Speaker Johnson unveils separate US aid plans for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan
House Speaker Mike Johnson introduced four separate bills to fund US aid to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and other national security priorities.
The Hill reports this.
Johnson, during a closed conference of the House of the Republican Party, announced his plan to transfer aid to countries through the House of Representatives.
"Events are happening worldwide that we all follow very closely. And we know that the world is watching us to see how we react," the speaker noted during the presentation of the aid package.
He noted that a decision was made to divide the bill with additional funding, adopted by the Senate in February, into four separate bills.
"We will vote separately for aid to Israel, for aid to Ukraine, for aid in the Indo-Pacific region, and also for another document that includes our national security priorities," Johnson said.
According to two Republican lawmakers at the meeting, the plan is to move the four bills under one procedural rule, allowing the amendment process.
The publication notes that, according to one Republican Party lawmaker, the fourth bill related to national security will include the following:
- a provision that would allow the US to use confiscated Russian assets to help Ukraine,
- an act of lend-lease for military aid,
- convertible loans to facilitate humanitarian assistance,
- a ban on TikTok.
The package is expected to be formally tabled in the lower house on Tuesday, April 16, after which the standard procedures for debate and amendment will take 72 hours.
If the process is not delayed, the lower house can vote on draft laws on Friday evening.
If passed, the package of documents must be reconsidered and voted on in the US Senate.
For reference:
Since the fall of 2023, the US Congress has not been able to agree on President Joe Biden's request to allocate new funds to finance aid to Ukraine.
This year, the US Senate passed a bill to provide Ukraine with approximately 60 billion dollars in aid.
The House of Representatives received the document, but it has yet to be reviewed.
Recently, in an interview with The Washington Post, Zelensky said that without American help, Ukraine would have to retreat at the front. Before that, the Ukrainian president had a telephone conversation with the speaker of the House of Representatives.
The head of state told him about the problematic situation on the battlefield and the swift escalation of Russian aerial attacks. Given these circumstances, Congress's urgent approval of aid to Ukraine is crucial.
Part of the Republican Party of the USA and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, began to develop their own version of the aid package for Ukraine.
In the budget request of the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, for the 2025 fiscal year, 1.5 billion dollars were provided to counter the Kremlin's aggression, of which 482 million dollars are for Ukraine.
It is worth noting that in the United States House of Representatives, a vote on military aid to Ukraine could take place at least in mid-April or later as Speaker Mike Johnson looks for ways to soften the position of hardline Republicans.
Subsequently, Johnson said that after the return of the US Congress from the Easter vacation on April 9, he plans to submit a draft law on assistance to Ukraine. However, its content and who can support it remain unknown.
The other day, after meeting with Johnson, Trump said he is not against American aid to Ukraine. But, according to him, it should not be a "gift". In this way, Trump supported the idea of helping Ukraine with a loan, which the Republican Party advocated.
