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“Senate Showdown: Budget Deal Includes $6B in Ukraine Aid

Senate Leaders Reaching Short-Term Budget Deal with $6 Billion in Ukraine Aid Washington, DC – On Tuesday, Senate leaders announced a short-term budget deal with $6 billion allocated for assistance for Ukraine. This deal sets up a showdown with the House of Representatives, who remain entrenched in partisan divisions. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer agreed to the deal on Tuesday, which is estimated to last through Nov 21st, 2019 and keeps the government funded at 2019 levels. One of the most staunch disagreements between Democrats and Republicans is how much spending should be contributed to foreign aid, with many Democrats pushing for much higher spending than Republicans would like. Though President Trump has made it clear that he will oppose any budget deal that includes too much spending on foreign aid, McConnell and Schumer have so far been able to come to an agreement which includes the $6 billion contribution. It remains to be seen whether the House will pass the deal as it stands. Nancy Pelosi and Democratic leadership have pushed for the inclusion of certain domestic spending increases which would be cut to make way for the foreign aid increase, therefore altering the nature of the overall legislation. All eyes are now on the House to see whether they will pass the legislation or bring forth a deal of their own. However, the deadline for the budget deal looms ever closer and time is running out for Congress to come to an agreement to prevent a government shutdown. No matter who achieves a budget deal, one thing is for sure – the $6 billion in aid for Ukraine is an important issue for both parties and will no doubt play a crucial role in the overall budget negotiations. It will be interesting to see how the budget saga unfolds over the coming weeks.