By Ray Cardello for February 6, 2024, Season 24 / Post 33

Two time slots are used for any news story you want to bury. These slots are the black holes of news. Friday afternoon and Sunday night are when you drop news you don’t want anyone to see or hear. Chuck Schumer started teasing the text of his blockbuster border bill on Friday morning, but it did not become public until late Sunday night. So, the bill that Schumer claimed would garner bipartisan support and be law quickly was dropped along with the trash for Monday curbside pick-up. If anyone printed this bill to read, the pages probably hit the curb, too. That is where this lousy piece of legislation belongs.

First, this bill does not stop the flow of illegals across our border. The bill has a trigger that sets steps to close the border in motion. That trigger is 5,000 illegals crossing per day. There should not be a single Republican in line to sign this piece of scratch paper. Why should we allow any illegal migrants into the country? We have avenues for people to enter America legally. Anyone who enters by wading across the Rio Grande enters this country as a criminal. Come through a legal port of entry, or do not come in at all. If the Federal Government cannot change that 5,000 to zero, this bill should be dead in the water. That is how the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, refers to this bill.

Next is the real reason for this bill. The amounts of money in this bill tied to Ukraine, Gaza, and Taiwan are staggering, and Biden and the Democrats hoped that they could sell America on the border control portion of this bill and that the slush money would slide through as a bonus. The Dems should not be surprised that the Republicans are not falling for the sleight of hand. Even though it got published on a Sunday night, the Republicans caught it before it slid through to Joe’s desk.

The American people are tired of the billions of dollars funneled to Ukraine without accountability or results. We can send billions to Ukraine every few months until the end of time, and they will still not win the battle with Putin and Russia. Remember a year ago when every politician, right down to Randi Weingarten, traveled to Ukraine to show their support? When was the last junket you can remember to have their picture taken with Zelenskyy? But the money keeps flowing as do the rumors of kickbacks coming back to Biden and the Democrats. Ukraine is a money laundromat for the Dems. Here is a breakdown of the money in this bill:

• $20B Border Security
• Ends Catch and Release
• Raises Asylum Standards
• Fast Tracks Asylum Claims
• 50,000 New Visas over 5 years       
• $650M for Border Wall
• Mandatory Shutdown at 5,000 encounters a day over 7 days or 8,500 for a single day
• $14B for Israel
• $60 B for Ukraine
• $9.2B for Gaza
• $5B Indo-Pacific Nations

It is disappointing, but not surprising that Mitch McConnell had a hand in crafting this bill, and his Republicans will submarine him. This may be the action that ends McConnell’s career, which is fine. Rick Scott is primed and ready for his slot. Maybe Mitch can take Chuck with him.