A group of moderate House members from both parties are attempting to push Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to bring a revised piece of legislation to a vote that combines foreign military aid with domestic border security, The Washington Times reported.
The bill's lead sponsor, Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., said he prefers to go through the normal channels to bring the legislation to the House floor but will force the vote via a discharge petition if Johnson resists.
According to The Hill, discharge petitions have rarely worked over the years as they require 218 signatures to force a floor vote on a proposed bill, pulling support from both parties on a bill that many will see as lacking teeth.
Democrats, for example, are unlikely to support any bill that does not have humanitarian aid for Palestinians in Gaza, which the current bill does not. Fitzpatrick has said he would like to see that included prior to a final vote if his efforts are successful, The Hill reported.
"If the House cannot come to a consensus on a bill to be put on the floor, the alternative can't be that Ukraine fails and our border remains open. We can't allow that to happen," Fitzpatrick said Wednesday. "So this is not a workaround of anyone or any post. This is a pressure point to try to apply pressure to force something to the floor."
Both parties have their voices of dissent, with Ukraine being a priority for Democrats and border security being the top priority of Republicans, according to The Hill. And most Democrats seem to favor the Senate foreign aid package.
Fitzpatrick hopes to sway his colleagues that this is Congress' last and best chance to approve aid for Ukraine this year, according to The Hill.
"It is an unsustainable argument, either in the short term or the long term, that we're going to defend the borders of our foreign allies but not our own," Fitzpatrick said, pointing out the main barrier to the Senate bill.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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