Schumer may reintroduce failed bipartisan border bill
- A bipartisan border bill failed to pass the Senate after GOP objected
- Senate source tells NewsNation Schumer's considered bringing it back
- Biden has expressed support for the bill, urged lawmakers to pass it
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(NewsNation) — Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told his fellow Democrats behind closed doors he’s seriously considering reintroducing a bipartisan border bill killed earlier this year, a high-level Senate source confirmed to NewsNation Friday.
The bill, introduced in February and written by Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma and Democrat Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, ultimately failed in the Senate due to GOP opposition.
Republicans in the Senate previously said the bill, which calls for tougher asylum standards and a border shutdown trigger mechanism, fell short of their expectatations.
“It was supposed to have a border security set of provisions in it,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said at the time. “That’s not what we got. We got a supplemental funding proposal with immigration provisions. It’s not a border security bill. It doesn’t do anything of the sort.”
Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine; James Lankford, R-Okla.; Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska and Mitt Romney, R-Utah joined most Democrats in voting in favor of the border bill.
Five Democrats, along with independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., joined the majority of Republicans who voted against the bill: Schumer; Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass.; Bob Menendez, D-N.J.; Alex Padilla D-Calif.; and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Schumer voting no was a procedural move, which let him bring the bill back up at another time.
After a 49-50 vote it did not pass the Senate.
The border legislation had initially been tied to a foreign aid bill sending $60 billion in aid to Ukraine, $15 billion to Israel, $9 billion in humanitarian aid for Gaza, and $8 billion for Taiwan and U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific.
Senators ended up passing the foreign aid package months later by a vote of 79 to 18 NewsNation partner The Hill, and President Joe Biden signed it into law the next day.
Biden has also expressed support for the border bill Schumer is weighing now, telling legislators to “get this bill done.”
“We need to act now,” Biden said.