(US House)- Over the vehement objections of Republican hardliners, the U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday passed a $95 billion legislation package offering security assistance to Taiwan, Israel, and Ukraine with broad bipartisan backing.
Next week, the bill is anticipated to be voted on by the Democratic-majority Senate and sent to President Joe Biden for signature into law.
April 20, Washington, DC (US House) – The bill now heads to the Senate, which is led by Democrats and approved a similar bill more than two months ago. Leaders in the United States, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democratic President Joe Biden, had been pressuring beleaguered Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to put it to a vote.
In addition to $26 billion for Israel and humanitarian aid for civilians in combat zones, including Gaza, the measure also allots $8 billion for the Indo-Pacific area and $61 billion for Kyiv’s protracted struggle against Moscow’s invasion.
To avoid resistance to any one bill from sabotaging the entire package, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, crafted the laws so that they can be blended into one after each is adopted.
Members of US House, representing both parties, voted today to further our national security objectives and make it abundantly evident how powerful American leadership is on the international scene. President Joe Biden stated in a statement on Saturday that “they came together to answer history’s call, passing urgently needed national security legislation that I have fought for months to secure.”
In order for me to sign this package into law and to fulfill Ukraine’s immediate needs on the battlefield, I implore the Senate to move swiftly to get it to my desk.
Early next week (US House), the Senate, which is dominated by Democrats, is expected to take up the proposal and send it to President Biden for signature into law.
In a statement released on Saturday (US House), Democratic Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer of New York stated that the Senate would “finish work on the supplemental with the first vote on Tuesday afternoon.”
With a vote of 360-58, the first of the four bills passing on Saturday was the one placing additional restrictions on the social media network TikTok. Bytedance, the parent firm of TikTok in China, is required by this policy to sell its stake within a year or risk being banned in the US. Additionally, it would give the president the authority to impose fresh penalties on Iran and Russia.
With a bipartisan majority of 385 votes, (US House) the second bill was approved and billions of dollars in aid were given to the Indo-Pacific area. By funding Taiwan’s armed forces and investing in underwater infrastructure, the $8 billion measure aims to undermine China.
A substantial $61 billion aid package for Ukraine in its current battle with Russia was included in the third measure that passed. The law was approved 311–112 in the end.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, expressed gratitude to Congress for passing the aid bill.
In a post on X, Zelenskyy expressed her gratitude to Speaker Mike Johnson, US House of Representatives, all parties, and the House itself for making the choice that keeps history on course.
In a statement, Biden said (US House), “It comes at a moment of grave urgency, with Israel facing unprecedented attacks from Iran and Ukraine under continued bombardment from Russia.” Biden had pressed Congress to authorize the additional aid to Ukraine since last year. The financing for Ukraine was approved 311–112. More importantly, though, only 101 Republicans supported the plan, while 112 opposed it.
“Mike Johnson is a clumsy person. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (US House), a Republican from the far right, informed reporters that he was done. She has done actions that raise the possibility of Johnson’s removal from office because she has been a vocal opponent of aiding Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. Greene did not go so far on Saturday, though.
It was unclear when the fresh military aid for Ukraine will run out, which is probably why Congress will be asked to take additional action. The financing for Ukraine was approved 311–112. Remarkably, only 101 Republicans supported the legislation, while 112 opposed it.
Following the event, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (US House), a far-right Republican, told reporters, “Mike Johnson is a lame duck… he’s done.”
She has done actions that raise the possibility of Johnson’s removal from office because she has been a vocal opponent of aiding Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. Greene did not go so far on Saturday, though. Several members waved little Ukrainian flags US House during the vote, signaling that they believed the package would succeed. Congress was cautioned by Johnson that this was a “violation of decorum.”
Meanwhile, the House’s unusual Saturday session revealed some fissures in the body of Congress’s typically strong support for Israel (US House). Progressive Democrats have been vocal about their displeasure with Israel’s leadership and how it has handled the Gaza War in recent months.
Several members (US House) waved little Ukrainian flags during the vote, signaling that they believed the package would succeed. Congress was cautioned by Johnson that this was a “violation of decorum.”
Congress has long been a strong supporter of Israel, but during a rare Saturday session, US House showed some weaknesses in that regard. Progressive Democrats have been vocal about their displeasure with Israel’s leadership and how it has handled the Gaza War in recent months.
On Saturday (US House), however, there were 21 Republicans and 37 Democrats voting against the Israel funding, which was approved 366–58. US weapons companies were keeping a careful eye on the long-awaited legislation’s passage because they might be in line for large contracts to provide Ukraine and other US allies with weaponry.
