House Republicans line up on floor to call for unanimous consent on Senate border bill

More than two dozen GOP lawmakers on Thursday lined up on the House floor to call for a unanimous consent vote on the bipartisan Senate-passed bill to provide emergency humanitarian border aid.

The move comes as Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) pushes for the Senate-passed bill to be amended to include language that was in the House-passed legislation, including provisions that would require with Customs and Border Protection to enact health standards for individuals in custody, ensure translation services are accessible to migrants and limit the amount of time minors can be held in flux in shelters.

{mosads}Republicans have accused House Democratic leaders of politicizing the emergency supplemental humanitarian aid in bringing a bill to the floor the president would not support.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) led the effort to call for the vote in an attempt to place pressure on Democrats to move on the legislation, asserting on the House floor that Republicans will not leave until they pass legislation the president will sign.

“I think everybody in this body knows that that Senate bill will pass. I think everybody in their heart knows that’s where we’re going to end up,” McCarthy said. “But do we have to go through it one more time? You do not have to worry about what the outcome will be, the leader of the Senate has already said what will happen. Because I will promise you this, on this side of the aisle, we will stay here until this is done. We will not leave. And we will stand with the bipartisan vote in the Senate.”

The Senate voted down the House-passed bill and passed its own version on Wednesday, teeing up a standoff between the split chambers. 

Concerns over the conditions at detention centers have amplified in recent weeks following reports of unsanitary conditions and a shortage of resources, including water, diapers, toothbrushes, food and soap.

Members from both sides of the aisle have called for action. With agencies tasked with handling the influx of migrants at the southern border headed for a partial shutdown due to a shortage of money, lawmakers are under pressure to pass legislation ahead of Congress’s July 4 recess.