A $95.3 billion military aid package to Kyiv, Israel and other allies could be President Joe Biden’s last chance to provide substantial US support, according to Associated Press News.
The bill includes $14.1 billion in military aid to Israel for the war on Hamas, $8 billion to Taiwan and partners in the Indo-Pacific region to counter China, and $9.2 billion for humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The aid to Israel was particularly poignant after panic gripped the city of Rafah in Gaza when Israel announced the planned evacuation of the population expected to be its next target in the four-month war that began with Hamas attacks.
Senator Bernie Sanders, the independent from Vermont, said during a speech on Friday that most of the US money for Israel would allow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “buy more of the bombs he has used to flatten Gaza and killed thousands and thousands of children,” asking as follows: “Does the United States Congress really want to provide more military aid to Netanyahu so that he can annihilate thousands and thousands more men, women and children?”
The central part in the package and for Joe Biden personally has always been military aid to Ukraine: the package will allocate $60 billion to Ukraine, mainly for the purchase of US defence equipment, including ammunition and air defence systems.
Despite this, even if the foreign aid package passes in the Senate, where a vote could take place on Sunday, it faces a very uncertain future in the House of Representatives, as the Republican majority is highly dubious due to the onset of the second year of the war.
In a White House speech on Friday, Biden, along with the German chancellor, said he would be “close to criminal neglect” if the US Congress did not support its European ally.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz highlighted the huge risks for Ukraine if US aid is cut off:
Without the support of the United States, and without the support of the European states, Ukraine will have no chance to defend its own country.
In a key vote on Thursday, 17 Republican senators agreed to begin debate on the bill, but 31 voted against it because, in the words of Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, “Our job first and foremost is to protect this country.”
McConnell, known for his criticism of Biden’s approach to Ukraine and other national security issues, is nevertheless overcoming isolationists in his party to push for passage of the national security package. He also tried to impress upon his party the importance of investing in allies and adding to the US industrial base that produces the weapons used to repel Russia.
“This is about rebuilding the arsenal of democracy and demonstrating to our allies and adversaries alike that we’re serious about exercising American strength,” McConnell stressed.
The bundling of the US aid package to Israel and Indo-Pacific allies has gained favour with some Republicans, but has also raised concerns among some Democrats as the humanitarian devastation in Gaza by Israeli troops grows deeper.
The Senate will not vote on Saturday, but senators, who are on the cusp of a two-week recess in Washington, are scheduled to return at noon Sunday, before the Super Bowl, to advance the package to a final vote. The package will then go to the House of Representatives, but Speaker Mike Johnson has not mentioned whether he would schedule a vote on it.
