[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 12 (Tuesday, January 23, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S205-S206]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, and now to today's remarks. Senate 
negotiators continue their work on a truly significant undertaking: 
reaching a bipartisan agreement to protect America's national security, 
to strengthen our border, and to provide critical aid to Ukraine, 
Israel, and our friends and partners abroad, as well as humanitarian 
aid for the Palestinians in Gaza and humanitarian aid to other places 
around the world.
  We are close to reaching a bipartisan agreement on the supplemental, 
but we are not there yet. Negotiators are still working through some 
outstanding items. All of us want to reach an agreement, but it is very 
important that we get this right. So I am heartened that negotiations 
are in a good place, even as we have more work to do.
  I have stayed in close touch with my Senate colleagues, with the 
Republican leader, and with the White House, and we are all on the same 
page that we want to reach an agreement. The President said he is 
willing to work with Republicans in a big way on border security. For 
the last 2 months, Democrats have demonstrated that we are willing to 
have this very difficult debate.
  It is not easy. In fact, border security is one of the most difficult 
things we

[[Page S206]]

have undertaken, but Democrats are serious about getting something 
done.
  But as I have said from the beginning, any outcome on the border has 
to be bipartisan. It has to be something that can get 60 votes in the 
Senate. We believe we can get it done, so we are going to keep working.
  Now, there are many on the hard right who are trying desperately to 
kill these negotiations before they even finish. Many of them are 
motivated by naked partisanship; others are taking cues from Donald 
Trump. These hard-right saboteurs talk on and on about the need to fix 
the border, but now they don't actually want to see a bipartisan 
solution on the border--which is the only kind of solution, of course, 
that can pass.
  But here in the Senate, both sides have an obligation to make sure 
these hard-right voices stay in the minority. We must let the 
negotiators finish their work. Too much--too much--hangs in the balance 
for our national security, for our border, for our friends around the 
world.
  This is especially true for the war in Ukraine. Very soon, we will 
reach the 2-year mark since Putin commenced his illegal invasion, and 
the war now stands at a turning point. American aid, which has been so 
crucial for helping our Ukrainian friends hold the line, has been 
exhausted. The only way to provide more aid is through Congressional 
action, and it is essential that Congress acts because as Ukraine's 
supplies run low, Russia's supplies are replenishing.
  According to a report yesterday, weapons from North Korea are now 
making their way to the battlefield, including North Korean missiles. 
The more weapons from North Korea that enter the war, the more precious 
resources Ukraine will be forced to use to shoot these weapons down, 
resources that are already in short supply.
  In fact, Ukrainian commanders have already said they have been forced 
to ration munitions because they don't know when--or if--another round 
of American aid is coming their way.
  So, to my Senate colleagues, it is quite simple. As President 
Zelenskyy himself told us over a month ago, if the U.S. Congress 
approves more aid to Ukraine, they can win the war against Putin. But 
if Congress fails to act, Ukraine faces defeat.
  And make no mistake, a defeat for Ukraine will make the world a more 
dangerous place for the United States. Whatever costs we bear to resist 
Putin today will be magnified in the future.
  We dare not go down that road. We dare not shrink from our 
obligations to defend democracy in its hour of need.
  Our friends in Ukraine need our help. So we must answer their call by 
finishing work on the supplemental.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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