The White House on Tuesday urged House Republicans to reverse course and work on a bipartisan funding package to provide aid to Ukraine, Israel and other allies that passed the Senate in an early morning vote.
White House Press Secretary Andrew Bates said in response to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana)’s rejection of the Senate bill, “The House is focused on American national security and NATO, not President Putin or the Iranian government.” “We should support this,” he wrote in a memo.
“Today, the Senate voted to advance many of the American people’s most pressing needs. The responsibility now lies with the House of Representatives to do the same,” Bates said in the memo. “This is a high-stakes time for American families. The choices are tough and high-stakes times for House Republicans, too.”
The Senate passed a bill giving $60 billion to Ukraine by 70 votes, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York on Tuesday pressed Mr. Johnson to bring the bill to the House for a vote.
The package also includes $14 billion for Israel, $5 billion to support allies in the Indo-Pacific region against China’s growing influence, and $9 billion in humanitarian aid to victims of conflict around the world, including in the Gaza Strip. include.
“Will House Republicans side with President Biden and senators on both sides of the aisle in supporting U.S. national security? Or will House Republicans side with President Vladimir Putin and the Tehran regime in the name of politics? Will it stand?” Bate asked. “House Republicans cannot afford to lose sight of this binary choice. Undermining America’s national security by voting against our interests and values would be catastrophic.”
Johnson argued that the Senate bill lacked the tougher border security measures that House Republicans had called for, but Schumer rejected the idea on Tuesday.
President Biden earlier Tuesday praised the Senate for passing the foreign aid package and urged the House to “move this forward with urgency.”
“If we do not stand up against tyrants who seek to conquer or carve out the territory of our neighbors, it will have serious implications for America’s national security. Both our allies and our enemies… We’ll be watching as well. It’s time for the House to act and immediately send this bipartisan bill to my desk for me to sign into law,” Biden said in a statement.
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