The Senate on Tuesday passed a $95 billion emergency foreign aid package, ending months of bitter fighting over $61 billion for the war in Ukraine that had deeply divided the Republican Party.
The measure passed by a vote of 79 to 18 and now goes to President Biden for his signature.
The package also includes $15 billion in military aid for Israel and $9 billion in humanitarian aid for Gaza and other war-torn areas, which became another flashpoint among conservative Republicans who argued it didn’t have adequate safeguards to keep it from going to Hamas.
It provides $8 billion in security assistance to deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific.
And it includes language to force the Chinese owner of TikTok to divest from the popular app, which is used by more than 140 million Americans, or otherwise face a ban within the United States.
But the centerpiece of the package is $47.7 billion that would flow through the Defense Department to provide training, equipment, weapons, logistics support and supplies to help Ukraine’s military, as well as $13.4 billion to replenish U.S. equipment sent to Ukraine and $20.5 billion for U.S. Armed Forces support in Europe.
It also includes $9.5 billion in economic aid to Ukraine structured as a forgivable loan, an idea that former President Trump gave life to when the Senate passed a previous version of the $95 billion assistance package in February.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), who worked for months to get Ukraine aid passed, hailed the vote as a landmark moment.
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Senate passes Ukraine, Israel funding after months-long stalemate https://t.co/xWp6O0PZaB
— The Hill (@thehill) April 24, 2024
NEWS: Senate PASSES $95 billion aid bill for Ukraine, Israel, & Taiwan that also forces the sale of TikTok.
Vote was 79-18, it now goes to Pres Biden's desk for his signature.
GO NO VOTES:
Barrasso
Blackburn
Braun
Budd
Cruz
Hagerty
Hawley
Johnson
Lee
Lummis
Marshall…— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) April 24, 2024
Mike Lee's journey from never Trumper to coup-excusing, shit-posting, Putin apologist deserves more attention.
— Gregg Nunziata (@greggnunziata) April 24, 2024
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky extended his gratitude to the U.S. after the Senate advanced a critical foreign aid package, ending a months-long stalemate over sending more aid to Ukraine. https://t.co/6XoWjXHPxI
— The Hill (@thehill) April 24, 2024
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