[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 206 (Thursday, December 14, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1230-E1231]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  BIDEN AND UKRAINE NEED A SENATE DEAL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 14, 2023

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record an Editorial: Biden 
and Ukraine Need a Senate Deal, by William Galston from the Wall Street 
Journal to underscore the need for a deal on supplemental aid funding 
before Congress leaves Washington.

             [From the Wall Street Journal, Dec. 12, 2023]

                  Biden and Ukraine Need a Senate Deal

                        (By William A. Galston)

       The West's security and his presidency require a compromise 
     on border policy.
       If the continuing Senate negotiations on border security 
     fail, U.S. economic and military aid to Ukraine will end. And 
     if this happens, a pillar of President Biden's foreign policy 
     will collapse, Ukraine's ability to resist Russian aggression 
     will diminish, and Vladimir Putin will broaden his mission to 
     reconstitute the Russian empire.
       Mr. Biden must take charge. He should invite Senate 
     negotiators, who are steeped in the issues, along with 
     Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch 
     McConnell, to Camp David and keep them there until they reach 
     agreement.
       Mr. Biden's entire career--his 36 years in the Senate, his 
     chairmanship of the Foreign Relations Committee, his role 
     during the Obama administration as chief negotiator with Mr. 
     McConnell--has prepared him for this moment. He will fail 
     only if he flinches.
       To be sure, this won't be an easy deal. Since winning the 
     Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, Mr. Biden has 
     relentlessly pursued party unity, first as an electoral 
     strategy, then as a governing philosophy. Giving ground on 
     immigration would weaken his party's unity and provide more 
     ammunition to the left-wing insurgency that has erupted over 
     his support of Israel.

[[Page E1231]]

       Nevertheless, he must try. Americans have long since 
     decided that Mr. Biden's immigration policy is a failure, and 
     their judgment has become harsher over time. In the most 
     recent Economist/YouGov survey, only 33% of respondents 
     approve of his handling of this issue, a figure that drops to 
     27% among suburbanites and 21% for independents. Cities 
     across the country, many governed by Democrats, are 
     struggling to cope with a record flow of immigrants who can't 
     legally work. When the cost of feeding and housing them 
     forces city leaders to cut vital services to their 
     constituents, those leaders pay a political price. New York 
     Mayor Eric Adams's approval rating has fallen to 28%.
       A Senate agreement will be successful only if it can pass 
     the House. This means it must have the support of a solid 
     majority of Republican senators, including the leadership 
     team, not only the bare minimum of Republicans needed to give 
     the measure the 60 votes it needs to survive a possible 
     filibuster. Only Mr. McConnell can give Mr. Biden the 
     assurance that an agreement would have sufficient backing.
       Time isn't on the president's side. If this matter isn't 
     resolved before the House and Senate adjourn in January, the 
     results of the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 15 could convince 
     Republican officials looking for an alternative to Donald 
     Trump that no one is likely to defeat him for the party's 
     nomination. Mr. Trump, who openly opposes linking border 
     reform to Ukraine aid, would likely view Republican 
     cooperation with Mr. Biden on this issue as a career-ending 
     transgression.
       This is why the president must begin negotiations 
     immediately and insist that the Senate remain in session 
     until it passes a package that contains border reforms and 
     aid to our allies, including Ukraine. Once this happens, he 
     should deliver a prime-time address from the Oval Office to 
     explain why this package is in the national interest and call 
     on the House to enact the Senate bill.
       Though Speaker Mike Johnson has reiterated his support for 
     Ukraine aid, anti-Ukraine Republicans will likely pressure 
     him to adjourn for the year without taking up the Senate 
     bill. To counter such a move, Mr. Biden should make clear 
     that he is prepared to use his constitutional authority to 
     call the House back into session. If the speaker fails to 
     persuade a majority of the Republican caucus to back the 
     measure, he would face by far the most consequential decision 
     of his career--whether to bring the bill to the floor anyway, 
     which would probably cost him the speakership, or let the 
     bill die, along with Ukraine's hopes of prevailing against 
     Russia.
       It's a high-stakes gamble for the president, but the 
     alternative is worse. If Mr. Biden can't secure the 
     continuation of American aid to counter Russian aggression, 
     the already dicey prospects for more European aid to Ukraine 
     would darken.
       The fate of Ukraine, the peace of Europe and the future of 
     the Western alliance hang in the balance, as does Mr. Biden's 
     presidency. After the fiasco of the Afghanistan withdrawal, 
     defeat in Ukraine would undermine what is left of his 
     reputation as an effective steward of American foreign 
     policy. As public support for his re-election shrinks, the 
     last thing he needs is another failure.

                          ____________________