Democratic and GOP sources in the US say there are many issues to be resolved in the country’s Ukraine bid – including drafting the legislative language – and the whole process will take a long time. weeks until the final votes in both houses.
A possible goal now is to get through this pack before the Memorial Day break. But there are additional complications to deal with – namely, what to do with stalled Covid-19 aid.
A senior Democratic aide said US President Joe Biden’s additional request Both chambers still have a long way to go, “There will be bipartisan, bipartisan negotiations on the supplementary request. Language must also be drafted. Still unresolved which Chamber will work to get it working. pre-additional push. This won’t be an instant process.”
In a sign of potential hurdles ahead, many Republicans have signaled they need more information about Biden’s addition before they can commit to a vote on it in the Senate.
Republicans are still passing a presidential addition to Ukraine, but Senator Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, said he was concerned about a provision in the package allowing the Monetary Fund. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) spends about 20 billion USD. It’s not new money. This amount was previously appropriated but not authorized. It’s an issue Republicans and Democrats have struggled with for months, and Republicans say Biden slipped in this bid.
It’s still early days and Risch said many Republicans still tend to support the package, but he cautioned that Republicans want to take a few days to look more carefully at what’s included.
Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida, said: “I have to find out the details. “I am not very fixed on the amount. The question is, what are you going to give them? Is that what they need right now for the foreseeable future? ”
Another division that is emerging is that Republicans view the high prices for humanitarian aid as potentially misdirected. Senator Steve Daines, a Republican from Montana who traveled to Ukraine during his break, told reporters he believes the better place to spend the money is on military support.
“The war crimes being committed as we said will not end until Ukraine wins this war. So while humanitarian aid is crucial, the most important thing the Ukrainians want is deadly aid to defeat the Russians. I don’t believe the White House understands that,” Daines said.
“I want to know what we are investing in. I want to make sure that between lethal aid and humanitarian aid, it’s actually going. The devil is in the details,” Ernst said.
Senator Roger Wicker, a Republican from Mississippi, said he was comfortable with the price of the package.
“We need to send a strong signal that we intend Ukraine to win the war against Vladimir Putin’s illegal war crimes,” Wicker said.
While members of both sides recognize that there is an urgent need to pass this legislation quickly, the mechanics of how this gets through the House and Senate remain very different for some party members. Democrats still insist that money should be bundled with Covid-19 money that has been firmly anchored in Biden’s immigration policy on Title 42.
Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington, said: “It needs to be done.
Republicans, including John Thune, have said that adding Covid-19 funding to the bill is unwise.
