Following the House’s passage this weekend of billions of dollars in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, the Senate is set to consider the trio of supplemental spending bills as soon as Tuesday.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on Sunday that weapons deliveries for Ukraine that may include longer-range ATACMS missiles could be “in transit” by the end of week following final passage and the president’s signature.
“I hope once this gets to the president[‘s desk] by Tuesday or Wednesday, that these [weapon] shipments will be literally launched with those longer-range ATACMS,” Warner said during an interview on CBS’ Face The Nation. “I believe the administration was prepared over the last couple of months to prepare or to provide ATACMS. It is written into this legislation.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) last week rolled out a trio of supplemental spending bills covering billions of dollars in assistance for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, arriving more than six months after the Biden administration first submitted its foreign aid supplemental request to Congress and after the Senate had passed its own supplemental package in February (Defense Daily, April 17).
The House’s three foreign aid bills largely match the funding levels in the Senate’s earlier $95 billion foreign aid supplemental, and includes $60.8 billion to support Ukraine, $26.4 billion for assistance to Israel and $8.1 billion related to Indo-Pacific security efforts, such as aid for Taiwan.
The Ukraine aid bill includes a specific provision urging the Biden administration to transfer Lockheed Martin [LMT]-built ATACMS “as soon as practicable” following passage.
After Ukraine had long sought ATACMS to assist in its campaign, the U.S. provided some older versions of the munition to Kyiv in September.
Following the House’s passage of the foreign aid on Saturday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) affirmed the Senate’s plans to take up the bills this week, adding progress on further assistance funding has been “six months in the making.”
“The Senate now stands ready to take the next step. A few moments ago, Democrats and Republicans locked in an agreement enabling the Senate to finish work on the supplemental with the first vote on Tuesday afternoon,” Schumer said. “Today’s vote [in the House] is a watershed moment for the defense of democracy, and I applaud the House for stepping up. Our allies across the world have been waiting for this moment, and I assure them the Senate is on the path to pass the same bill soon.”
The House on Saturday first considered a series of three GOP-proposed amendments focused on removing Ukraine funding all of which were voted down, to include one from Ukrainian-born Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) to strip economic assistance for Kyiv from the bill and block further use of Presidential Drawdown Authority to transfer weapons from U.S. stockpiles to Kyiv, another from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to block all Ukraine aid funding and a final one from Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) that would have taken out all non-military assistance.
The House ultimately voted 311-112 to pass the Ukraine aid bill, 385-34, in favor of the aid bill with assistance for Indo-Pacific partners including Taiwan and 366-58 to advance the Israel assistance bill.
“Today’s passage of the security supplemental is extremely important, both for our interests and to the brave people of Ukraine. It quite literally is the difference between life and death for thousands of Ukrainians. This critical military aid will give them a fighting chance to defend their country,” Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement on Saturday. “These bills also address crucial humanitarian and security concerns in Israel and the Indo-Pacific. This package invests in our industrial base, translating to good-paying jobs for hardworking Americans. For all those reasons, I am proud to have voted for this package.”
Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, commander of U.S. European Command/NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, told lawmakers recently Ukraine is set to run out of artillery rounds and air defense interceptors “in fairly short order,” and that he believes Kyiv “will not be able to prevail” against Russia without continued U.S. support (Defense Daily, April 10).
Many of the GOP votes cast against the foreign aid were from Freedom Caucus members opposed to Johnson’s decision to remove border security provisions from the supplemental consideration.
“Today, I voted no… These bills were brought forward under a contrived process to achieve a predetermined outcome — a $100 billion, unpaid-for foreign aid package while failing to secure the border,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said in a social media post. “For months, House Republicans — specifically, Speaker Mike Johnson — have been unequivocal that we would not send billions in additional aid to Ukraine without securing our own border first. This package represents a complete reversal of a position that previously unified the Republican conference, despite the clear & present danger the southern border represents to U.S. national security.”
While Democrats voted unanimously in favor of Ukraine and Taiwan aid, many of the 58 votes cast against the Israel bill were from progressive members opposed to the Israeli military’s campaign they said has led to “extraordinary suffering on the people of Gaza.”
“Our votes against [the Israel aid bill] are votes against supplying more offensive weapons that could result in more killings of civilians in Rafah and elsewhere. We believe strongly in Israel’s right to self-defense and have joined colleagues previously in affirming our shared commitment,” a group of 20 progressive members, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), wrote in a joint statement. “All of us support strengthening the Iron Dome and other defense systems and we are committed to a sovereign, safe, and secure future for Israel. To protect that future, we believe the United States must help achieve a ceasefire that allows hostages to be freed, humanitarian aid to be delivered, and peace talks to begin.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in a statement lauded the House’s passage this weekend of the billions of dollars in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
“I welcome the passage of the critical national security supplemental, which will help the Department of Defense support Ukraine and Israel, bolster security in the Indo-Pacific, and stand firm with our allies and partners around the world. This bipartisan legislation will allow the Department to surge lifesaving security assistance to help Ukraine defend itself from Russia’s aggression, support Israel’s defense from Iran and its proxies, and increase the flow of urgently needed humanitarian aid to suffering Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” Austin said in a statement on Saturday. “This legislation is also an important investment in America’s future. By providing approximately $50 billion that will flow directly into our defense industrial base, this bill will create good American jobs in more than 30 states even as it reinforces U.S. long-term security.”
Austin told lawmakers earlier this month the U.S. risked signaling to other countries it’s an “unreliable partner” if Congress did not take action on the pending supplemental to provide further aid for Ukraine to assist in its fight against Russia’s ongoing invasion (Defense Daily, April 9).