A sweeping foreign aid package easily passed the U.S. Congress late on Tuesday (April 23) after months of delay, clearing the way for billions of dollars in fresh Ukraine funding amid advances from Russia’s invasion force and Kyiv’s shortages of military supplies.
The Senate approved by 79 to 18 four bills passed by the House of Representatives on Saturday, after House Republican leaders abruptly switched course last week and allowed a vote on the $95 billion in mostly military aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and U.S. partners in the Indo-Pacific.
The four bills were combined into one package in the Senate, which President Joe Biden said he would sign into law on Wednesday. The legislation will provide $61 billion for Ukraine, $26 billion for Israel, and $8.12 billion “to counter communist China” in the Indo-Pacific.
“This is an inflection point in history. Western democracy perhaps faced its greatest threat since the end of the Cold War,” Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in the Senate before the final vote.
The package includes a potential ban on the Chinese-controlled social media app TikTok, measures for the transfer of seized Russian assets to Ukraine and new sanctions on Iran.
The aid package could be the last approved for Ukraine until after elections in November when the White House, House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate are up for grabs.
(Reuters)