Two-Thirds of Senate Backs Aid to Ukraine, Israel

Test vote puts measure on track for final approval this week
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 11, 2024 2:15 PM CST
Two-Thirds of Senate Backs Aid to Ukraine, Israel
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, center, arrives Sunday as the Senate prepares to take a procedural vote on an emergency spending package that would provide military aid to Ukraine and Israel.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The Senate voted to move ahead with emergency aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan on Sunday, capping a weekend of negotiations. "I can't remember the last time the Senate was in session on Super Bowl Sunday, but as I've said all week long, we're going to keep working on this bill until the job is done," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor. The procedural vote drew the support of 67 senators—18 of them Republicans—suggesting the package is headed for final approval in the chamber, possibly on Tuesday, CNBC reports. It would then go to the House.

The $95 billion package, per the New York Times, includes funding for:

  • Ukraine: $60.1 billion would go to help fight off the Russian invasion.
  • Israel: $14.1 billion in assistance would be sent to aid that nation's war against Hamas.
  • The Indo-Pacific: Nearly $10 billion would be allocated for humanitarian assistance to civilians in conflict zones and to address threats to the region.

The Republican Senate leader also asked his members to vote yes. "It's no exaggeration to say the eyes of the world are on the United States Senate," Sen. Mitch McConnell said Sunday on the Senate floor. US allies, he said, "don't have the luxury of pretending that the world's most dangerous aggressors are someone else's problem and neither do we." After the vote, Schumer praised Republicans for "working in good faith to get this done." If voting hadn't been completed before the Super Bowl began, Schumer had arranged for televisions and pizza to be brought into the Capitol, aides said. (More US Senate stories.)

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