Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) on Sunday stressed the urgent need for continued support to Ukraine, saying he is “very concerned” about House Republican leadership’s surprise bid to pass a stand-alone Israel aid bill.
During an appearance on CBS News’s Face the Nation, Turner was joined by Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) as the two seek a bipartisan approach to foreign aid issues ahead of Senate negotiators releasing details on a bill that is expected to include aid for the Jewish state as well as Ukraine, Taiwan, and border security.
“I think that we really have four significant national security threats: We have Asia, we have Ukraine, we have Israel, and what’s going on the Middle East, and of course, we have our border,” said Turner, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, noting that “we’ve been proceeding on negotiations on those four.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has criticized the Senate for excluding the House from negotiations over a border security deal, leading him to plan for the House to vote on a stand-alone bill focused on aid to Israel, which would allocate $17 billion in aid to Israel, according to a Dear Colleague letter he released on Saturday.
Johnson’s surprise announcement has set up dueling votes in both chambers, with negotiations occurring for a compromise on border security funding. The speaker’s bill does not include funding for Ukraine and border security, leading to conflict and negotiations between the House and the Senate, and has already prompted a rebuke from the White House.
Turner said that “Ukraine has to be funded, we have to respond to Russian aggression,” or else “we will have a broader war there.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Negotiators in the Senate have tried for weeks to secure a deal for border security measures and aid to the trio of countries.
Lawmakers are racing against the clock as the Senate prepares to head to recess from Feb. 12-23.
