YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — US Senators unveiled a new $118 billion “Bipartisan National Security Agreement,” aka the Border Bill, to boost frontier security. The audacious bid to provide an additional $60 billion in military aid to Ukraine, along with another $14 billion to Israel, has created a political storm. US presidential candidates attempting to snatch the White House from Joe Biden in the 2024 elections have slammed the new bill.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who dropped out of the Democratic party primary race to run as an independent, was one of its critics. Former US President and Republican hopeful Donald Trump also hit out against the new border bill.
Although the bill enjoys the backing of some Republican senators, it has also failed to find support in the US House of Representatives.
It requires 60 votes in the Senate’s procedural vote on Feb. 7 to be considered for the next step.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has already denounced it, demanding a tough stance against illegal immigration. The generous support to Kyiev from US taxpayer money isn’t something they appreciate either.
US Presidential Candidates Slam Bill
With the new border bill making headlines, 2024 US Presidential hopefuls have come forward to denounce it.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called the Bipartisan National Security Agreement a disaster. He further suggested that there are other places the Government can spend the money to benefit US Citizens.
“The new Senate Bill is a disaster. We’ve already spent $113B on this proxy war in Ukraine. Requesting an additional $60B when we have so many problems at home including inflation and the border crisis is reckless. No more money for Ukraine until we have a secure border, a booming economy and pay off some of our $34 trillion of debt,”
he said.
The reaction comes after US President Joe Bide lauded the bill, urging Congress to pass it. Answering critics who slammed more aid to Ukraine, Biden claimed it helped “stop Putin’s appetite for control.”
Former US President and Republican frontrunner Donald Trump also hit out at the border bill.
“The ridiculous “Border” Bill is nothing more than a highly sophisticated trap for Republicans to assume the blame on what the Radical Left Democrats have done to our Border, just in time for our most important EVER Election. Don’t fall for it!!!”
Trump wrote on his Truth Social handle.
Other than the $60.1 billion in military assistance for Ukraine and the $14.1 billion in security assistance for Israel, it also stipulates other foreign aid. This includes $10 billion in humanitarian aid for civilians hit by global crises, including Palestinians in Gaza.
What is the Bipartisan National Security Agreement?
The new 370-page Border Bill comes after several months of backdoor negotiation led by Senators Kyrsten Sinema, James Lankford, and Chris Murphy. While Sen. Sinema quit the Democratic party in 2022 and now remains independent, her colleagues, Lankford and Murphy, represent the Republican and Democratic parties, respectively.
The bill envisions to provide $20 billion in emergency funding to relevant federal authorities to secure the US border. Accordingly, agencies like Homeland Security, The Justice Department, and The State departments, among others, will receive funds. Thousands of new Border Patrol agents and asylum officers will be hired, along with a modern technology boost to combat human and substance smuggling.
The Bipartisan National Security Agreement will empower the Department of Homeland Security to expel illegal immigrants from the border if the inflow continuously grows for a few days.
More specifically, this “border security” provision will automatically come into force once border crossings average 5,000 per day over a week. Alternatively, it will also kick in if 8,500 people cross the border in a single day.
This provision has created much debate, with Republicans accusing the Senators of opening the floodgates for thousands of illegal immigrants to flow in.
House Speaker Mike Johnson called it “worse than we expected” and said he won’t back it.
With the US Elections less than a year away, the political debates around such issues are expected to get more heated in the coming weeks.
