Mikulski introduces rival border bill in Senate

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) introduced an emergency spending bill Wednesday that would provide $2.7 billion to address the influx of immigrant children.

Mikulski said her bill contains emergency funding for the border crisis, wildfires and Israel’s missile defense system, with the total spending coming to $3.5 billion.

{mosads}“This bill is only a money bill,” Mikulski said on the Senate floor. “It does not include immigration legislation.”

Her bill provides $1 billion less than what President Obama asked for to deal with the thousands of immigrant children from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala who are being detained at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The legislation does not include language demanded by Republicans and some centrist Democrats giving the administration more flexibility to swiftly deport children.

Mikulski previewed the plan at the Democrats’ weekly caucus luncheon on Tuesday.

In addition to the $2.7 billion for the border, the bill includes $615 million in emergency funding to combat wildfires and $225 million for Israel’s Iron Dome rocket defense system.

The release of the bill came the same day that Republicans announced a new proposal to require the deployment of the National Guard to the border.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he hoped Congress would not leave for the five-week August recess on July 31 without passing a bill providing the administration with emergency funds.

He noted the administration projects the Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agencies will run out of funding within the next two months.

— Alex Bolton contributed to this article.