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Democrats pushing forward with Ukraine and Israel aid amid growing dispute over border funding
Washington — Senate Democrats are moving ahead with a vote this week on President Biden’s request for $106 billion in emergency funding, including billions in foreign aid, amid a growing dispute with Republicans over security funding for the U.S.-Mexico border.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York set up a key procedural vote on the supplemental spending package that includes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan for Wednesday. The vote is expected to fail, absent a last-minute deal on border funding that has so far eluded lawmakers.
“Sometimes a failed cloture vote is just a failed cloture vote, and tomorrow we are going to fail to pass it,” Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat from Colorado, said Tuesday, referring to the legislative maneuver to end debate on a bill. “And then people are going to have to sharpen their pencils and spend the next week negotiating a deal that keeps America’s commitment not just to Ukraine, but to democracies around the world.”
The fight over border funding
Stephanie Scarbrough / AP
Schumer blamed Republicans for Congress’ inability to approve the emergency funding, saying hard-liners are insisting on attaching controversial immigration policy changes to the supplemental bill. A bipartisan group of Senate negotiators have been meeting in recent weeks to try and reach a consensus, but those talks seemed to reach an impasse over the weekend.
“Republicans pulled the goalposts way back and proposed many items plucked directly from H.R. 2,” Schumer said Tuesday, referring to a Republican-backed immigration bill that passed the House earlier this year with no Democratic support.
He said GOP negotiators proposed granting the executive branch the authority to detain asylum-seekers indefinitely and essentially shut down the country’s immigration system, which are nonstarters with Democrats.
“If funding for Ukraine fails, it will not be a bipartisan failure,” Schumer said. “It will be a failure solely caused by the Republican Party and the Republican leadership because it was a decision of that Republican leadership, pushed by the hard right, many of whom want Ukraine to fail, to make border [aid] a precondition to supporting Ukraine.”
Republican Sens. James Lankford of Oklahoma and Thom Tillis of North Carolina have pushed back on the House GOP demand that the border component be the same as its immigration bill. The two, along with Bennet, have been part of the small bipartisan group of senators negotiating a border security package.
“I’ve heard a lot of people say H.R. 2 or nothing,” Lankford said Tuesday. “And I’ve always smiled and said, House Republicans didn’t get a single Democrat on H.R. 2, and they’re asking us to get 20 on our side. OK, well, that’s not realistic. I’m not about making a message at the end of this. We’ve got to actually make law at the end of this.”
Lankford said he was confident lawmakers could reach a deal by the end of the year.
“It’s just a matter of everybody staying at the table to be able to finish everything out,” he said.
The White House warned Congress on Monday that the U.S. will run out of funding to assist Ukraine by the end of the year, which it said would “kneecap” the country in its war against Russia.
In response to the White House, House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana reiterated that Ukraine aid is “dependent upon enactment of transformative change to our nation’s border security laws” and that he wants the administration to provide specifics about where the funding is going and the endgame in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy planned to address senators by video on Tuesday in a classified briefing but was ultimately unable to attend. Before the change of plans, Schumer noted it would have been the third time Zelenskyy had addressed senators since Russia invaded Ukraine.
“The last time he spoke to us, his message was direct and unsparing,” Schumer said. “Without more aid from Congress, Ukraine does not have the means to defeat Vladimir Putin. Without more aid from Congress, Ukraine may fall. Democracy in Europe will be imperiled, and those who think Vladimir Putin will stop merely at Ukraine willfully ignore the clear and unmistakable warnings of history.”
National security adviser Jake Sullivan and other administration officials briefed House lawmakers on Ukraine on Tuesday.
Alan He and Ellis Kim contributed reporting.
Americans are expected to spend more money heating their homes this winter than on holiday gifts, according to new research.
The elevated cost of staying warm indoors amid cold outdoor temperatures comes after an unusually hot summer, that led to households spending bigger shares of their budgets on cooling costs, compared with previous years, according to a report from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA).
On average, spending on home heating this winter is projected to increase by 8.7% to $941, up from $866 last winter. The increased costs are attributed in part to both expected colder temperatures in the Northeast and Midwest states.
The new average expenditure on heating costs outpaces the $902 the average household is expected to spend on Christmas presents this year, according to a forecast from the National Retail Federation.
What’s driving up home heating costs?
There are different ways to keep residences warm. Families that use electricity to heat their homes are expected to face the largest increase in costs — more than 14% — which will bring the total up to $1,189 from $1,040 from mid-November through mid-March, which NEADA considers to be the winter period.
Driving up prices is the rising cost of updating and maintaining the electric grid. Plus, colder weather is expected to lead to increased consumption.
“It’s colder, and the cost of electricity is up as the grid is rebuilt. So we’re seeing both higher prices and greater usage,” NEADA Executive Director Mark Wolfe told CBS MoneyWatch.
Natural gas, propane and heating oil cost differences
Natural gas and propane users are also expected to be hit with bigger bills this winter. Heating costs for natural gas are up just over 3%, for an average cost of $634 for the winter period, compared with $615 for 2023-2024. Costs are expected to rise only modestly in line with wholesale prices.
Propane costs are up 4.4%, with families expected to spend an average of $1,231 heating homes, up from $1,179 last season.
Heating oil costs, by contrast, have declined 2.7%, which means average spending this winter will be $1,518, down from $1,560 last winter.
Early start to the season
November was colder than usual, with temperatures dropping prematurely after a “very expensive summer” of heat waves straining cooling resources, said Wolfe.
Blame climate change for the big swings in temperature, he added.
“Weather conditions can be very unpredictable even though over time, winters are getting warmer and summers are getting hotter. It’s not a straight line, and for consumers, it’s quite upsetting because higher utility bills are coming right before Christmas,” Wolfe said.
Steps to take now
There are steps consumers can take to help keep a lid on home heating costs.
Wolfe urges people to have their thermostats serviced now, before the coldest temperatures of the season roll in. That way, families won’t be on the hook for an emergency repair if their thermostat breaks in the middle of a cold front. A tune-up will also help heating systems run more efficiently, he said.
Always close the furnace flue, or else it will lead heat outside the house, advises Wolfe. Lastly, manually turn down the heat at night, if you can, to save up to 10% on your energy bill.
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There’s still time to become a mega-millionaire for Christmas, but lady luck will have to be on your side.
No one matched Mega Millions‘ all six winning numbers last Tuesday, and the jackpot now stands at $862 million ahead of Friday night’s drawing.
The jackpot has been rolling since it was last won at $810 million in Texas on Sept. 10.
If there is a sole winner, they have a choice between an annuity, with an initial payment and then 29 annual payments, or a one-time lump sum payment. Most winners choose a cash payout.
For Friday night’s drawing, that would be an estimated $392.1 million before taxes.
If won at that level, it would be the largest prize ever won in December and the seventh largest in Mega Millions history.
According to Mega Millions, 13 jackpots have been won during December since the game began in 2002. Three were won in the days after Christmas, while the other 10 were won before Christmas. There has never been a jackpot win on Christmas Day, although over the years drawings have been conducted on Christmas six times – in 2007, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018 and 2020.
Mega Millions drawings are held on Tuesday and Friday, tickets cost $2. The odds of winning the jackpot are about 1 in 303 million.
