Majority Leader Schumer Demands The House Pass Bipartisan National Security Bill In Light Of Death Of Putin Foe – Navalny; Bill Currently Sits At Feet Of Speaker Johnson While Putin Waits To See If The United States Will Deliver Critical Support To Ukraine

New York, N.Y. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today released the following statement after the death of Putin’s political foe, Alexei Navalny. The Senate passed the bipartisan national security supplemental this week but Speaker Johnson has yet to commit to putting it to a vote, despite the enormous consequences for Western democracy:

On the heels of the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most outspoken critic Alexei Navalny, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer said an urgent alarm bell now rings that House Speaker Johnson and Republicans must heed as it relates to the bipartisan National Security Supplemental Bill he led to wide bipartisan passage last week. Navalny’s death now makes it even more urgent for House Speaker Johnson to pass the National Security Supplemental. Schumer urged new action as it relates to national security interests and discussed just what exactly is at stake. He explained that this bipartisan bill sits at the feet of Johnson, and Putin is watching. The Senator said that some of America’s biggest national security challenges depend on the House passing the Senate’s bipartisan security package ASAP.

“Last week, the Senate overwhelmingly passed the national security supplemental, and I urged the House and Speaker Johnson to act—but now—with the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s political foe, Alexei Navalny, an urgent alarm bell now rings,” said Leader Schumer. “Navalny’s tragic death now makes it even more urgent for House Speaker Johnson to pass the National Security Supplemental. This bipartisan bill currently sits at the feet of Speaker Johnson, and Putin is watching. We need to approve the investments that ensure our nation’s security, ensure the security of our partners, and prevent our adversaries from gaining an edge over us.”

“The death of Russia’s brave opposition leader Navalny shows there are the enormously high stakes with the supplemental package: our security, our values, our commitment to democracy. It is a down payment for the survival of Western democracy and the survival of American values,” Schumer added. “The entire world is going to remember what the U.S. did here. Nothing—nothing—would make Putin happier right now than to see Congress waver in its support for Ukraine. Nothing would help him more on the battlefield. The war in Ukraine is not an isolated regional struggle. The Chinese Communist Party, the Iranian Regime, and all of our adversaries will celebrate if America fails to defend a democracy and ally in need. If America fails one of our friends, then others will assume we will fail them too. And they will act accordingly.”

The national security passage with  military aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan passed this week with solid bipartisan support. The bill was the culmination of months of bipartisan negotiations and it passed by a vote of 70-29. About $60 billion in the bill would go to supporting Ukraine, with nearly $14 billion to rearm its military through the purchase of weapons and munitions and another nearly $15 billion for training and critical intelligence sharing.

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