![]() “With this aid package, America sends a resounding message to the world of our unwavering determination to stand with the courageous people of Ukraine until victory is won.” “Time is of the essence - and we cannot afford to wait,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California wrote to lawmakers in a letter on Tuesday ahead of the vote. The result has been that, at least for now, Congress is quickly and nearly unanimously embracing historic tranches of foreign aid with little public debate about the Biden administration’s strategy, whether the volume of military assistance could escalate the conflict, or whether domestic priorities are being pushed aside to accommodate the huge expenditures overseas.Įach time President Biden has requested that Congress pass emergency aid, congressional leaders have significantly increased both the military and the humanitarian funding. Markarova’s message as: “Thank you for all our help, but please speed it up.” They need our help quickly,” said Senator Richard J. They’re running out of supplies and ammunition. On Tuesday, hours before the House was to vote, Oksana Markarova, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, met separately with Republicans and Democrats in the Senate, where the measure is now headed, to personally call for swift passage of the package. They have been backed by pleas of urgency from both Ukrainian leaders and the Biden administration, which warned Congress this week that more aid would be needed before May 19 to continue providing military support. Instead, the packages have swelled to accommodate the two parties’ competing priorities, with Republicans adding money for military assistance and Democrats insisting that be matched by an equal addition for humanitarian aid. Biden’s requests to Congress for money to fund the war effort have spiraled upward, leaders in both parties have largely refrained from questioning them. They include the extension of a tax credit that pulled millions of American children out of poverty and even a pandemic response package to control the spread of the coronavirus, as Republicans and some Democrats raise concerns that such spending could exacerbate inflation and increase the federal deficit.īut stunned by the grisly images from Ukraine and leery of turning their backs on a country whose suffering has been on vivid display for the world, many lawmakers have put aside their skepticism and quietly agreed to the sprawling tranches of aid, keeping to themselves their concerns about the war and questions about the Biden administration’s strategy for American involvement.Īnd as Mr. It also comes at a time when the two parties have been unable to reach agreement to invest in domestic programs. That total - roughly $53 billion over two months - goes beyond what President Biden requested and is poised to amount to the largest foreign aid package to move through Congress in at least two decades. The House on Tuesday night passed a $40 billion military and humanitarian aid package for Ukraine in an overwhelming 368 to 57 vote, weeks after lawmakers overwhelmingly approved $13.6 billion in emergency aid for the war effort. ![]()
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