WASHINGTON (AP) — A $13.6 billion emergency military and humanitarian aid package for beleaguered Ukraine and its European allies easily won congressional final approval Thursday, hooking on a nationwide spending bill five months late but filled with political prizes for both. sides.
As Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion has claimed thousands of lives and forced more than 2 million people to flee, the Senate approved a $1.5 trillion overall bill by a 68-to-31 vote. Democrats and Republicans have struggled this election year due to rising inflation, energy policies and ongoing pandemic-related restrictions, but they rallied in support of sending aid to Ukraine, whose stubborn resilience against brutal force inspired many voters.
“We promised the Ukrainian people that they would not fight Putin alone,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., said shortly before the vote. “And once we hand over that funding shortly, we will keep that promise.”
The House of Representatives easily passed the compromise bill on Wednesday. President Joe Biden’s signature was undeniable.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the endorsement “proves once again that members of both parties can come together to deliver results for the American people,” a phenomenon that has been lacking in recent years.
She also urged lawmakers to return money “urgently needed to prevent major disruptions to our COVID response.” To the embarrassment of Biden and Democratic leaders, who have made it a top priority, the House of Representatives on Wednesday abandoned a envisaged $15.6 billion measure to continue efforts to fight the pandemic after grassroots lawmakers backed down on promised cuts in aid to states.
About half of the war’s $13.6 billion was spent on arming and equipping Ukraine, and the Pentagon’s spending on sending U.S. troops to other Eastern European countries is viewed with distrust of the war next door. Most of the rest included humanitarian and economic aid, strengthening allied defenses in the region, and protecting their energy resources and cybersecurity needs.
Republicans strongly supported these spending. But they have criticized Biden for acting too timidly, such as in an unresolved dispute with Poland over how that country could provide Ukraine with MiG fighter jets that its pilots can fly.
“The first instinct of this administration is to flinch, wait for international and public pressure to crush it, and then take action only after the perfect moment has passed,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky State.
Last month, White House aides told Congress that Biden needed $6.4 billion to counter the Russian invasion. He eventually formally requested $10 billion, an amount that it took only days for an eager Congress to raise its final figure of $13.6 billion.
The $1.5 trillion bill providing for the bailout gave Democrats a nearly 7 percent increase in domestic initiatives, a little less than half the package. This has resulted in increased spending on schools, housing, childcare, renewable energy, biomedical research, community law enforcement grants, and nutrition programs.
The measure also funnels money to minority communities and historic black colleges, renews efforts to prevent domestic violence against women, and requires infrastructure operators to report serious cases of hacking to federal authorities.
Republicans are seeking a nearly 6 percent increase in defense spending, including money for 85 advanced F-35 fighter jets, 13 new Navy ships, upgrades to 90 Abrams tanks and upgrades to schools on military bases. Ukraine will receive another $300 million and other Eastern European allies will receive another $300 million in addition to emergency funding for the measure.
The Republican Party has also prevailed in maintaining a decade of restrictions on the use of federal money to pay for nearly all abortions. And they forced Biden to abandon his 2022 budget targets — politically implausible from the start — that called for a 16% increase in the domestic program and less than 2% defense growth.
In addition to these political victories, there was one incentive for many lawmakers from both parties to support the spending package, which they had not enjoyed since 2010. a despicable waste of taxpayer money.
The practice recovered, the expansive account was riddled with thousands of projects worth several billion dollars. A few years ago, the numbers were often higher.
Confirming the practice’s popularity, the Senate rejected an amendment by Senator Mike Brown, D-Ind., to remove the target marks. Brown said they span 367 pages that weigh five pounds and show “the swamp is rising again”. Amendment’s loss by a 64–35 margin to both parties spoke for itself.
Government agencies have operated at lower spending levels last year since the new fiscal year began on Oct. 1 because, as usual, Congress hasn’t approved any bills to update those amounts.
Months of negotiations led this week to a compromise agreement on costs. With the latest temporary spending measure expiring Friday night, Biden’s signing of the $1.5 trillion bill would prevent a federal government shutdown over the weekend, which would never happen because neither side had a reason to fuel such a battle.
The Senate sent Biden Tuesday a separate agency funding bill in case it takes time to complete the necessary reprint and adjust the long measure.
A lot has happened since October 1, and a lot of it has proven difficult for Democrats. Biden’s vote fell, high inflation persisted, and gas prices jumped. The disappearance of Omicron left voters impatient to lift pandemic-related restrictions, Biden’s landmark social and environmental bill collapsed, and Russia invaded Ukraine.
This election year, Democrats saw the $1.5 trillion package as their chance to claim victory.
Currently, the Democrats who control the White House and Congress could lose their narrow majority in the House and Senate in November’s midterm elections, meaning this could be the peak of their ability to win political priorities for years to come. Until last year, they last controlled both branches in 2010.
This largesse was partly due to the relaxed attitude of both sides towards the colossal federal budget deficit.
Last year’s $2.8 trillion deficit caused by the pandemic was the second largest ever. It was so high that Biden suggested that the $1.8 trillion projected gap this year would be an achievement because it would be $1 trillion less, the biggest contraction ever.