(ReliableNews.org) – Members of Congress take a lot of time off of work. Unlike the average American worker, who gets about 11 vacation days, lawmakers had more than 13 weeks off in 2023. President Joe Biden recently criticized them for going home for the rest of the year when there was more work to be done.
In a December 13 post on X, formerly Twitter, the president said House Republicans wanted to “leave town without passing critical funding for Israel and Ukraine.” He slammed them for saying there’s a crisis on the border and then taking three weeks of vacation. Biden went on to say, “The ball is in their court.”
https://x.com/POTUS/status/1734981508169941176
Congress adjourned on December 14, and lawmakers left Capitol Hill. They did so without passing an aid package for Israel, Ukraine, or border security. President Biden’s administration warned earlier this year that the government was going to run out of money by the end of the year and wouldn’t be able to provide Ukraine with the equipment necessary to keep from falling to Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy even traveled to the United States to speak to lawmakers and ask for their support. He indicated the meetings went well but said he needed action.
The GOP has also spent a great deal of time talking about the border, for good reason. Millions of migrants have poured across the US border since Biden took office. That has put a strain on resources across the country. Tens of thousands are even causing issues in Democratic cities like Chicago and New York.
House and Senate Republicans are demanding border policy changes as an incentive to pass aid for Ukraine. They were negotiating with Democrats in the lead-up to their break, but never managed to reach an agreement. Now, lawmakers will have to address the issue when they return to work next year, plus pass a spending bill to keep the US government funded.
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