The long-delayed vote on aid to Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific is scheduled to occur as soon as Saturday, as announced by Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the US House of Representatives, on Wednesday. This vote comes over two months after the Senate passed a similar package.
Recently, the House appropriations committee proposed a bill that would allocate over $95 billion (€89 billion) in security aid, with $60.84 billion of that being directed towards Ukraine and its neighbours who are addressing Russia’s incursion. Of that sum, $23.2 billion will be designated for the US to restock its weaponry, reserves, and facilities.
The proposed aid to Israel amounts to $26.38 billion, including additional funding to offset the cost of US military operations which were triggered by latest attacks. The aid for the Indo-Pacific is cited to be $8.12 billion.
Previously, there had been concerns about whether the Republican House leaders would allow the members to vote on the aid, before Mr Johnson declared on Monday his decision to split the Senate’s $95 billion bill into individual parts.
The pressure from individuals firmly against the spending plan led to the bills being published on Wednesday. The plan is to have the final voting take place on Saturday evening to allow time for the bills to be discussed and amended further.
The Senate had passed an analogous bill in February with the majority of support being bipartisan, at a solid 70%. Supporters of the proposed package have said they expect it to also be passed in the House, if Mr Johnson permits the vote.
For the bill to pass, democratic support is needed given the narrow Republican majority of the House and the far-right Republicans’ opposition to further aid.
The bill was given a significant endorsement by Rosa DeLauro, a senior Democrat on the House appropriations panel, who lent her support to the three security funding bills and expressed her endorsement of the support it would provide to the allies and much-needed humanitarian aid.
Critics of the Senate bill, many of whom are aligned with the former president Donald Trump, are conservative lawmakers – some of whom have threatened to attempt to remove Mr Johnson as speaker if he proceeds with his plans. Trump, who has been dubious about aid to Ukraine, hopes to return to the presidency in November.
Some left-leaning individuals, including some Democrats, have raised objections to the package, expressing concern over further financial assistance to Israel amidst its aggression in Gaza. This is a response to the attack led by Hamas on the 7th of October. Critics have called for stricter measures on American weaponry and taxpayer funds due to the catastrophic impact on civilians residing in the coastal region.
In a written message addressed to House members, Mr Johnson revealed that the House rules committee would reveal a fourth regulation related to national security on the forthcoming Wednesday. This includes the Repo Act, the House TikTok bill, and sanctions.
The Repo Act is set to provide for the seizure of Russian assets to be delivered to Ukraine. In March, the US House green-lighted a bill that would allow ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of the short video platform TikTok, a six-month period to sell off US assets or face prohibition.
Furthermore, Mr Johnson pledged the publication of a separate border security bill. With elections to determine control of the White House and Congress on the horizon on November 5th, immigration remains a high priority for conservative voters. Some Republicans have stated outright that without additional funding for security at the US-Mexico border, they would refuse support for foreign aid. – Reuters
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