US House adjourns until late February without vote on aid for Ukraine
Photo: AP/J. Scott Applewhite
Despite discussions, the US House of Representatives has gone on recess until February 28 without passing a bill for financial aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
Now, lawmakers will return to consider the bill in late February, Rubryka reports, citing Voice of America.
Before announcing the recess, the House of Representatives had extensive discussions about aid to Ukraine and other partners — lawmakers were deciding whether to vote on the document as agreed upon by the Senate or to propose amendments.
US President Joe Biden responded to the legislators' decision to go on recess. The American leader said on X (Twitter) that refusing to vote on the bill that provides aid to Ukraine, which continues to resist Russia's full-scale military aggression, will not be forgotten.
"Failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten," he wrote.
The White House criticized Speaker Mike Johnson for initiating the recess in the House of Representatives and bringing the Senate-approved aid package for Ukraine to a vote, the Hill reported, citing an official memo from White House spokesperson Andrew Bates.
Bates argued in the memo that House Speaker Mike Johnson is leaving for an early "vacation" "instead of ending the harm he's doing to our national security."
"Every day that Speaker Johnson causes our national security to deteriorate, America loses. And every day that he puts off a clean vote, congressional Republicans' standing with the American people plunges," Bates said. "Running away for an early vacation only worsens both problems."
Here's what we know about the bill to aid Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan
The US Senate voted on February 9 to continue the discussion on allocating funding for Ukraine, Israel, and allies in the Indo-Pacific region over the weekend. 64 senators voted in favor, with 19 against.
On February 11, the upper chamber of the United States Congress (the Senate) voted to end debates and amendments to bill HR 815, which allocates $95 billion to support Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. The United States senators adopted a motion to end debates on the bill.
Moreover, on February 13, US Senators adopted a motion to cease debate on a bill providing aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, criticized the US Senate's bill to aid Ukraine and Israel for lacking measures that could halt the record flow of migrants across the US-Mexico border.
Later on the same day, the Senate passed a bill providing $95 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. Specifically, over $60 billion is allocated for Ukraine.
