The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on a $95 billion legislative plan on Saturday to provide security assistance to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, with the expectation of passing the bill.
It has been over two months since a similar measure was passed by the Democratic-majority Senate, and various American leaders, from Democratic President Joe Biden to Senate Republican Mitch McConnell, have been urging House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring it to a vote.
Facing outspoken opposition from some hardline members within his party, Johnson vetoed the foreign aid package passed by the Senate back in February. Since then, he has been working tirelessly to push a more conservative version through the House.
The bill he proposed attempts to strike a balance, keeping most of the Senate’s proposal intact to secure crucial Democratic support, while also adding a series of Republican national security priorities to appease conservative voices. These GOP provisions were merged into their own plan, including new sanctions on Iran; efforts to mitigate the impact of the aid package on deficit spending; and a ban or divestment of TikTok under ByteDance over concerns about ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
On Friday, both parties in the House voted by a majority of 316-94 to move the bill to a decision, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer telling senators that they would be prepared to work over the weekend if the bill passed as expected in the House.
Johnson told reporters on Friday, “This is not perfect legislation, we wouldn’t be passing such a bill if Republicans controlled the House, Senate, and White House at the same time. This is the best product we can get in this situation to fulfill these truly important duties.”
The comprehensive aid package includes three bills to provide assistance to Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific region, including Taiwan, aiming to help deter Chinese Communist aggression in the region.
The fourth bill is other Republican House priorities, including provisions to transfer frozen Russian assets to Ukraine, sanctions on Hamas and Iran, and to compel the Chinese company ByteDance to divest its social media platform TikTok, risking a ban in the U.S. if not complied within a year, longer than the previous six-month deadline in the House bill passed earlier.
Some hardline Republicans strongly opposed further aid to Ukraine, but former President and influential Republican figure Donald Trump expressed support for Johnson on April 12, stating in a social media post on Thursday that Ukraine’s survival is crucial to the United States.
The total cost of the three aid bills in the House amounts to approximately $95 billion, the same as the Senate’s February bill. The bill allocates $60.84 billion to address the conflict in Ukraine, with $10 billion in Ukrainian economic assistance adjusted as repayable loans. The fourth bill is not part of the Senate’s comprehensive plan.
The aid package also provides $26 billion to Israel, with $9.1 billion for humanitarian needs, and $8.12 billion for the Indian Ocean-Pacific region as China’s influence continues to grow.
The House is scheduled to begin debating the bill at 9 a.m. and vote at 1 p.m.