April 16, 2024
US House leader sets date for separate votes on aid for Ukraine and Israel
The US House of Representatives will vote this week on separate aid bills for Israel and Ukraine, Speaker Mike Johnson said late on Monday.
The announcement comes after Johnson stalled a vote for months on the US Senate’s combined $95 billion (€89.52 billion) package passed in February, which included funds to help Ukraine in its war against Russia’s invasion.
“We know that the world is watching us to see how we react,” Johnson said. “They’re watching to see if America will stand up for its allies and in our own interest around the globe. And we will.”
The House speaker said votes on passage might be around late Friday.
This move comes after Iran’s recent missile and drone attack on Israel prompted urgent responses from US allies.
But Johnson’s proposal is to separate the Senate-passed bill into four separate bills that will also address funds to Taiwan and US national security priorities in the Indo-Pacific.
“We won’t be voting on the Senate supplemental in its current form,” Johnson told reporters, “but we will vote on each of these measures separately in four different pieces.”
Earlier on Monday, the White House ruled out any bill that only contained aid for Israel, saying that a “standalone would not help Israel and Ukraine.”
While the White House and Senate Democrats have pushed for immediate action, emphasizing the strategic importance of the aid, Johnson’s hands were forced by conservatives fiercely opposed to aiding Ukraine.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, threatening to push to oust him as speaker, said her message to the speaker was, “Don’t fund Ukraine.”
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Russia intensified its attacks on Ukraine, leading to Kyiv’s first territorial losses in months, exacerbated by ammunition shortages.
Over the weekend, Ukraine’s military chief said facing Russia’s fresh offensive the situation in the country’s east has “significantly worsened in recent days.”
ss/ab (AP, AFP, Reuters,dpa)
