The Republican-dominated US House of Representatives voted on Thursday for new aid worth 14.3 billion dollars (13.5 billion euros) for Israel in the war against the radical Islamic Hamas. However, the bill has no chance of passing the Senate, which is controlled by President Joe Biden’s Democrats, due to the lack of aid to Ukraine and the lack of humanitarian aid for the civilian population in the Gaza Strip.
The bill presented by the Republican Party was passed by the Congressional Chamber on Thursday with the help of the Republican majority and the votes of a handful of Democrats. Biden wants Congress to release billions for Ukraine, along with aid to Israel. However, the Republican bill does not provide new funds for Kiev. The conservatives, who form the majority in the House of Representatives, also want the new aid to Israel to be financed by cuts from the US tax authorities, which Biden firmly rejects.
Biden would even block the law with a veto
The president has made clear that he would veto a bill that included only aid to Israel. Two weeks ago, Biden asked Parliament for $14.3 billion for Israel and $61.4 billion for Ukraine, which was under attack by Russia. While Republicans are largely united in their support for more money for Israel, the situation is different when it comes to Ukraine: parts of the conservative party are strictly against new aid to Kiev.
The new Speaker of the House of Representatives, the arch-conservative Republican Mike Johnson, presented the text of the law, which only provides for new aid to Israel. This has also drawn criticism from Senate Republicans: “The idea that supporting the fight against Russian aggression is a distraction from other security priorities is wrong,” Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell recently said.
Total package of $106 billion
In addition to aid to Israel and Ukraine, Biden had also asked Congress for billions of dollars in humanitarian aid, funding for allies in the Indo-Pacific and to protect U.S. borders. The total package is worth almost $106 billion.
The US government urgently warns that Ukraine could lose the war against Russia without further US help. “I can guarantee you that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin will be successful (for Ukraine) without our support,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during a Senate hearing on Tuesday.
Already 44 billion dollars for Kiev
Since the start of Russia’s war of aggression in February 2022, Washington has so far provided or promised military aid worth about $44 billion to Kyiv. The US is also a close and historic ally of Israel.
The House of Representatives was recently paralyzed for three weeks by a Republican infighting and was therefore unable to pass legislation – and therefore no new aid for US allies. Former Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy was the first speaker in US history to be overthrown on October 3 by an uprising of right-wing hardliners within his own ranks.
Source: Krone
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