US Senate passes $95bn aid nd for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan
The US Senate has passed $95 billion (£76.2bn) in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
The bill passed the Senate on an overwhelming 79-18 vote late on Tuesday after the House had approved the package on Saturday.
Mr Biden, who worked with congressional leaders to win support, is expected to quickly sign the legislation and start the process of sending weapons to Ukraine, which has been struggling to hold its front lines against Russia.
The legislation would also send $26bn in wartime assistance to Israel and humanitarian relief to citizens of Gaza, and $8bn to counter Chinese threats in Taiwan and the Indo-pacific.
US officials said about $1bn worth of the aid could be on its way shortly, with the bulk following in coming weeks. Shortly before the vote, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said that if Congress had not passed the aid, “America would have paid a price economically, politically, militarily”.
“Very few things we have done have risen to this level of historic importance,” he said.
On the Senate floor, Mr Schumer said the Senate was sending a message to US allies: “We will stand with you.”
Mr Schumer and Senate Republican Leader Mitch Mcconnell made passage of the legislation a top priority, agreeing to tie the Ukraine and Israel aid to help ensure passage and arguing there could be dire consequences for the United States and many of its global allies if Russian president Vladimir Putin’s aggression is left unchecked.
They worked with House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, to overcome seemingly intractable Republican opposition to the Ukraine aid, in particular – eventually winning large majorities in both chambers.
Mr Mcconnell said it “is one of the biggest days in the time that I’ve been here”.
“At least on this, I think we turned the tables on the isolationists,” Mr Mcconnell said.
The House approved the package on Saturday, with the Ukraine portion passing 311-112.
The $61bn for Ukraine comes as the war-torn country desperately needs new firepower and as Mr Putin has stepped up his attacks. Ukrainian soldiers have struggled as Russia has seized the momentum on the battlefield and gained significant territory.
Mr Biden told Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday the US will send badly needed air defence weaponry as soon as the legislation is passed.
“The president has assured me that the package will be approved quickly and that it will be powerful, strengthening our air defence as well as long-range and artillery capabilities,” Mr Zelensky said.
The bill also includes provisions that allow the US to seize frozen Russian central bank assets to rebuild Ukraine and bills to impose sanctions on Iran, Russia, China and criminal organisations that traffic fentanyl.
I think we turned the tables on the isolationists Senate Republican leader Mitch Mcconnell