US senators unveil $118.3 billion package to fund Ukraine, Israel and border security

(Patria) - US senators have released the text of a long-awaited agreement that will unlock billions in new aid for Ukraine and Israel while tightening American border laws, AFP reported.

The so-called National Security Supplemental Act provides a total of $118.3 billion, including $60 billion to support Ukraine, matching the White House request, and $14.1 billion in security assistance for Israel, according to a summary released by Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray.

The deal also includes $20.2 billion for US border security and numerous immigration policy changes agreed upon by Democratic and Republican negotiators.

It is unclear whether the bill has the 60 supporters it will need for the first procedural vote in the Democratic-controlled Senate, expected no later than Wednesday.

Senators have been negotiating for months on an agreement to combat illegal immigration, with Republicans insisting on enhanced border security in exchange for approving President Joe Biden's request for funding for Kyiv.

The release of the text drew swift approval from the White House, which highlighted a decades-long effort to reform the country's "broken" immigration system.

"We have now reached an agreement on a bipartisan national security deal that includes the toughest and fairest set of border reforms in the last few decades. I strongly support it," Biden said.

He called on Republicans, who control the House of Representatives and on whom Donald Trump had pinned hopes of opposing the deal, to support the bipartisan package.

"If you believe, as I do, that we must secure the border now, doing nothing is not an option," he said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson earlier declared the package "dead on arrival," although he appeared to change course when he told Fox Business on Friday that he "does not prejudge anything."