Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.) said Sunday he supports Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) proposal for a Ukraine and border funding bill following the bipartisan continuing resolution (CR) passed Saturday evening. neither of the two measures included .
In a joint interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” Fitzpatrick and his Democratic co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), expressed optimism about the bill’s prospects for passage in the House suggested there was bipartisan support for both issues.
“I would. I think we face a lot of challenges. I think we need to address all of them,” Fitzpatrick said when asked if he would support Graham’s proposal.
He noted that the proposal was similar to the Problem Solvers Caucus version of a CR introduced last week. While the CR passed Saturday did not include funding for Ukraine and the border, Fitzpatrick and Gottheimer both stressed that these issues need to be addressed.
Fitzpatrick specifically emphasized the importance of funding Ukraine for almost a year, not just a shorter period.
“I think that funding for Ukraine should be done over a longer period of time. It should take a year. It sends the right message to Ukraine. It sends the right message to Russia. And I think it may be the best solution in our chamber to accomplish that,” Fitzpatrick said.
Gottheimer expressed confidence that there is enough bipartisan support, saying he believes there is a significant portion of the House that supports both border funding and funding for Ukraine.
“I think it’s a wrong decision to say we’re going to do one or the other. But we know, of course, that over the next 45 days we will be able to support Ukraine and ensure that we stand up to Putin, China and Iran, which is critical to our national security and that of our allies. But we also need to ensure that we manage and overcome the challenges at the border and border security and live up to our values there,” Gottheimer said.
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