Due to opposition from Republicans, Senate failed to even advance to debate on strongest border security bill in decades, legislation that resulted from four months of bipartisan negotiations
Bipartisan bill includes FEND Off Fentanyl Act and key provisions of Casey’s Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act
For more than two months, Republicans conditioned the passage of Ukraine and Israel aid, humanitarian assistance for Gaza and other war zones on border legislation. In a stunning reversal, they voted against bipartisan border security bill en masse.
Republicans voted against policy endorsed by border patrol agent union representing more than 18,000 agents
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) released the following statement after Senate Republicans killed the bipartisan emergency border bill following months of demanding that any emergency supplemental legislation include provisions to secure the border:
“Today we had the opportunity to pass the strongest border security bill in decades and Senate Republicans walked away. After insisting that border security was such an emergency that it needed to be addressed immediately, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are now brazenly admitting that this issue can wait until after the November elections. Everyone knows the reason for this insult to the American people is that Senate Republicans are genuflecting to their presidential candidate because he’d rather campaign on this crisis than fix it. Make no mistake: Senate Republicans failed to do the hard work to secure our border and combat the fentanyl crisis today. The real tragedy here is that the only winners today are Vladimir Putin, Hamas terrorists, President Xi, and fentanyl traffickers.”
The emergency supplemental spending bill released on Sunday included funding to secure the southwest border by hiring additional border patrol agents and funding additional border security inspection technology and equipment to detect and stop fentanyl that is flowing into the United States through official ports of entry along the southwest border—provisions also included in Senator Casey’s Stop Fentanyl at the Border Act. The bill also included the Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Off Fentanyl Act. Casey has been traveling around Pennsylvania meeting with law enforcement and families of victims of fentanyl overdoses as he pushes for passage of both bills. The emergency bill also would have made policy changes to streamline the asylum process and make it more orderly and increase the number of employment and family-based visas. Further, the legislation would have created a pathway to residency for our Afghan allies who fought alongside U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.
After Republicans insisted last year that any emergency foreign aid and security assistance be paired with border security measures, the carefully negotiated bill had included much-needed support to Ukraine as it fights back against Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion and assistance to Israel in its war against terrorist group Hamas. Additionally, it would have provided billions of dollars in humanitarian assistance to provide food, water, shelter, medical care, and other essential services to civilians in Gaza and the West Bank, Ukraine, and others caught in conflict zones around the world. The Senate is now expected to vote on these measures separately from the border provisions due to a reversal from the Republican conference.
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