Washington- The Senate began work on a major foreign aid package for Ukraine and Israel on Tuesday, seeking to end a monthslong back-and-forth with the House over aid.
After the House approved the $95 billion in foreign aid in the form of four individual bills over the weekend, the legislation is moving to the Senate as a single package that is expected to be passed and then sent to the president’s desk later this week.
The package includes $60.8 billion in aid to Ukraine, $26.4 billion to support Israel, as well as humanitarian aid for Gaza and $8.1 billion for India’s allies. Peaceful. It also includes provisions allowing the sale of Russian oligarchs’ frozen assets to help fund future aid to Ukraine, as well as a measure that could force the sale of TikTok or ban the app in the United States.
The upper house is expected to take procedural votes Tuesday afternoon, returning briefly from a scheduled recess to do so, before a vote on final adoption likely the next day.
A long push for foreign aid
Approving foreign aid has been a key priority for the White House and many members of Congress since last fall. This week’s actions should finally bring an end to the effort, after months of disputes, as Republicans have explored a number of avenues to achieve a more favorable outcome from the Republican Party following the administration’s efforts.
When the White House requested additional aid for Ukraine in its war against Russia, it was former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy who was the first to insist on tying those funds to security measures at the borders, in the last days of his mandate, more than six months ago, thus blocking the way forward. in the absence of agreement on one of the most intractable issues in Congress.
A few months later, after the Republican Party united around the idea that aid to Ukraine and border security should be linked, a bipartisan group of senators successfully negotiated. an aid program which included border security provisions. But at the insistence of former President Donald Trump, Republicans largely rejected it. At the time, Democrats accused the Republican Party of refusing to tackle the border, given the opportunity, because it could eliminate a key issue in the former president’s campaign.
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Without Republican support for Senate-negotiated legislation on foreign aid and border security, the upper chamber moved forward with the aid without the immigration components. But after the The Senate passed the package in February, Speaker Mike Johnson refused to introduce it to the House, promising that the Lower House would find its own way.
On Saturday, the chamber finally did so. In a package of bills that ultimately looked a lot like the foreign aid bill passed by the Senate, the House approved the funds, while a separate border security measure failed. And although the legislation has elements intended to make it more palatable to Republicans — such as offsetting aid to Ukraine with a partial loan structure and allowing the sale of the Russian oligarch’s frozen assets — more Democrats have ended up supporting the measures.
The aid has become all the more urgent after an unprecedented Iranian airstrike on Israel earlier this month and amid severe shortages in Ukraine in its continuing war against Russia. Johnson, who voted against aid to Ukraine as a rank-and-file member, appeared to have a change of heart, speaking boldly about the chamber’s responsibility in recent days and calling the aid “a of crucial importance” after months of lukewarmness on the issue.
The aid to Ukraine has angered far-right conservatives and could deepen Johnson’s problems within his conference. But it remains to be seen whether his recent maneuvers consolidate the desire to remove him from his post, mentioned by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene in recent weeks.
The way forward in the Senate
The passage of a similar foreign aid package in the Senate earlier this year suggests the new program will find broad support. With 70 votes for and 29 against, the Upper House approved the package on a bipartisan basis in February. And the rush to leave town for the remainder of the scheduled recess will likely aid efforts to quickly move the package through the House this week.
However, some threats aimed at slowing down its approval remain. Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, slowed the package’s progress toward passage at every opportunity in February and could do so again this week. The TikTok provision in the package could also draw some opposition from a handful of senators. But the majority of Democrats and a significant portion of Republicans are ultimately expected to support the package.
“The Senate is now ready to take the next step,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement after the House vote. “Our allies around the world have been waiting for this moment, and I assure them that the Senate is poised to pass the same bill soon.”
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