US lawmakers leave for recess, killing Ukraine aid bill — RT World News
President Joe Biden said the failure to support Kiev at such a “critical time” would “never be forgotten.”
The US House of Representatives was unable to approve legislation allocating about $95 billion in additional aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan before heading into the winter recess. Lawmakers failed to reach a compromise on the agreement after Republicans demanded that the package include new money to protect the border with Mexico.
After months of negotiations, the two major parties were unable to reach an agreement on the massive foreign aid bill on Thursday, as lawmakers headed for their winter break. The legislation will include about $60 billion for Kiev, more than $14 billion for Israel, and about $8 billion for US partners in the Indo-Pacific region. More money will be allocated to a number of other projects, including supporting US military action around the world, bringing its total cost to more than $95 billion.
While Republicans insisted that the bill should include new funding for security on the US southern border if they approved additional aid to Ukraine, negotiations over the Senate version of the legislation ultimately failed, with several GOP members dropping their support after criticism. By former President Donald Trump.
House GOP members refused to pass any stand-alone legislation dealing solely with foreign aid, insisting that the bill must address the unprecedented increase in illegal immigration.
House Speaker Mike Johnson later insisted that his fellow party members would not accept an aid bill that did not also contain tougher border protections.
“The Republican-led House will not be stacked or forced to pass a foreign aid bill that most Republican senators opposed and does nothing to secure our borders.” Johnson said.
President Biden, who has repeatedly called for new aid to Ukraine and Israel, expressed anger after the bill failed to come to a vote, warning that those who block the measure will do so. “Never forget.”
However, when lawmakers return from recess on February 28, they will face a higher priority challenge than sending billions in US taxpayer money to Kiev, as they will have only a few days to negotiate a deal to avoid another US government shutdown.
You can share this story on social media:
Source link
