Sen Reed Urges House To Pass CR So Congress Can Consider Ukraine/Israel Aid

Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has called on Congress to pass House Speaker Johnson's (R-LA) govt funding Continuing Resolution so lawmakers can consider President Biden's USD$106 billion national security package - which includes funding for Ukraine, Israel, and the US-Mexico border.

• Reed said, during today's Politico Defense Summit: “The first priority is to get the CR. The second priority is to get funding for Israel and Ukraine... we have to do both.”
• Johnson's CR fails to include any supplemental funding and, with the supplemental tied to complex negotiations over policy, and GOP enthusiasm for Ukraine waning, it is unclear if the package has a pathway to Biden's desk.
• Politico noted today: "It’s widely expected that Johnson will not move a Ukraine funding package, despite saying publicly since he took the gavel that he would “bifurcate” Israel and Ukraine aid… But with 93 Republicans having previously voted to stop assistance to Ukraine (Johnson was one of them), it doesn’t seem like House Republicans are likely to move on this.”
• In the Senate, Ukraine funding is now linked with a complex, and politically fraught considering the looming 2024 general election, negotiation on border policy. Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-SD) said yesterday: "I think [Ukraine aid is] probably going to move separately from the CR, it's not gonna probably be ready this week, but they have to get serious in these negotiations. And right now, they're not.”