US House of Representatives approves $17.6 billion in aid for Israel, as a broad bipartisan bill to help Ukraine and secure more funding for border security appears to be facing difficulties as well. The proposed bill was rejected.
Tuesday's vote on the Israel bill, which requires a two-thirds majority to pass, was largely along party lines.
Aid to Israel, one of the largest recipients of U.S. foreign aid, has traditionally enjoyed strong bipartisan support. But opponents of the bill say it would combine an overhaul of U.S. immigration policy and new funding for border security (measures Republicans had called for) with billions of dollars in emergency aid to Ukraine, totaling $118 billion. It was a Republican ploy to distract from opposition to the Senate bill. , Israel and Asia Pacific Partners.
House Democratic leaders criticized the Israel bill as a “completely obvious and cynical attempt” to undermine the larger package, which was finalized over the weekend after months of negotiations by a bipartisan group of senators. did.
Former President Donald Trump, likely to be the Republican nominee for November's presidential election, urges Republicans to avoid handing congressional victory to President Joe Biden, likely to be his Democratic rival, ahead of the vote. support for the bill among Republicans is waning.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said the Senate bill was “dead on arrival” on the floor even before it was introduced. Senate Republican leaders said Tuesday they do not believe the bill will receive enough votes to pass.
“To me and most members of Congress, it looks like there's no real chance of passing legislation here,” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters.
Biden, who supports the Senate bill, had promised to veto the House's Israel-specific bill if it passed.
On Tuesday, he told lawmakers that two years after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of the neighboring country, “the clock is ticking” for Ukraine and proposed a broader bill. He urged MPs to support the .
He called for people to “show their spine” and stand up to Trump.
Due to lack of funds, the Pentagon has no longer shipped arms to Kiev, even as Ukraine struggles with ammunition and manpower shortages as Russia launches a relentless offensive.
“Every week, every month of new aid to Ukraine means fewer shells, fewer air defenses, fewer means for Ukraine to defend itself against Russia's onslaught,” Biden said.
“We can't walk away from here now. That's President Putin's bet,” Biden said. “Supporting this bill is standing up to President Putin. Opposing this bill is playing into his hands.”
Biden added that the immigration portion of the bill includes “the toughest reforms ever to secure our border.”
“Required resources”
Supporters of the Israel bill insist it is not a political stunt and come after members of the armed group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people. He said it was important to act quickly to support the country, which has launched an attack on Gaza. and take dozens of people prisoner.
At least 27,585 Palestinians were killed and thousands more injured in the Israeli onslaught.
“This bill will simply provide our closest allies in the region and our military with the resources they need,” said Republican Rep. Ken Calvert, who introduced the bill.
Some Democratic lawmakers also criticized the House bill for not providing humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians.
Lawmakers have struggled for months to reach an agreement on sending security assistance overseas, particularly to Ukraine.
Biden has introduced emergency spending bills to Congress twice, most recently in October.
The Republican-controlled House passed an Israel-specific bill in November, but it was not taken up by the Democratic-led Senate. Negotiators are grappling with Biden's request for a wide range of emergency security measures, with Republicans pushing for security aid to be combined with changes to immigration policy and security at the Mexican border.
Tuesday's rejection in Israel's House of Representatives was the second consecutive failure for Mr. Johnson's Republican majority.
The remarks came shortly after Congress voted against impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the Biden administration's top border official.
