On Tuesday evening (April 23), the U.S. Senate passed a significant $95 billion foreign aid package, marking a major achievement for Congress and ensuring funding for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, including a provision to ban TikTok in the U.S.
The bill passed with a vote of 79 to 18 and will soon be sent to President Biden for his signature.
Congress had been at a standstill over providing additional funding to Ukraine and other aid to Israel and Taiwan, with many Republicans insisting on substantive legislation addressing the crisis at the U.S. southern border.
This long-delayed bill finally passed the House of Representatives last Saturday. The House passed three bills, including $61 billion in aid to Ukraine, $26 billion in aid to Israel, and $8.1 billion in aid to Taiwan.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Senate voted 80 to 19 to end the obstruction of the foreign aid package, clearing the way for the final vote later that evening.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell praised the vote as a milestone moment.
“Today, the Senate sent a unified message to the world. The United States will always defend democracy when needed. We tell our allies, we stand with you. We tell our adversaries, do not provoke us,” Schumer said.
McConnell commended ending the obstruction and stated that Republicans had “turned the tide” on the aid package.
He noted that America’s Asian allies understand that “Beijing stands to benefit from the advance of Russia in the (Ukraine conflict) and Beijing is waiting for us to falter.”
Biden stated he would sign the bill on Wednesday to make it effective.
In a statement on Tuesday evening, Biden said the bill would “strengthen our national security and send a message to the world of American leadership: we firmly support democracy and freedom, and oppose tyranny and oppression.”
The bill passed by the Senate on Tuesday evening includes four main components.
First, the “21st Century Peace through Strength Act” involves a series of national security projects, such as sanctions related to Iran, and gives the Chinese parent company of TikTok, ByteDance, nine months to sell TikTok.
If the U.S. President determines progress in the sale, the deadline can be extended by 90 days, giving ByteDance up to a year to complete the divestment. If ByteDance fails to divest TikTok within the deadline, the app will be banned from being listed on U.S. app stores.
TikTok stated it would launch legal proceedings to defend its position.
Second, the “Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act” will provide $61 billion in aid to Ukraine to counter Russia’s invasion.
Third, the “Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental Bill” provides approximately $8.1 billion to counter Chinese actions in the Indo-Pacific region, including funding submarine base infrastructure development, offering foreign military financing to Taiwan and other key allies.
Fourth, the “Israel Security Supplemental Bill” provides $26 billion in aid to Israel. The bill also provides additional flexibility to transfer defense material stored by the U.S. in other countries to Israel.