The Democrat-led House of Representatives will vote today on a bill worth about $ 40 billion to help Ukraine. It is currently 10 a.m. Tuesday in Washington, D.C., so a final decision can be made within two hours. CNN reports the vote.
The text of the bill is expected to have bipartisan support. Under pressure from the need and atrocities of the Kremlin in Ukraine, lawmakers from both political parties (Democrats and Republicans – ed.), Who previously protested against the rapid growth of military budgets and US involvement in intractable conflicts abroad, have united, writes The New York Times.
The bill calls for an increase in presidential-initiated funding from $ 5 billion, originally requested by the Biden administration, to $ 11 billion. Funding from the president allows the administration to send military equipment and weapons from US reserves. This has been one of the main ways for the administration to provide Ukrainians with military equipment quickly during the last 76 days of the war.
Additional assistance to Ukraine in mid-March included $ 3 billion in funding. The Biden administration used it to provide military assistance to Ukraine under a number of presidential packages. The last package of $ 150 million was approved on May 6.
The bill also provides funding for the Security Initiative of Ukraine in the amount of 6 billion. USAI funding allows the administration to buy weapons from contractors and then supply them to Ukraine, so this method does not directly use US stockpiles.
