White House ready to compromise to get votes to help Ukraine, Reuters
The White House is willing to compromise to get votes to help Ukraine (Photo: Getty Images)
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is willing to compromise on tightening border crossing rules for migrants in order to win Republican votes for aid to Ukraine, Reuters.
According to the agency, the White House is prepared to tighten the parameters of initial asylum screening.
According to the source, the Biden administration is also considering some form of a "safe third country" provision that would allow the United States to deny asylum to migrants who pass through another country on their way to the United States.
Another possible point of agreement with Republicans could be the expansion of expedited removal. According to the source, this procedure will now likely be applied throughout the country, not just at the border as it is now.
The source also stressed that the bipartisan group of senators trying to reach an agreement also discusses a quantitative cap on the number of asylum applications. The White House's position on such a cap remains unclear.
The House and Senate must complete their work by December 14, leaving little time to pass legislation providing financial assistance to Ukraine and Israel.
Given the tight timeframe, the White House and the Republican group are trying to agree on the broad outlines of a new immigration policy, with the exact details of the new bill to be worked out later.
The White House and the U.S. Congress are rushing to strike a deal that would provide military aid to the two allied countries while discouraging illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border.
What preceded it
On October 1, the U.S. Congress passed a temporary spending bill. It did not include any new funds for assistance to Ukraine, as it was decided to consider this initiative separately.
Subsequently, U.S. President Joe Biden proposed that Congress allocate $106 billion. The majority of these funds (about $60 billion) would be used to help Ukraine. The package also included aid for Israel and Taiwan.
After much debate, the U.S. passed a new stopgap budget for the government without aid to Ukraine and Israel.
Yesterday, December 7, Republicans blocked a bill that would have voted on a large financial aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. In turn, President Biden reacted sharply to the failure of the Ukraine vote and issued threats.
Read more about why the U.S. cannot agree on funding for Ukraine's aid in RBC-Ukraine.
