Breaking News -US Senate to vote on Ukraine-border security package

 US Senate to vote on Ukraine-border security package next week - The Hil

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced on Thursday that Senate negotiators will release the long-awaited text of a bill that will fund the war in Ukraine and address border security over the weekend. Senators will then reconvene early next week to consider the legislation.

Schumer stated that he plans to schedule the first vote on proceeding with the controversial package for Wednesday, allowing senators to pass it before the two-week Presidents Day recess.

"I want members to be aware that we plan to post the full text of the national security supplemental as early as tomorrow, no later than Sunday," Schumer announced. "That will give members plenty of time to read the bill before voting on it."

Schumer also mentioned that he will initiate the Senate's procedural process on Monday so that senators can vote on the motion to proceed with the bill by midweek.

"As for the timing of the vote, I plan to file cloture on the motion to proceed to the vehicle by Monday, leading to the first vote on the national security supplemental no later than Wednesday," he said.

Schumer made a passionate plea to his Republican colleagues to vote in favor of the bill, emphasizing its importance in addressing multiple global crises.

He highlighted Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Israel's military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, the threat posed by China in the Indo-Pacific region, and the significant influx of migrants across the southern border.

"Addressing these challenges is not easy, but we cannot simply shirk from our responsibilities just because a task is difficult," he argued.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), the lead Democratic negotiator, expressed that it is time for the legislation to be brought to the Senate floor after four months of negotiation.

"We have a bipartisan deal to address the crisis at the border. It should be no surprise that Donald Trump opposes the agreement - he wants chaos at the border because it helps him politically. It's time to bring this deal to the floor," Murphy wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) stated on Thursday that he expects the text of the bill to be made public by the end of Friday, a projection that Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) also shared with reporters.

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), the lead Republican negotiator, mentioned that this timeline should provide enough time for colleagues to study the border security deal. The deal would require President Biden to deport migrants without going through the asylum process once the number of daily crossings exceeds 5,000.

However, Lankford acknowledged that colleagues with smaller staff might need more time.

"It depends on the level of staffing that they have. Do they have people who are knowledgeable on these issues? If they do, they can read through it pretty quickly," he said.

On the other hand, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) argued that giving senators less than a week to study the bill before voting on it would be "unacceptable."

"They've had months to write it - in complete secrecy, no less," he wrote on X. "A few days won't be nearly enough to read, debate, and amend this thing."

Lee proposed giving senators at least three weeks to study the legislation, highlighting the complexity of immigration law and pointing out that it took the Judiciary Committee a month to mark up comprehensive immigration legislation in 2013.