U.S. House of Representatives passes $60 billion Ukraine aid bill
The United States House of Representatives voted in favor of the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, unlocking critical support for Ukraine after months of delays, in a session at the House on April 20, 2024.
The vote gathered 311 congresspeople in favor, versus 112 against and one present. All Democrats voted in favor of the bill, with 101 Republican congresspeople joining the bill.
Democratic Representatives cheered and waved Ukrainian flags as the vote went through.
This breakthrough follows four months of obstruction by a number of GOP congresspeople, including Homeland Security committee member Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA-14). Her submitted amendments to the bill, such as a requirement that any congresspeople who vote yea on the bill join the Ukrainian military, all failed.
In addition to Ukraine aid, aid packages for Israel and Indo-Pacific security also passed, totaling $95 billion. The share of aid partitioned for supporting Ukraine amounts to $61 billion, of which approximately $14 billion is earmarked for assisting with Ukrainian purchases of military equipment. Nearly $35 billion is apportioned for replenishing U.S. military stocks and funding on-going European deployments.
The bill also obliges U.S. President Joe Biden to provide Ukraine with ATACMS ballistic missiles, which Ukrainian officials have previously said would enable a greater range for Ukrainian strike capabilities.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the results of the vote in a post on Telegram, thanking members of Congress for "defending Ukrainian lives," and expressed his gratitude for House Speaker Mike Johnson's efforts in passing the bill.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba echoed the president's words, calling the vote "a bad day for [Russian dictator Vladimir] Putin."
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
