T24 International News
After months of debates, the US legislature, the House of Representatives, and the lower house of Congress agreed to provide military aid worth $61 billion to Ukraine, which is fighting against Russian occupation. The package also includes billions in aid for other US allies such as Israel and Taiwan.
210 Democrats and 101 Republicans voted in favor of the aid. 112 Republicans, a majority, vetoed the aid package. In the party where Donald Trump was elected as the top candidate of the USA, some members of Congress strongly oppose continuing aid to Ukraine.
The Senate, the upper house of Congress, will put the bill passed by the House of Representatives on its agenda on Tuesday, with a preliminary vote on the same day. It is expected that the package will be passed in a final vote sometime next week and sent to Leader Joe Biden’s desk for signature.
Voting began earlier than planned in the special session on Saturday, delaying the House’s recess. While there was great applause in the chamber after the Ukrainian aid was accepted, session chair Marc Molinaro called for no Ukrainian flags to be waved inside.
The Democratic former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, said in a powerful speech before the vote: „I hope that our colleagues will choose democracy and conciliation instead of authoritarianism and evil today. Because if you choose Putin’s path, I fear that blood will be on your hands; the blood of children and the mothers who were raped before their eyes…“
Before the package was passed, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that his country’s ammunition was running out and said, „Ukraine will lose this war“ if no help comes.
After the bill was passed by the House of Representatives, Zelensky thanked all supporters and said the new aid would „prevent the spread of war“ and „save thousands of lives.“
The bill, which provides additional funds to Israel, was easily passed by the House with 365 yes votes and 57 no votes (36 Democrats, 21 Republicans).
T24