CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — A bill to provide more foreign aid to Israel and Ukraine is on hold, and a West Virginia senator is one of those leading the charge.
That’s because the bill contains no additional funding to secure the southern U.S. Border. But this fight has been simmering for weeks, and it’s likely to come back again.
More than 200,000 migrants cross the Southern Border from Mexico into the United States without permission every month, according to the U.S. Border Patrol.
While some seek freedom, others are trafficking illegal drugs. At the same time, the war between Israel and Hamas continues, as does the battle between Russia and Ukraine.
The White House asked Congress to approve $110 billion in aid to Israel and Ukraine but included no extra money for security at the Southern Border. The U.S. Senate rejected the bill because of that.
“Fentanyl. They say 90% of the Fentanyl, comes through the border. And heroin, cocaine, methamphetamines. And these are killing, killing our young people and our productive citizens. You know our mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, (R) West Virginia.
An angry President Joe Biden said, “Republicans think they get everything they want, without any bipartisan compromise. That’s not the answer.” Biden accused them of, “playing chicken with our national security.”
All 50 Republicans voted against the foreign aid bill because there was no more money to protect the Southern U.S. Border. One independent senator joined them, Senator Bernie Sanders (I) Vermont, who normally caucuses with Democrats.