Supporters of Ukraine cheer after the passage of a foreign aid bill outside the US Capitol in Washington DC on Tuesday. Photo: AFP
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Supporters of Ukraine cheer after the passage of a foreign aid bill outside the US Capitol in Washington DC on Tuesday. Photo: AFP
The US Senate has approved a $95 billion foreign aid package, including military aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill into law on Wednesday (April 24). On Tuesday evening, the Senate approved the resolution passed by the US House of Representatives on Saturday. BBC news.
The package includes $61 billion in military aid for Ukraine, which the Pentagon said could begin to be delivered to the war-torn country within days. The bill passed by a vote of 79-18.
Biden welcomed the Senate’s move in a statement on Tuesday. “This is an important bill that will make our nation and the world safer,” he said. Because we support our friends who are fighting to defend themselves against terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like Putin.’
Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday that the United States has shown it does not turn its back on its allies. “After more than six months of hard work and much drama, the United States sent a message to the world — we will not back down,” he said.
The Senate passed a similar aid package last February, but a group of conservatives opposed the new aid package for Ukraine. In this, the bill faced obstacles to come to the vote in the House of Representatives. Last week, House Democrats and Republicans came together to pass the bill, overcoming opposition.
Senators eventually agreed to pass a package of bills that included foreign aid as well as legislation to freeze Russian assets held in Western banks; New sanctions on Russia, Iran and China; The provision includes forcing Chinese company ByteDance to sell the popular social media platform TikTok.
The foreign aid package passed Tuesday includes $26.4 billion in military aid for Israel. Of this, $9.1 billion has been allocated as humanitarian aid to Gaza. In addition, there is $8.1 billion in funding for Asia-Pacific allies, including Taiwan, ‘against Communist China’.
According to the Biden administration, previously approved US aid to Ukraine ended earlier this year. Officials have warned that the situation is dire and that Ukraine risks losing its two-year-old war with Russia unless Congress approves new aid.
The national security package also includes a provision that could lead to a nationwide ban on TikTok.
Tags: Senate approves billion UkraineIsrael aid
