The measure was passed by the House earlier this month, and once passed by the Senate, will go to President Joe Biden for a bill to be signed.
The legislation provides money for military and humanitarian aid, including funding to support Ukraine’s military and national security forces, to help replenish stocks of US equipment sent to Ukraine, and to provide public health and medical support to Ukrainian refugees.
Aid to Ukraine was a rare area of bipartisan consensus on Capitol Hill, with many Democrats and Republicans uniting around calls for help from the struggling nation.
However, not all lawmakers are backed by insisting on sending an additional $ 40 billion in aid to Ukraine. Some Republican senators have challenged the high cost of legislation and the fact that costs are not being reimbursed, and expressed concern that European countries are not providing enough funds. Earlier this week, 11 Republican senators voted against moving the aid package.
Sen. Mike Krapo, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee and on re-election in Idaho, said he voted against a procedural proposal to move the bill because he wants to be reimbursed for the cost of the expensive bill. He said he was not worried that the vote would send the wrong message to Ukraine, which is struggling to survive against Russia.
“No, I’m not worried about that,” he said. “I understand the question. I have stated very clearly my support for Ukraine. And I expressed my support for compensating for the legislation, which was high-cost legislation. “
What’s in the bill
The bill includes an increase in funding for the presidential body to withdraw from $ 5 billion, which the Biden administration initially requested, to $ 11 billion. Funding from the presidential withdrawal body allows the administration to send military equipment and weapons from US stockpiles.
The bill also provides $ 6 billion in funding for Ukraine’s Security Assistance Initiative, another way the Biden administration provides military assistance to Ukraine. The funding allows the administration to buy weapons from counterparties and then provide those weapons to Ukraine, and as a result does not draw directly from US stocks.
According to a report from the House of Democrats, the funds will be used to support Ukraine’s military and national security forces and will go to weapons, equipment, training, logistical and intelligence support, and other needs.
There will also be approximately $ 9 billion to help rebuild US equipment shipped to Ukraine in the coming, as many lawmakers have expressed concerns about the replacement of US weapons supplies to the United States, especially stingers and Javel missiles.
The bill provides $ 3.9 billion for European Command operations, which include “mission support, intelligence support, payment for difficulties for troops stationed in the region, and equipment, including a Patriot battery,” according to House Democrats. . The Ministry of Defense has added additional US troops to Eastern European countries to boost support for NATO allies near Ukraine since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.
To meet humanitarian needs, the bill will include $ 900 million to help refugees, including accommodation, trauma support and English language training for Ukrainians fleeing the country.
The measure provides an additional $ 54 million to be used for public health and medical support for Ukrainian refugees.
Aid to Ukraine has been postponed to the Senate
Senate bipartisan leaders hoped to approve the emergency funding bill last week to send billions of military aid to Ukraine quickly as the war enters its third month.
But Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, blocked the passage of the aid package until Thursday this week, the day the Biden administration said additional funds needed to be approved to avoid a gap in support for Ukraine.
Paul called for language to be added to the bill, which gives the special inspector general new powers to monitor how aid is spent on Ukraine. And while members of both parties generally agree with this notion, imposing an amendment to the bill at such a late stage would take time and would delay receiving the necessary emergency aid in the country.
According to Senate rules, any senator can delay the process. It took about a week to overcome Paul’s objection through timely procedural steps that the majority leader had to take in the Senate.
“I think we need to have an inspector general,” Paul told CNN earlier this week. “We have one there and he is watching the Afghan waste. He was very good at it. You don’t have to wait for a meeting. He has a team working. And I think we have to do that.”
Sumer criticized Paul for delaying emergency financial aid, arguing that it was “purely political” and only “strengthening Putin’s hand.”
Paul said in a speech before objecting to the bill last week that his “oath is the American constitution, not a foreign nation” and “we cannot save Ukraine by dooming the US economy.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he expected the Senate on Thursday to “complete the critical task of approving another round of military, humanitarian and economic aid to the people of Ukraine.”
He continued: “This should have been done and done, but it is disgusting that a member of the other side, a junior senator from Kentucky, chose to do a show and block Ukraine’s funding, knowing that he could not actually stop the transition. mu. “
CNN’s Ted Barrett and Manu Raju contributed to this report.
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