WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Senate is gearing up for a vote to send billions of dollars in foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific.
This comes just a few days after the aid package cleared its biggest hurdle by passing a deeply divided House of Representatives. On Saturday, House Democrats and 101 House Republicans rallied together under House Speaker Mike Johnson (R- LA) to pass a $61 billion aid bill for Ukraine. The legislation is part of the roughly $95 billion aid package.
The Senate is now moving quickly with a vote on final passage expected as early as this evening.
The entire package includes $61 billion for Ukraine, $26 billion for Israel and $8 billion for US allies in the Indo-Pacific.
There is a lot of urgency among the Biden administration and many Senators, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R- KY).
“The Senate sits for a test on behalf of the entire nation – it’s a test of American resolve, our readiness and our willingness to lead. And the stakes of failure are abundantly clear. Failure to help Ukraine stand against Russian aggression now means inviting escalation against our closest treaty allies and trading partners,” said McConnell on Tuesday.
“Make no mistake, delay in providing Ukraine the weapons to defend itself has strained the prospects of defeating Russian aggression,” said McConnell.
Senator Bob Casey (D- CA) and other Democrats echoed similar remarks throughout Tuesday.
“I just think it’s critically important that we get this done as expeditiously as possible. Every day we wait, Ukraine is at a greater and greater disadvantage regarding their effort to push Vladimir Putin out of their own country. He has to be stopped. This is among the most important security policies we’ve had for a generation,” said Casey. “We have to help Israel as well to defeat Hamas, which is a terrorist organization,” Casey added.
Within the $61 billion for Ukraine includes around $10 billion in the form of a repayable loan for economic assistance. The package also contains humanitarian aid to help citizens in Gaza, Ukraine and in other distressed areas of the world.