Mornin’ Politocadoes!
The Senate Bipartisan Border Bill is on the verge of being abandoned after four months of negotiation. The bill, sponsored by Sens. James Lankford (R-OK), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Kyrsten Sinema ( ¯\_(ツ)_/¯-AZ), would have shut down the border between the US and Mexico in some key ways that would have also provided aid to Ukraine (and Israel).
The text of the bill has not been released, but let’s see what it would have done. The bill would have the government shut down the border once crossings hit the limit of 5,000 per week or 8,500 over a single day. Migrants would still be able to cross during these times for humanitarian reasons, though harsher penalties would have been put in place for those who tried to cross multiple times, banning them after two attempts. When the border is closed, asylum seekers could only apply for asylum at legal ports of entry *and* officials would be required to process a minimum number of cases. However, it would also have significantly expedited the asylum process by requiring a case to be considered within six months, as opposed to the years-long process it is now.
For context, that mean that the border would have been closed since October, if the bill had been in effect.
But that all seems to be falling apart. Not a great deal, by any stretch but at least it was something. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had pronounced the bill Dead on Arrival even without having seen the text of the bill. Ex-President Who’s Back from Fucking Off Donald Trump has also weighed in on the issue, unsurprisingly not in favor of it. Those two are bad enough. But there’s also rumors about the bill are likely Russian disinformation floating through the caucus, as Rep. Mike Rounds (R-SD) indicated. Lots of hearsay about what the bill does and does not do. Since there are representatives not in favor of aiding Ukraine and hearing those rumors makes it that much easier to not support the deal.
Senate Republicans like Mitch McConnell now seem open to treating the proposed deals separately. Aid to Ukraine and Taiwan (also Israel) had long been linked to any border security deals and now that this bill seems ready to die, some Republicans are okay with dropping those requirements. Of course, on the other end, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is threatening a motion to vacate on Speaker Johnson if he allows a vote on Ukraine funding. So there’s that.
Unclear whether parceling out the deals will make things easier. The border deal itself wasn’t great for anyone, really. Republicans want to fundamentally change our approach to border security and this doesn’t give them enough of what they want. Liberals and progressives want less draconian policies on the border, while they support more aid to countries like Ukraine and Taiwan. Who’s to say which way the winds will blow. But for now at least Congress seems unable to get anything satisfying done for anyone.
Welcome to Thursday! Please be excellent to each other in the comments. The Mayor McSquirrel Rule remains in effect. Something to keep in mind! Police are using digital data to prosecute abortion seekers, and Facebook and Google are helping them! Even if they are not legally required to do so, the tech giants will aid them in this since it’s technically *against the law*. Please be careful when looking for abortion providers or helping someone who is looking for that assistance.
The Covid-19 pandemic continues even if the emergencies end, continue to vaccinate using the latest version of the FDA approved vaccines by Phizer and Moderna. Even if you are vaccinated, please continue to maintain social distancing measures, wear masks in public areas in accordance with CDC guidelines in regard to your own vaccination status.
Also, according to recent polls approximately 50% of adults are not planning on getting their Covid-19 boosters. So please get them and older adults should also look to be vaccinated for RSV! It’s been difficult to get adults onboard with getting the RSV shots as it is. Remember that getting these shots could potentially keep thousands of Americans who do not have to be there out of the ICU this winter.