Biden To Sign Ukraine Funding Today As Senate Passed It After Months-Long Stalemate
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed a sweeping foreign aid package, ending months of bitter fighting over the support for Ukraine that had deeply divided the Republican Party.
The measure, which would guarantee $95bn in mostly military aid for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and American partners in the Indo-Pacific, passed by a vote of 79 to 18 and now goes to President Biden for his signature.
“I will sign this bill into law and address the American people as soon as it reaches my desk tomorrow so we can begin sending weapons and equipment to Ukraine this week,” Biden said in a late night statement.
“This critical legislation will make our nation and world more secure as we support our friends who are defending themselves against terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like Putin,” the U.S. President went on to add.
The bill allocates $60.84bn to support Ukraine in its battle to repel Russia’s invasion. It includes $23.2bn to replenish U.S. weapons, stocks and facilities and $11.3bn for current U.S. military operations in the region.
The bill also provides more economic assistance to Ukraine in the form of “forgivable loans”. The idea of structuring aid as a loan is a key Trump policy proposal and is supported by a number of Republicans. However, the bill contains a provision for the president to forgive the loan starting in 2026.
It would also allow the federal government to transfer frozen Russian sovereign assets to Ukraine and expand sanctions against Iran and its oil production.
“While the passage of this supplemental marks important progress and will help address Ukraine’s acute needs, I believe it is critical that we also secure economic and security assistance for Ukraine in the medium- and long-term,” Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said Tuesday night in a separate statement.
“We are currently engaged in a battle of wills with Putin and his authoritarian regime over the very foundations of our global system, and we must make clear to him, and his allies, that he cannot simply wait us out. That’s why I continue to believe it is necessary and urgent for our international coalition to unlock the value of immobilized Russian sovereign assets to support Ukraine’s continued resilience and reconstruction. Congress took an important step in that effort with the passage of the REPO Act, and I will continue intensive discussions with our G7 partners in the weeks ahead on a collective path forward.”
The bill also provides $26.38bn to support Israel, reimburse U.S. military operations in response to recent attacks and provide humanitarian assistance to civilian victims of conflicts worldwide, including Palestinians in Gaza. In addition, it would provide $8.12bn to “counter communist China and ensure a strong deterrence in the region” which includes about $3.3bn to develop submarine infrastructure, plus $2bn in foreign military financing for Taiwan and other allies in the region,
“I think we’ve turned the corner on the isolationist movement,” Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, a strong advocate for assisting Ukraine, told reporters after Tuesday vote and expressed regret about the delay, while acknowledging it was largely due to hardline objections in his own party.