Congress Passes Ukraine, Israel Foreign Aid Bill
After months of delays, a sweeping package of foreign aid was passed by the U.S. Congress on Tuesday evening. This cleared the way for new funding to be provided to Ukraine amid the advances of Russia’s invasion forces and Kyiv’s shortage of military supplies.
The Senate passed four bills on Saturday by 79 votes to 18, after House Republican Leaders abruptly changed course last week, allowing a vote on $95 billion worth of mostly military aid to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and U.S. Partners in the Indo-Pacific.
In the Senate, four bills were combined to form one package.
The first provides critical funding of $61 billion for Ukraine. A second allocates $26 billion to Israel, as well as humanitarian aid for people in conflict zones all over the world. And a third provides $8.12 billion for “countering communist China” within the Indo-Pacific.
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The fourth package, which was added by the House last week, contains a potential ban of the Chinese-controlled TikTok social media app, as well as measures to transfer Russian assets seized to Ukraine, and new sanctions against Iran.
Biden has pledged to sign this measure into law the moment it reaches his desk. His administration is already preparing a package of $1 billion in military aid for Ukraine, which will be the first money sourced from this bill, according to two U.S. official.
Both the Democratic and Republican Senate leaders said that Congress has turned a corner by letting Russian President Vladimir Putin, and other adversaries know that Washington will continue to support Ukraine and other partners abroad.
This is a turning point in the history. Western democracy faces its greatest challenge since the end the Cold War, Democratic Majority leader Chuck Schumer told the Senate.
The aid package may be the last to be approved for Ukraine before the November elections, when the White House and House of Representatives as well as one-third of Senate will all be up for grabs.
The majority of Republicans who oppose the security assistance, both in the House and Senate, are close to Donald Trump. Trump is a Ukraine-aid skeptic. He has also stressed his “America First” policy as he runs for a second term.
Mitch McConnell of the Senate Republican Party, who is a strong proponent for aiding Ukraine, expressed regret over the delay. This was largely because hardline Republicans objected to Washington adding to the $113 billion it had authorized to Kyiv after Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
McConnell said at a press conference that he believed the isolationist movement had been defeated.
Trump suggested that some of the money for Ukraine – $10 billion of economic support – would be in the form a loan. The bill allows the president to forgive the loan beginning in 2026.
HUMANITARIAN CONCERNS
Analysts said that the influx of arms should help Kyiv to avoid a major Russian invasion in the east. However, it would have helped if it had arrived sooner than when Biden asked for it last year.
The money Israel received for Gaza was not immediately apparent. Israel receives annual security assistance from the United States worth billions of dollars, but has recently been subjected to its first aerial attack by Iran.
Aid supporters are hoping that the humanitarian aid will help Palestinians who live in Gaza. Gaza has been devastated as a result of Israel’s war against Hamas, a response to attacks on Oct. 7, which killed over 1,200 people.
Gaza’s health authorities claim that the campaign has resulted in more than 34,000 deaths of civilians.
The Democratic-led Senate has passed security aid twice this year for Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific. The 100 members of the chamber voted in favor of 70% of the last bill passed more than two month ago. But leaders of the Republican-controlled House would not allow a vote on the foreign aid until last week.
Industry has closely followed the progress of the legislation, as U.S. firms are up for major contracts for equipment to be supplied for Ukraine and U.S. allies.
Experts predict that the supplemental expenditure will boost the backlog of orders for RTX Corp, as well as other large companies who receive government contracts such Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, and Northrop Grumman.
House approved Ukraine funding 311-112, all of the “no” votes being cast by Republicans who were adamantly against further aid for Kyiv. Only 101 Republicans voted in favor, forcing Speaker Mike Johnson into relying on Democratic support. This led to calls for Johnson’s ouster from his position as House leader.
The House, however, left Washington on a weeklong break without voting to remove Johnson.
