House of Representatives approves $61 billion in military aid to Ukraine after months of stagnation | House of Representatives

After months of waiting, the US House of Representatives finally approved military aid worth more than $61 billion to help Ukraine in its desperate defense against Russia, as well as billions for others allies, including Israel and Taiwan.

In a bipartisan vote, 210 Democrats and 101 Republicans joined in support of Ukraine, while 112 Republicans voted against the majority of GOP members. The move came after Republican President Mike Johnson pushed through a series of bills in the face of fierce resistance within his own Republican Party, many of which oppose additional spending on Ukraine's defense .

Voting began hours earlier than expected during a special session Saturday that delayed a planned House recess. The House erupted in applause when the Ukraine bill passed, with the Speaker, Marc Molinaro of New York, urging members not to wave Ukrainian flags.

In a powerful effort to summarize the issues before the vote, former Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a strident and explicit appeal: I hope our colleagues will choose democracy and decency over autocracy and evil, because I fear that you will choose Putin's path. , you will have blood on your hands, the blood of children, the blood of their mothers raped in front of their parents, raped in front of their children, she said.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine's president, recently warned that his country would lose the war without U.S. help, as his military grapples with ammunition and air defense shortages and as Russia has exploited a growing advantage in firepower while Congress procrastinated.

Immediately after the bill's passage, ZelenskIy released a statement expressing gratitude to both parties and personally to President Mike Johnson for this decision that keeps history on track.

Democracy and freedom will always have global importance and will never fail as long as America helps protect them, he said. The vital American aid bill passed by the House today will prevent the war from spreading, save thousands upon thousands of lives, and help our two nations become stronger. Peace and security can only be achieved by force. We hope the bills will be supported in the Senate and sent to President Biden's desk. Thank you, America!

MPs were voting on a package worth nearly $95 billion in total, but which had been split into four separate bills, as Johnson effectively decoupled the vote on Ukraine from funding for Israel, which is more widely supported among Democrats and Republicans. .

The vote on providing additional funds to Israel also passed the House easily, with 365 votes in favor and only 57 against: 36 Democrats and 21 Republicans.

By dividing the bill into four parts, Johson sought to give recalcitrant far-right members of his own Republican conference the opportunity to vote in good conscience on the parts they did not like.

The first bill passed, including border security legislation, failed, as expected. Many right-wing Republicans don't want the Biden administration to take credit for resolving the crisis at the U.S. border with Mexico, where there has been a surge in asylum seekers, during a election year. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is seeking to make the border an election issue.

The total funding of $95 billion includes about $61 billion for Ukraine (with much of the funding going toward resupplying U.S. munitions); $26 billion for Israel; $8 billion for US allies in the Indo-Pacific region, including Taiwan; and $9 billion in humanitarian aid for civilians in war zones, such as Haiti, Sudan and Gaza, although the plan also includes a ban on direct U.S. funding to the Relief and Works Agency of the United Nations for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), an agency providing assistance to Gaza, until March 2025.

In Ukraine's bill, of the $60.7 billion, a total of about $23 billion would be used by the United States to replenish its military stockpiles, opening the door for future U.S. military transfers to Ukraine. 'Ukraine. Another $14 billion would be spent on the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, under which the Pentagon purchases new advanced weapons systems for the Ukrainian military directly from U.S. defense companies.

There is also more than $11 billion to fund ongoing U.S. military operations in the region, strengthening the capabilities of the Ukrainian military and fostering intelligence collaboration between Kyiv and Washington, and about $8 billion in non-military aid, for example helping the Ukrainian government continue its base operations. operations, including payment of salaries and pensions.

The plan largely mirrors the foreign aid proposal passed by the Senate in February, although it designates $10 billion of the Ukraine funding as a forgivable loan intended to appease some Republican members.

The Israeli bill includes about $4.4 billion to replenish depleted U.S. supplies given to Israel; $4 billion for missile defense, including the much-touted Iron Dome, and $1.2 billion for the Iron Beam; and $3.5 billion to help Israel buy weapons. There are also provisions to facilitate Israel's supply of US munitions held in other countries.

The bill supporting U.S. allies in the Asia-Pacific region, primarily Taiwan, included more than $8 billion to counter Chinese activities, about $3.3 billion for submarines and $2 billion for military assistance to Taiwan.

Another bill included a provision to force Chinese company ByteDance to sell its popular social media app TikTok, which Congress says gives China the ability to obtain information on U.S. citizens. That bill, the 21st Century Peace Through Strength Act, also included the seizure of frozen Russian sovereign assets and more sanctions against Iran.

The passed bills will be consolidated into a single package to simplify the voting process for the Senate, which will need to reapprove the proposal before it can be submitted to President Joe Biden's desk for his signature.

In a statement after the vote, Biden said: Today, members of both parties in the House voted to advance our national security interests and send a clear message about the power of American leadership on the world stage. At this critical inflection point, they came together to answer the call of history, passing urgent national security legislation that I fought for months.

This package will provide essential support to Israel and Ukraine; provide desperately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza, Sudan, Haiti and other places affected by conflicts and natural disasters around the world; and strengthen security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. This comes at a time of grave urgency, as Israel faces unprecedented attacks from Iran and Ukraine is subject to continued bombing from Russia. He called on the Senate to quickly pass the bill so that I can sign it and we can quickly send weapons and equipment to Ukraine to meet its urgent battlefield needs.

Just getting the bills passed on the floor required Johnson to seek help from Democrats on the other side of the aisle. A procedural vote to pass it was 316-94, with 165 Democrats and 151 Republicans supporting the motion.

Johnson's reliance on Democratic votes to pass key pieces of legislation, including a major government funding bill that cleared the House last month, has outraged some far-right Republicans.

What else did Johnson give as he begs Democrats to vote and protect themselves? Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said Friday on X. We no longer have a Republican majority, our Republican president is literally controlled by Democrats and gives them everything they want.

Last month, Greene unveiled a motion to remove Johnson as speaker, although she has not yet decided whether to force a vote on the issue. Over the past week, two more House Republicans, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Paul Gosar of Arizona, signed on as co-sponsors.

Democrats have said they could support Johnson in any attempt by the Republican far right to oust him over aid to Ukraine.

Speaking from the Capitol earlier this week, Johnson said providing aid to Ukraine was critically important and the right thing despite his opponents' potential power to bring him down in a new coup. Internal state of the party.

I really believe the information and the briefings we received, Johnson said. I believe that Xi, Vladimir Putin and Iran are truly the axis of evil. I think they are in coordination on this. I think Vladimir Putin will continue to tour Europe.

I will give every member of the House the opportunity to vote according to their conscience and their will, he said, adding: I am willing to take a personal risk for this, because we have to do the right thing. And history will judge us.

The United States has so far sent Ukraine about $111 billion in weapons, equipment, humanitarian aid and other aid since the war began more than two years ago.

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