Schumer Takes Victory Lap After $95 Foreign Aid Bill For Ukraine, Israel, And Taiwan Passes Senate

5 months ago

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) holds a press briefing after the foreign aid bill passes.

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00:00 truly a better place. But I think the Senate can say that tonight and I'm very proud of what has happened.

00:06 So let me just say a few things. Tonight, after more than six months of hard work, many twists and turns in the road,

00:14 America sends a message to the entire world. We will not turn our back on you.

00:21 We tell our allies we stand with you. We tell our adversaries don't mess with us.

00:28 We tell the world we will do everything to defend democracy and our way of life.

00:33 This national security bill is one of the most important measures Congress has passed in a very long time

00:40 to protect America's security and the security of Western democracy.

00:45 To our friends in Ukraine, America will soon deliver more ammunition and air defenses and basic supplies you need to resist Putin on the battlefield.

00:55 To our friends in Israel, America will soon deliver aid to help you fight the scourge of Hamas and stand up to Iran.

01:03 To innocent civilians in Gaza in the midst of a war and to those around the world who face hunger,

01:09 America will deliver food and medicine and clothing. And to our friends in the Indo-Pacific,

01:16 we will stand with you to resist the Chinese Communist Party. And to the whole world, rest assured,

01:23 America will never shrink from its responsibilities as a leader on the world stage.

01:31 Tonight, we make Vladimir Putin regret the day he questioned America's resolve.

01:38 Over the past few months, I've spoken repeatedly, over and over again,

01:42 about the supreme importance of getting this supplemental package done.

01:48 Starting in the fall, through Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year's and into the spring,

01:53 this was so much on our minds because it was so important.

01:58 And I said again and again, we had to work in a bipartisan way, Democrats and Republicans alike, if we wanted to pass this bill.

02:07 I went to Israel and to Ukraine to see our friends and allies firsthand and look them in the eye and say,

02:12 we are with you. We will get this done. We will not desert you.

02:17 When we succeeded in getting the supplemental through the Senate back in February, it was for two reasons.

02:23 Two reasons, so do the watchwords, persistence, bipartisanship.

02:29 And today, the bill that Congress is sending to the President is largely the same bill

02:35 in substance as what the Senate had been pushing all along.

02:39 Passing this bill confirms yet something I've stressed since the start of this Congress.

02:44 The only way to get something done in divided government is bipartisanship.

02:49 Anyone who tries to do it in a partisan way will lose out.

02:53 That's precisely what happened today. Persistence, bipartisanship saved the day.

03:00 Leader McConnell and I, who don't always agree, worked hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, to get this bill done.

03:06 Together, we were bipartisan and persistent.

03:10 And as I've said, this is an inflection point in history.

03:13 Western democracy faces perhaps the greatest test since the end of the Cold War,

03:18 and this supplemental is essential to meeting the challenges.

03:22 Failure to pass the supplemental would have been a gift to Putin, to Iran, to Xi,

03:26 and hurt America politically, militarily, economically, and culturally.

03:31 I'm glad that when it mattered most, finally, finally, finally,

03:37 both parties came together to do the right thing for our nation's security.

03:42 I thank President Biden for his unflinching leadership.

03:45 I thank Speaker Johnson, Leader Jeffries, for working together valiantly to pass this bill.

03:50 I thank Chair Murray and Vice Chair Collins for this excellent work.

03:54 And two particular thanks. One is to my caucus.

03:59 Of the four caucuses in the Senate, we have the most unity. They're great.

04:03 We stick together. That gave us strength.

04:06 We air our differences in caucus and we try to come together, and we did.

04:11 And finally, I would like to give a particular shout out to Leader McConnell.

04:16 Against a lot of negative comments,

04:19 within his own party and within his own caucus, he knew the right thing to do and stuck with it.

04:26 So, when it matters most, America summons the strength to come together,

04:34 to overcome the centrifugal pull of partisanship and meet the magnitude.

04:39 Tonight, under the watchful eye of history, the Senate stood tall.

04:43 Questions? Yes?

04:45 [ Inaudible ]

04:53 Look, we had to get this bill done as quickly as possible.

04:57 Time was of the essence.

04:59 [ Inaudible ]

05:17 The White House - look, the White House needed this aid.

05:20 It's a lot of aid. It wasn't cut.

05:22 And the White House is making sure and doing everything it can to make sure

05:26 that that humanitarian aid gets to the people it needs quickly as possible.

05:29 I have a lot of confidence in them in doing that.

05:32 [ Inaudible ]

05:36 Well, we've had an amazing three - month - three major pieces of legislation

05:41 that really required hard work and bipartisanship.

05:44 Getting the government funding, FICA and - FISA, rather - and this bill, the supplemental, all got done.

05:55 It was quite a month, and it's a month that's a testament for bipartisanship.

05:59 If you don't let the hard right pull you over,

06:03 and they're not interested in getting anything done,

06:05 they're just interested in negativity and destruction, you can get things done.

06:10 And I hope our Republican colleagues have learned that lesson,

06:12 not to listen to the hard right, but to try and work and get things done.

06:17 Yes?

06:18 [ Inaudible ]

06:25 Look, Speaker Johnson put it in the bill, in the big supplemental bill,

06:31 and we had to get the supplemental bill passed as quickly as possible. Yes?

06:35 [ Inaudible ]

06:38 Thank you.

06:39 [ Inaudible ]

06:58 Look, I put out a statement about Columbia.

07:01 Peaceful protest is proper and appropriate,

07:04 and I've always had four goals in terms of Israel policy.

07:08 One, radically reduce the presence of Hamas.

07:10 You can't have peace with Hamas.

07:12 Free the hostages, get as much humanitarian aid possible as done,

07:16 and do everything you can to avoid civilian casualties.

07:19 Last one.

07:20 Last message. Last message.

07:22 [ Inaudible ]

07:28 Well, we have a bunch of different bills.

07:30 They'll all have to work in a bipartisan way,

07:32 and we'll do our best to get many of them done.

07:35 They include trying to get $35 insulin.

07:41 They're trying to get $35 insulin.

07:44 They're trying to get child safety, online child safety done.

07:48 They're trying to deal with rail safety.

07:51 They're trying to deal with the SAFER Act and cannabis reform.

07:55 We got a lot to do, and if we can work in a bipartisan way, we will.

07:59 Thank you, everybody.

08:00 [ Inaudible ]

08:01 Oh, yes, and I left a message for President --

08:04 I'll say this here. I left a message for President Zelensky.

Schumer Takes Victory Lap After $95 Foreign Aid Bill For Ukraine, Israel, And Taiwan Passes Senate

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