Amid Border Crisis, Senate Passes Aid Package For Ukraine; Set For Showdown with the House

The Senate Tuesday (13 February) approved the controversial $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine and Israel.

However, opposition from House Speaker Mike Johnson has put a question mark on the bill’s future.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has urged the House to “move” on the legislation with “urgency”.

This comes as US border is undergoing through a crisis as millions of migrants arrive in the country via the porous borders, with Biden’s lenient policies being attacked by Republicans as “open borders”.

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Over Half The Republicans oppose the Ukraine funding bill

The Senate vote was 70 to 29 with 22 Republicans voting in favor, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The upper chamber pushed through a number of procedural hurdles in recent days, remaining in Washington through the weekend despite a planned recess that was set to begin this week. 

The vote comes months after the White House requested the supplemental funding package, when Republicans demanded that the foreign aid be tied to enhanced border security measures.

However, a bipartisan border security agreement was released last week, and then quickly rejected after former President Donald Trump weighed in, the deal’s prospects in Congress disappeared.

But soon after, Schumer made a push to proceed with the aid package without the border provisions. 

The foreign aid package includes billions of dollars to support Ukraine and for security assistance for Israel, as well as humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza, the West Bank and Ukraine, among other priorities.

The bill includes $60 billion aid for Ukraine’s military efforts against Russia, $14.1 billion in security assistance for Israel, $9.2 billion in humanitarian assistance and $4.8 billion to support regional partners in the Indo-Pacific region in addition to other policy provisions.

Johnson’s Criticism of The Legislation

In a statement ahead of the bill’s passage in the Senate, Speaker Johnson criticised the legislation, suggesting that the House may not consider it.

“The mandate of national security supplemental legislation was to secure America’s own border before sending additional foreign aid around the world,” Johnson said in the statement.

“Now, in the absence of having received any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters,” he added.

Biden Urges Urgency

President Biden said that the bill will allow the United States to continue our vital work to stand up for “Ukraine’s freedom and support its ability to defend itself against Russia’s aggression”.

“I applaud the bipartisan coalition of Senators who came together to advance this agreement, and I urge the House to move on this with urgency. We cannot afford to wait any longer,” Biden said.

“The costs of inaction are rising every day, especially in Ukraine,” he added.

Biden said that reports are suggesting that Ukrainian troops running out of ammunition on the front lines as Russian forces continue to attack and Putin continues to “dream of subjugating the Ukrainian people”.

Attacking Trump, Biden said, “There are those who say American leadership and our alliances and partnerships with countries around the world do not matter. They do. If we do not stand against tyrants who seek to conquer or carve up their neighbors’ territory, the consequences for America’s national security will be significant”.

“Our allies and adversaries alike will take note,” he said.

“It is time for the House to take action and send this bipartisan legislation to my desk immediately so that I can sign it into law,” Biden added.

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