Senate Passes $40 Billion Ukraine Aid Bill

 

The legislation passed in a vote of 86-11, with only Republicans voting no

by Dave DeCamp 

Posted onMay 19, 2022CategoriesNewsTagsUkraine

On Thursday, the Senate passed a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine, the majority of which will go towards military assistance. The legislation now moves to the desk of President Biden, who is expected to quickly sign it into law.

The massive package passed in a vote of 86-11, with only Republicans voting against the bill. The aid was delayed in the Senate last week after Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) blocked a vote. Paul wanted to change the text of the bill to include a new inspector general for oversight of the aid, but the legislation wasn’t altered.

Paul voted against the bill on Thursday, along with Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), John Boozman (R-AR), Mike Braun (R-IN), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Mike Lee (R-UT), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall (R-KS), and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL).

The aid package passed through the House on May 10 in a vote of 368-57, again with only Republicans voting nay as Democrats are in lockstep in their support of the Biden administration’s policy of flooding Ukraine with weapons, which risks provoking Moscow.

The $40 billion will bring total US aid for Ukraine to a whopping $54 billion for 2022 alone. For perspective, Russia’s entire military budget for 2021 was estimated to be about $65.9 billion.

https://news.antiwar.com/2022/05/19/senate-passes-40-billion-ukraine-aid-bill/