[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 197 (Thursday, November 30, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S5682]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Supplemental Funding

  Mr. President, now on the supplemental, talks on finding a way to 
pass a much needed national security supplemental package continue here 
in the Senate.
  In our supplemental, we must deliver aid to Israel, aid to Ukraine, 
humanitarian assistance to innocent civilians in Gaza, and fund 
military capabilities in the Indo-Pacific. All these national security 
issues are related and should move together.
  Yesterday, I spoke directly to both Leader McConnell and Speaker 
Johnson and made clear that if Republicans don't work with us in a 
bipartisan way on the border, passing a supplemental is going to be 
very difficult.
  I was deeply troubled by reports yesterday that Speaker Johnson 
joined Senate Republicans and made a push to inject more H.R. 2 
provisions into the Senate supplemental. That is precisely the kind of 
thing that undermines the entire supplemental, including aid to Israel, 
aid to Ukraine, and humanitarian aid to Gaza.
  We all know the border is a problem that we should deal with, but it 
is not related to Ukraine or to Israel or to the Indo-Pacific. It has 
been put in there by Republicans, and that means there is an onus on 
them to make sure it is bipartisan.
  Democrats are willing to work with Republicans on commonsense, 
realistic border security, but we can't have the hard right essentially 
say it is H.R. 2 or nothing. If Speaker Johnson or, for that matter, 
the negotiators feel they have to listen to what Johnson can pass just 
among his caucus, we will never get anything done. Democratic votes are 
going to be needed in the House to pass this legislation. We all know 
that. So this ``H.R. 2 or nothing'' or something close to ``H.R. 2 or 
nothing'' is a proposal that could not pass the Senate or the House.
  Democrats--the solution for passing the supplemental is bipartisan 
compromise, and we have shown that we are willing to do it. The wrong 
answer is to let Ukraine aid, let Israel aid, let aid to civilians in 
Gaza all get bungled because the hard right wanted H.R. 2 or something 
close to it.
  I urge my Republican colleagues not to let that happen because at the 
end of the day, what is holding this up is not the issues of Israel, 
Ukraine, humanitarian aid, or the Indo-Pacific; it is border, and that 
was injected by our Republican colleagues. Please, they should work 
with us to fix it in a bipartisan way or we won't get anything done.