This week, despite threats from conservative members of his fragile 218-213 majority to have him removed, Johnson decided to move forward with the measure, which includes funding for Ukraine as it battles a two-year Russian assault.
The peculiar four-bill bundle also has a provision that might result in the seizure of Russian assets and a ban on the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok. For months, the Republican-controlled House was at a loss about what to do. It initially insisted that any support for Ukraine be contingent upon changes in border policies between the United States and Mexico, only to swiftly reject a bipartisan Senate deal that went exactly along those lines.
Republicans’ support for Johnson has been put to the test by the agonizing lift he received from reaching an endgame, as a tiny but growing number of them are now openly calling for his removal from the speaker’s office. Nevertheless, congressional leaders portrayed the votes as a watershed moment in history and a necessary sacrifice given the dire circumstances facing America’s allies, which span continental Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific.
Representative Gregory Meeks of New York, (US House) the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, stated, “Sometimes when you are living history, as we are today, you don’t understand the significance of the actions of the votes that we make on this House floor, of the effect that it will have down the road.” “This is a momentous occasion.”
Hard-right Republicans from Johnson’s majority were among the opponents who said that the United States should concentrate on domestic issues, such as border security and the country’s mounting debt, and they cautioned against allocating additional funds, which go mostly to American defense companies, to the production of weapons that are used abroad.
Nonetheless, a number of international officials have visited Congress in recent months, including Zelenskyy and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, practically pleading with members to approve the help. The delay caused many people throughout the world to doubt America’s loyalty to its allies.
One of Biden’s key foreign policy goals (US House) has been in jeopardy: stopping Russian President Vladimir Putin’s march in Europe. Following private discussions with Johnson, the president swiftly approved his proposal, opening the door for Democrats to lend their unusual support in order to get through the formalities and have a final vote.
During the argument, Jeffries declared, “We have a responsibility to defend democracy wherever it is at risk, not as Democrats or Republicans.”
While a majority of Republicans voted against the bill supporting Israel, a number of radical Democrats opposed it, demanding an end to the bombardment of Gaza, which has resulted in thousands of civilian deaths. About twenty hard-right Republicans abstained from voting on all parts of the assistance package, including parts that supported long-standing GOP allies like Taiwan and Israel.
Republicans who were angry with their counterparts for waving Ukrainian flags during the vote also objected. Republican representative from Florida, Rep. Kat Cammack, expressed on X that the exhibit “infuriated” her and that she was drafting legislation to forbid the flying of foreign flags on the House floor.
Meanwhile, the presumed Republican nominee for president, Donald Trump, has cast a shadow over the contest, offering his opinions from a distance through direct phone calls with lawmakers and comments on social media as he pushes the GOP toward a more isolationist position with his “America First” political philosophy.
In Congress, support for Ukraine’s defense (US House) was once strong and nonpartisan, but as the war moves into its third year, the majority of Republicans are now against more aid. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a Trump loyalist, proposed an amendment to zero out the funding, but it was turned down. Because the bills lacked border security measures, the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus referred to them as the “America Last” foreign conflicts package and urged lawmakers to oppose them in defiance of Republican leadership.
Some people think the European Union ought to assist Ukraine more, while others argue that Ukraine should spend the money domestically and should not be held responsible for how it is used. Our correspondent went on, The fact that this package was approved begs the question of what would happen next should Ukraine require further funding down the road.
House supports Israel:
In the meantime, the House’s actions during an uncommon Saturday session exposed some weaknesses in the Congress’s otherwise strong support for Israel. In the 366-58 vote on Saturday, there were 21 Republicans and 37 Democrats voting against the Israel aid (US House). The Democratic opposition to the Israel measure was quite outspoken in its denunciation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Although the sum might not seem like much, this is really incredible. A decade or two ago, that would have been unthinkable, she remarked. “I think it demonstrates a significant change in the Democratic Party.” US defense companies were keeping a careful eye on the long-awaited legislation’s passing because they might be awarded large contracts to provide Ukraine and other US allies with equipment.
This week, House Speaker Johnson decided to move on with the proposal that includes funding for Ukraine as it battles a two-year Russian invasion, despite threats to have him removed from office made by hardline members of his fractured 218-213 majority.
Along with a prospective ban on the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, the unusual four-bill package also includes a measure that might result in the transfer of seized Russian assets to Ukraine (US House).
Representative Bob Good, the leader of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, told reporters on Friday that the bills are a slide down into the abyss of greater fiscal crisis and America-last policies that reflect Biden, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, and don’t reflect the American people.
However, the party’s most powerful Republican contender for president, Donald Trump, expressed his support for Johnson on April 12 and stated on social media on Thursday that the US (US House) needs Ukraine to survive.
