Last month, the White House had requested a budget extension of 33 billion dollars to help Ukraine repel the Russian offensive, support its economy and meet humanitarian assistance needs.
According to the Washington Postthe military aid component will be devoted to military equipment, training, military salaries and support for intelligence forces.
The plan includes $5 billion for global food security issues, seriously compromised by the conflict.
According to the daily, the adoption of the bill will bring the total amount of Ukrainian aid provided by Congress since the Russian invasion on February 24 to more than 53 billion dollars.
With this aid program, America sends a resounding message to the world of our unwavering determination to support the brave people of Ukraine until they achieve victory.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said ahead of the vote.
This aid package must pass the Senate before being signed into law by President Joe Biden.
Ahead of the House debates, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer promised to take over to hold a vote shortly. The Senate will move quickly to pass emergency funding and send it to the desk of the [président]
he tweeted.
On Monday, Joe Biden urged Congress to pass the bill, saying in a statement that the existing envelope would be exhausted indays”,”text”:”approximately 10days”}}”>approximately 10 days.
The original goal was to tie the Ukraine aid package to $10 billion in additional funding to fight the coronavirus pandemic, but Republicans threatened to freeze the Ukraine envelope if Democrats included in it. their fund project for the fight against COVID.
We cannot afford to delay this vital war effort
[contre la Russie]conceded Joe Biden in the press release published on Monday.
Therefore, I am ready to accept that these two measures move forward separately, so that the draft law on aid to Ukraine can arrive on my desk immediately.
he said, insisting however on the importance of financing the fight against COVID-19, failing which more Americans will die unnecessarily
.
Last month, Republicans had already blocked the COVID-19 bill, which Republicans were supporting, and they were demanding a vote on an amendment that would prevent Joe Biden from lifting Trump-era immigration restrictions put in place for the pandemic.
While the Russian offensive, entering its 11th week, is a long-term one, President Biden has promulgated on Monday a law that will facilitate the export of military equipment to Ukrainedusting off a World War II measure used to fight Nazi Germany.
Canada singled out
Appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, US intelligence chief Avril Haines also argued that Russia was preparing for a protracted conflict in Ukraine.
She also advanced as President Vladimir Putin did not intend to limit its desire for occupation to the Donbass region alone and intended to extend the conflict to Transnistria, a region of Moldova which seceded in 1990.
A Republican senator used the hearing to express his frustration at the overwhelming US share of military aid provided to Ukraine, according to the CBC report.
40 billion is a lot of money
argued Dan Sullivan, a Republican from Alaska during an exchange on the new budget envelope for kyiv.
Mentioning Canada twice, he asked witnesses if they saw the US allies getting closer to NATO’s military spending target of 2% of member countries’ GDP.
« We still have NATO allies, including Canada, taking advantage of the situation without paying their fair share. And it gets a little tiring. »
A recent NATO assessment indicates that Canada is falling behind its allies in reaching its target. The report released in late March estimates that Ottawa, at the bottom of the pack, spent about 1.36% of its GDP on defense spending in 2021.
Canada has also provided over C$1 billion to Ukraine in the form of non-military and military loans and assistance, including eight armored vehicles and some howitzers.
Recently, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin thanked his Canadian counterpart, Anita Anand, for Ottawa’s contribution, praising the leadership
and the sens moral
of Canada.