There's no circumstance where we should leave Congress this year without making sure that we have provided funding for Ukraine, funding for Israel, funding for humanitarian assistance for Palestinian civilians who are in harm's way and otherwise meeting national security needs of the American people.

House minority leader there talking about Israel aid. Ukraine aid. It's time for our common ground segment. Joining me tonight, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCall, republican from Texas, and New York Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks, ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Gentlemen, thanks for being here. Mr. Chairman, first to you. What the House Minority Leader there said. What are the prospects of getting both of those things across the finish line, israel aid and Ukraine aid?

Well, I think it's absolutely essential. And Greg and I both agree with Know. I've had extensive conversations with Speaker Johnson. He understands the gravity of these two issues. Both funding our closest ally in the Middle East, but also stopping Russian aggression that could lead to an expansion into NATO countries, into Europe, but also China and Taiwan, the aggression from China, and then the last line defense, the border. This will happen. And I applaud Speaker Johnson for getting this two stage cr accomplished to then give him and us time to move this emergency supplemental bill.

Know.

Congressman Meeks, there are some reports about Democrats trying to put some stipulations on the Israel aid. Political writes it this way democrats in the Senate and the House discuss conditioning military aid to Israel. Democrats'unequivocal support for Israel's military has been eroding in recent weeks, going beyond the skepticism progressives have already shown for the administration's rock ribbed backing of Israel. If more moderate Democrats join calls for conditioning aid to Israel, it could complicate President Joe Biden's policy of staunchly standing by the country as it retaliates against Hamas. Where are you on that stipulations on the aid? And is that where your party is?

No, that's absolutely not where my party is. As we could clearly see from the vote that we had and opposed the Israel funding that came before us, that was put before us by Speaker Johnson, that was for the first time in the history since I've been in the Congress for 25 years, was there a conditioning put on Israel aid? So that had not happened before? I think overwhelmingly Democrats will vote for aid for Israel, I think just as they will overwhelmingly, as Mr. McCall and I agreed, as he indicated. I think if we get a vote on the floor, you will see that both parties will overwhelmingly vote for aid to Israel, overwhelmingly vote for aid to Ukraine, overwhelmingly vote for humanitarian aid, overwhelmingly vote for keeping and protecting Taiwan. I think those things will happen overwhelmingly. We just need to get them to the floor to vote on. And I think that one package would be the best thing to do so that we can make sure that we're not playing politics with aid that helps us with our own national security as well as with our friends and allies.

Yeah. It doesn't seem, though, Mr. Chairman, that the Ukraine funding is going to go into one package. I don't want to belabor this point, but here is Bernie Sanders proposal on the Israel side. And this is conditions halt bombing and allow humanitarian aid, right of return for displaced Gazins. No reoccupation or blockade of Gaza, end settler violence in West Bank, freeze settlement expansion, commit to two states, dilution talks. These are all stipulations on Israel's aid. This is according to Senator Sanders. Now, whether that's an outlier or not is what I'm trying to get.

You know, APAC, you know, the Israeli organization, the largest in the know, along with Israel itself, do not like conditions put on aid israel, they never have, as Greg pointed out. I think Speaker Johnson was trying to find a way to pay for this at a time we're approaching a $35 trillion deficit or debt, I should say. We will have that with Ukraine. Greg and I marked up past the Repo Act, which will allow us to access the $300 billion in frozen Russian sovereign fund assets to help pay for the war. But I think at the end of the day, what you're going to see is the Ukraine border package out of the House. And then the week after Thanksgiving, you're going to see the Senate come back with a tying all four threats together. As I mentioned coming over to the House of Representatives, this is the political process. But for all those that want support for Israel and for Ukraine, I'm very confident, as the ranking member, Mr. Meeks, is that we will get that done.

Last thing, Congressman Meeks, and that is this is the Defense Secretary talking about Ukraine and why it matters.

Ukraine matters. What happens here matters not just to Ukraine, but to the entire world. This is about the rules based international order. This is about not living in a world where a dictator can wake up one day and decide to annex the property of his peaceful neighbor. That's not the world that we want to live in.

I wonder, Congressman Meeks, if that's not only Vladimir Putin and Ukraine, but maybe also President Xi and Taiwan looking into the crystal ball down the way.

Well, I think that they're very definitely watching what we do. And that's why we've got to make sure that we stand by President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people, because if we turn our backs on them, then I'm sure President Xi thinks we'll turn our back on Taiwan. That's why this is absolutely important and we cannot fail to fund know. Mr. McCall and I have traveled collectively together. When I saw individuals coming across the Ukrainian border into Poland, running from the viciousness and the killing of Vladimir Putin. We recently just came back from Israel and talked to some of those families that had lost and have some whose family members are still held hostage and others that were killed. I felt the same way in looking at the same things that was done by Hamas to the Israelis, that was done by the Ukrainians, done to the Ukrainians by Mr. Putin. And I think that we've got to make sure that we stop both because if we don't also with our allies and in NATO right now, ukraine has fought vigilantly and made sure that we don't have to have a troop there. But if, God forbid, Putin continues to move on as he would, he won't stop in Ukraine.

He'll move somewhere else. He'll hit a NATO ally. And then we do have a serious problem where even our troops have to go to war.

Congressman Meeks. Congressman McCall. Thank you very much. Multiple time appearances on common ground. Thank you.