Congressional Republicans, including Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), have come out strongly against President Joe Biden’s recent request for a staggering $105 billion in foreign aid. The proposal, unveiled during Biden’s address to the nation, has faced significant opposition, with critics questioning the allocation of funds and its impact on national security.
Biden’s foreign aid package, which earmarks $60 billion for Ukraine and $3.5 billion for Gaza, has been met with skepticism by many conservative lawmakers. While the President emphasized that this support is crucial for Israel, the majority of the funds are slated for Ukraine. Israel would receive $14 billion, aimed at bolstering its military capabilities, particularly by replenishing its Iron Dome missile defense system and sending a strong message to Iran about the unwavering U.S. support for the nation.
For Cotton, the package is not seeing any success, as he stated, “President Biden’s slush fund proposal is dead on arrival, just like his budgets.”
Tom Cotton Says Biden’s $100B Request That Includes Aid For Gaza Is ‘Dead On Arrival’ https://t.co/mpXrHACN8K pic.twitter.com/zLzzhzMgnQ
— Daily Wire News (@DailyWireNews) October 21, 2023
He expressed strong opposition to spending $3.5 billion that could potentially benefit Gazans, raising concerns about it inadvertently supporting Hamas terrorists. Additionally, he criticized the allocation of $11.8 billion for non-war-related spending by the Ukrainian government, such as funding retirement pensions for government employees.
“We will also not spend $11.8 billion to fund the Ukrainian government’s own non-war spending, such as funding retirement pensions for Ukrainian government employees. Nor will we spend $4.7 billion for housing, transportation, and ‘services’ for illegal aliens in the United States rather than deporting them,” he stated firmly.
Cotton assured the American people that Biden’s proposal would be met with resistance, vowing that Republicans would craft a more suitable funding bill. He declared, “The Biden proposal is going nowhere, and Senate Republicans will take the lead on crafting a funding bill that protects Americans and their interests.”
After Biden sent his $105 billion request to Congress, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pledged swift action by Senate Democrats to pass the budget request while the House sorts its Speaker issue.
“This legislation is too important to wait for the House to settle their chaos. Senate Democrats will move expeditiously on this request, and we hope that our Republican colleagues across the aisle will join us to pass this much-needed funding,” he said.
While some Republican senators, such as John Cornyn (R-TX), have voiced support for the idea of assisting Ukraine and Israel, they also acknowledged that more is required and are asking for the addition of more border policies to the measure.
Cornyn emphasized the need for substantive policy changes to address the ongoing border crisis. And as suggested by Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN), the funding request poses a risk of worsening the border crisis the nation is already grappling with.
