American and Ukrainian flags flutter in the wind outside the Capitol. The Senate is working on $95 billion worth of war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
Mariam Zuhaib/AP
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Mariam Zuhaib/AP
American and Ukrainian flags flutter in the wind outside the Capitol. The Senate is working on $95 billion worth of war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
Mariam Zuhaib/AP
WASHINGTON – The Senate has approved $95 billion in war aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and fierce debate over the extent of U.S. involvement in the conflicts. foreign war.
The bill passed the Senate by an overwhelming 79-18 vote late Tuesday after the House passed the package on Saturday. Biden, who has worked with congressional leaders to win support, is expected to quickly sign the legislation and begin the process of sending weapons to Ukraine, which is having trouble holding on. front line against Russia. The legislation would also send $26 billion in wartime assistance to Israel and humanitarian relief to Gaza citizens, and $8 billion to counter Chinese threats in Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific .
US officials say about $1 billion in aid is likely to arrive soon, most of it in the coming weeks.
In an interview with The Associated Press shortly before the vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said that if Congress does not pass aid, “America will pay the economic price.” , political and military”.
“Very few things we do have such historical importance,” he said.
On the Senate floor, Schumer said the Senate is sending a message to America’s allies: “We will stand with you.”
Schumer and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made passing the legislation a top priority, agreeing to tie aid to Ukraine and Israel to help ensure passage and arguing that there could be serious consequences. important for the United States and many of its global allies if Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression goes unchecked. They worked with House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, to overcome seemingly intractable Republican opposition to Ukraine aid, in particular – eventually winning a majority. major in both chambers.
McConnell said in a separate interview before the vote that this “is one of the greatest days of my time here.”
“At least in this episode, I think we turned the tables on the isolationists,” McConnell said.
The House passed the package in a series of four votes on Saturday, with the Ukraine portion passing 311-112.
The $61 billion for Ukraine comes as the war-torn country desperately needs new firepower and as Russian President Vladimir Putin steps up his offensive. Ukrainian soldiers encountered difficulties when Russia gained the initiative on the battlefield and gained significant territory.
Mr. Biden on Monday told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the United States would send much-needed anti-aircraft weapons immediately after the law is passed.
“The President has assured me that this package will be approved quickly and that it will have a powerful effect, helping to strengthen our air defense as well as long-range and artillery capabilities,” Mr. Zelenskyy said in a statement. X post on Monday.
In an effort to win more votes, the Republican majority in the House of Representatives also added a bill to the foreign aid package that would ban the social networking app TikTok in the US if its Chinese owner does not sell it. their shares within one year. That legislation received broad bipartisan support in both chambers.
The TikTok bill is one of several tweaks Johnson made to the package the Senate passed in February as he tried to move the bill through the House of Commons despite significant opposition in his conference. Other additions include stipulating that $9 billion in economic assistance to Ukraine be in the form of “forgivable loans”; provision allowing the US to confiscate frozen assets of the Russian central bank to rebuild Ukraine; and bills imposing sanctions on Iran, Russia, China and criminal organizations trafficking fentanyl.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a longtime hawk who voted against the foreign aid package in February because it did not come with legislation to stop migration at the border, is one of the party’s members. Republicans changed their vote. “If we don’t help Ukraine now, this war will spread and unrelated Americans will get involved,” Mr. Graham said.
The package has received broad support in Congress since Biden first requested the money last summer. But congressional leaders have had to overcome strong opposition from a growing number of conservatives who question U.S. involvement in foreign wars and argue that Congress should focus instead That is the increase in migration at the US-Mexico border.
Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, a Republican and close ally of Donald Trump, said that while there is strong support for funding Ukraine’s defense, opposition is growing. increased among Republicans.
“America is spread too thin,” Vance said, “And I think that argument is winning over the American people and it’s slowly winning the Senate, but it’s not going to happen overnight.”
The growing divide within the GOP between conservatives skeptical of aid and the more traditional, “Reagan Republicans” who strongly support it could prove to be career-defining for the two leaders. top leader of the Republican Party.
McConnell, who has made aid to Ukraine a top priority, said last month he would step down as leader after becoming increasingly distant from many in the conference over Ukraine aid and other issues. Johnson, who said he put the bills on the floor after praying for guidance, faces the risk of being ousted after a majority of Republicans voted against aid to Ukraine.
Johnson said after the House passed that “we’ve done our job here and I think history will judge that well.”
Opponents in the Senate, like the House, include some left-wing senators who oppose supporting Israel as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has bombed Gaza and killed thousands of civilians. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, voted against the package.
“We must end our complicity in this terrible war,” Sanders said.
