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Chuck Schumer vowed to have senators working 'long days and nights and potentially weekends' to push through a massive foreign aid package and work through spending, all before the Senate skips town on December 14.
The Democratic majority leader said he would put President Biden's sprawling $106 billion spending package, which includes aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, on the Senate floor next week.
He blasted Republicans, who are demanding border security provisions in exchange for more foreign aid, for injecting 'a decades-old, hyper-partisan issue into overwhelmingly bipartisan priorities.'
Schumer also revealed the Senate will take up a measure to break Sen. Tommy Tuberville's hold on more than 350 military promotions 'in the coming weeks' and work with the House to pass a National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) before the end of the year.
Chuck Schumer vowed to have senators working 'long days and nights and potentially weekends' to push through a massive foreign aid package and work through spending, all before the Senate skips down on December 14
Tuberville, R-Ala., has blocked promotions for nine months over the Pentagon's policy that offers financial assistance for service members if they need to travel out of state to get an abortion.
'One of the most important tasks we must finish is taking up and passing a funding bill to ensure we as well as our friends and partners in Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific region have the necessary military capabilities to confront and deter our adversaries and competitors,' Schumer wrote in a Dear Colleague letter.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Mike Johnson have insisted tightening border laws is essential to win over Republicans on Ukraine funding.
He noted that border negotiations continued over the Thanksgiving holiday, but warned: 'We will need bipartisan cooperation and compromise to achieve a reasonable, realistic agreement that both sides can support.'
Palestinians inspect the destruction caused by Israeli strikes on their homes in the village of Khuzaa, east of Khan Yunis near the border fence between Israel and the southern Gaza Strip on November 27
Rescuers clear debris in a hospital in Selydove, Donetsk region damaged by a Russian missile strike
Police and military officers investigate a crater from a drone, exploded in the yard of a residential building in Solomianskyi district
Congress has not been able to pass bipartisan immigration reform since 1996.
The White House made a $106 billion request to Congress that included $13.6 billlion for the border to hire new agents and asylum officers, $61 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel, and $7.4 billion for the Indo-Pacific region, including Taiwan.
'Senators should be prepared to stay in Washington until we finish our work,' warned Schumer, adding they should expect 'long days and nights, and potentially weekends in December.'
Senators are expected to leave town for the holidays on December 14 and not return until January 8.
The House recently passed a $14.3 billion aid package for Israel that was offset by clawing back funding from the IRS. Appetite for Ukraine aid has weakened among Republicans in the lower chamber, though Johnson has signaled he could get it through with the right border provisions.
Republicans want to raise the bar for asylum to ensure migrants are fleeing persecution and not just seeking economic opportunities and bring back other Trump-era border provisions.
The Senate must also conference with the House to pass the first tranche of appropriations bills to fund the government by January 19. Funding for Agriculture, Energy and Water, MilCon-VA, and Transportation-HUD will expire on that day.
Two weeks later on February 2, funding for the other eight agencies of government will expire - and Johnson has vowed not to bring up another continuing resolution (CR) to punt the funding deadline down the road again.
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