The Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed a $95.3 billion aid package for the war-torn nations of Ukraine and Israel as well as the defense of Taiwan, sending the measure to President Biden’s desk for a signature.
The upper chamber voted 79-18 for the foreign aid, which had passed the House on a bipartisan basis Saturday over GOP objections to the $60.8 billion in Ukraine and some Democratic objections to the $17 billion for Israel.
Biden, 81, is expected to sign it into law imminently after having issued a statement of strong support for it one week ago.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had sent a similar national security bill to the House more than two months ago, but House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans rejected the foreign aid package without further funding for US border security.
“Today, the Senate sends a unified message to the entire world: America will always defend democracy in its hour of need,” Schumer declared on the Senate floor ahead of final passage.
“We tell our allies, ‘We will stand with you’; we tell our adversaries, ‘Don’t mess with us’; we tell the world, ‘We will do everything to defend democracy and our way of life,” he said, adding that “the relentless work of six long months has paid off.”
“History will record that even as allies and partners may have worried about the depth of our resolve, even as Moscow, Beijing and Tehran grew more convinced that our influence had run its course and even as loud voices here at home insisted on abandoning the responsibilities of leadership, America stepped up and the Senate held firm,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) affirmed.
Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee teamed up with left-wing Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to call for amendments to the bill to cut some funding for Ukraine and Israel, respectively, but were voted down by their colleagues. Neither senator voted for final passage of the bill.
The foreign aid also included $9 billion in the form of humanitarian aid for regions ravaged by war like the Gaza Strip and Ukraine. --->READ MORE HERE
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| AP |
The Arsenals of Treasuries soon will be open again on Capitol Hill.
Yet Russia and its Arsenals of Evil, North Korea and Iran, are presently winning against the Arsenals of Democracy in Ukraine.
At tremendous political risk for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), the United States House of Representatives last Saturday finally put aside partisan gamesmanship and did what they needed to do — vote and approve funding for Ukraine.
The Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act passed with a vote of 311-112.
Now, the onus is on President Biden and his national security team to put an end to the forever war in Ukraine.
Doing so will require crafting and articulating a plan for Zelensky and his generals to win – something the White House has egregiously failed to do since the start of the war.
America’s inexcusable leadership absence the past six months has put Ukraine into a dangerously precarious position. Running short on artillery and air defense ammunition, front line forces were forced into a mobile defense – trading space for time.
While Washington played politics, Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and civilian population centers were on the receiving end of relentless and devastating aerial bombardment from Russian drones and missiles.
Additionally, Russian forces have slowly but steadily started to press westward in the Donbas along the Lyman-Bakhmut-Avdiivka axis.
Unless Biden boldly changes course and shifts from “defending Ukraine” to ensuring Ukraine has the offensive multi-domain capabilities to defeat and expel Russia, these newly appropriated Congressional funds will merely buy time. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:
+++++Russia-Ukraine News LATEST UPDATES: (REUTERS) (AP) (NY POST) and (WSJ)+++++
+++++Military: Russia attempts breakthrough to Chasiv Yar amid Ukrainian resistance in Donetsk Oblast+++++
+++++War update: Ukrainian forces repel 56 attacks five sectors on Tuesday+++++
+++++Ukrainian army repels 59 Russian attacks over last day', 60 combat engagements took place at the front - General Staff+++++
+++++Russia loses 800 soldiers and 29 artillery systems in one day+++++
+++++Ukraine downs 15 of 16 Shahed drones overnight Tue+++++
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