Fitzpatrick says he backs Graham’s proposal for Ukraine and border funding

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.) said Sunday he supported Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) proposal for a Ukraine and border funding bill, after the bipartisan continuing resolution (CR) that passed Saturday night failed to include either measure. 

In a joint interview on CBS News’s “Face the Nation,” Fitzpatrick and his Democratic co-chairman of the Problem Solvers Caucus, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), both expressed optimism about the prospects for the bill moving through the House, suggesting there was bipartisan support for both issues.

“I would. I think we have a lot of challenges. I think we need to address all of them,” Fitzpatrick said when asked whether 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 that passed Saturday did not include Ukraine and border funding, Fitzpatrick and Gottheimer both stressed they need to be addressed.

Fitzpatrick specifically underscored the importance of funding Ukraine for almost a year, rather than for a shorter period of time. 

“I do think the Ukraine funding should be for a longer period of time. It should be for a year. It sends the right message to Ukraine. It sends the right message to Russia. And it’s perhaps, I think, the best solution inside our chamber to get that done,” Fitzpatrick said.

Gottheimer signaled he was hopeful that there was enough bipartisan support and said he thinks there is a significant share of the House that supports border funding as well as Ukraine funding. 

“I think it’s a false choice to say we’re gonna do one or the other. But clearly, we know that we can make it the next 45 days to support Ukraine to make sure we stand up to Putin and to China and Iran, which is critical to our national security and to our allies. But also, we need to make sure that we deal with and deal with the challenges at the border and border security and live up to our values there,” Gottheimer said.