WASHINGTON The U.S. Senate will begin consideration of a package including aid for Israel and Ukraine as soon as next week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters on Tuesday, adding that an aid bill is needed even if there is no agreement with Republicans on funding for border security measures.
Schumer also said he will discuss U.S. border security with President Joe Biden and Senate Democrats.
"I'm gonna put them on the floor next week, hopefully with bipartisan support, because that's the only way you can get it done," Schumer told his weekly news conference.
"We hope to have a vote next week. Yes, that's the plan," he said.
Biden asked Congress last month to approve a $106 billion in funding, including aid for Ukraine as it battles a Russian invasion, Israel after the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas militants and funding for additional security at the U.S. border with Mexico.
But the funding has not been approved, raising concerns that funds for Ukraine in particular might never pass, particularly after the Republican-led House passed a bill including assistance for Israel, but not Ukraine.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan, Patricia Zengerle, Katharine Jackson; editing by Kanishka Singh and Franklin Paul)
