After months of political wrangling the US House of Representatives passed a $95 billion aid package providing security assistance to Ukraine, Israel and the Asia Pacific with broad bipartisan support. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill next week, before sending it to President Joe Biden. The question is, is it still in time for the war-weary Kyiv?
In a rare weekend session and after months of delays and political jockeying, the US House of Representatives passed a $95 billion aid bill on Saturday night. The bill approved contain about $61 billion to address the conflict in Ukraine, $26 billion for Israel and $8 billion for the Asia Pacific, including Taiwan. The four-bill aid package voted on Saturday contains measure to ban the social media app TikTok in case if its China-based owner would not sell its stake within a year.
311 representatives voted in favour of the aid for Ukraine, including 101 Republicans;
although 112 voted against it, it is still a significantly high number. The approval of the bill was accompanied by applause from lawmakers, some of them waving Ukrainian flags, facing reprimand as a result as it is forbidden to use foreign flags in Congress.
Republicans who voted against the motion have been voicing their dissent for months, citing various reasons including that the European Union should do more to help Ukraine, while some others saying that the money should be spent at home. Hard-line Republicans have again vowed to impeach House Speaker Mike Johnson for bringing the proposal to the House floor.
The bill will now go to the Democratic-majority Senate, where it is not expected to face any obstacles and could be signed by President Joe Biden within a week.
‘I urge the Senate to quickly send this package to my desk so that I can sign it into law and we can quickly send weapons and equipment to Ukraine to meet their urgent battlefield needs,’ President Biden emphasized in a statement.
In a defensive war that has been going on for more than two years, both Ukraine and Russia have suffered significant losses. In addition to a depletion of military equipment and ammunition, due to mounting casualties Kyiv is facing a serious shortage of manpower. Earlier this month the Ukrainian government lowered the age of conscription from 27 to 25, hoping to raise hundreds of thousands of new recruits.
The security aid voted for the war-battered country includes $23 billion to help replenish its weapons, stocks, and facilities; $14 billion for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative; $11 billion to enhance the capabilities of the Ukrainian military and boost intelligence collaboration between Kyiv and Washington; and $8 billion non-military assistance.
After the vote, Volodymyr Zelensky immediately expressed his gratitude at X to the parties of the House and personally House Speaker Mike Johnson for the decision that ‘keeps history on the right track.’
The foreign aid package also allocates
$26.38 billion for Israel entangled in a prolonged war in the Gaza Strip fighting Hamas,
with 133 Israeli people still held captive. The bill approved for Israel includes $9.1 billion for humanitarian needs in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. The proposal on aiding Israel was passed 366–58, with 37 Democrats and 21 Republicans in opposition.
From the amount voted, Israel could spend $5.2 billion to replenish and expand its air defence system, $3.5 billion for buying advanced weapons systems and $1 billion to enhance weapons production as well as $4.4 billion for other supplies and services.
The $9.2 billion for humanitarian aid includes a stipulation that it cannot go to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) after it was found that several members of the agency had been involved in the 7 October terrorist attack.
Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the US Congress on X for demonstrating strong bipartisan support for Israel.
The support is particularly welcomed by Jerusalem after Iran launched an unprecedented attack on the country, firing more than 300 drones and missiles towards Israel.
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