WA) released the text of the $118 billion package Sunday night. The bill would include $60 billion in additional support for Ukraine and $14.1 billion in support for Israel.
Also included in the measure would be $10 billion in humanitarian aid to Gaza, the West Bank, and Ukraine. Another $4.83 billion would go to the US’s partners in the Indo-Pacific region to “deter aggression” by China.
The proposed package would also include $20.3 billion for existing operational needs along the southern border with some border policy changes. It also includes the FEND Off Fentanyl Act (the Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence Off Fentanyl Act).
However, the response to the text was less than favorable in the Republican-controlled House.
In a statement blasting the legislation on Sunday, Speaker Mike Johnson said the measure would be “dead on arrival” if it made it to the House.
In a post on X, Johnson said the proposed Senate compromise was worse than the Republican House had expected and would not “come close to ending the border catastrophe” the Biden administration created.
Johnson noted that the Democrats’ lead negotiator, Senator Murphy, admitted that under the negotiated legislation, “the border never closes.” Johnson said if the bill did reach the House, “it will be dead on arrival.”
The Senate is expected to move forward with the legislation later in the week with a procedural vote set for Wednesday, February 7. The bill would need 60 votes to clear the first hurdle. However, it is not clear if enough Republicans are willing to support the measure.
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