Senate passes $95B foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan: What's next?
The Senate on Tuesday night passed a package to deliver $95 billion in foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan -- a bipartisan win months in the making.
The package was approved 79-18.
Thirty-one Republicans joined with 48 Democrats to pass the legislation. That's nine more Republicans than supported the aid package when the Senate last considered it in February. Two Democrats -- Sens. Jeff Merkley and Peter Welch -- as well as independent Sen. Bernie Sanders voted against the legislation along with 15 Republicans.
The legislation, which includes four bills that passed in the House over the weekend with bipartisan support.
The package provides roughly $26 billion for Israel, currently at war with Hamas in Gaza; as well as $61 billion for Ukraine and $8 billion for allies in the Indo-Pacific. A fourth bill would force a U.S. ban of TikTok if its Chinese parent company doesn't sell it; impose sanctions on Russia, China and Iran; and seize Russian assets to help Ukraine rebuild from the war's damage.
The package now heads to President Joe Biden's desk where he said in a statement that he will sign it Wednesday.
"[A] bipartisan majority in the Senate joined the House to answer history's call at this critical inflection point," Biden said in a statement. "Congress has passed my legislation to strengthen our national security and send a message to the world about the power of American leadership: we stand resolutely for democracy and freedom, and against tyranny and oppression."
Biden reiterated that the ally countries seeking aid need the funds urgently.
"The need is urgent: for Ukraine, facing unrelenting bombardment from Russia; for Israel, which just faced unprecedented attacks from Iran; for refugees and those impacted by conflicts and natural disasters around the world, including in Gaza, Sudan, and Haiti; and for our partners seeking security and stability in the Indo-Pacific."
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer celebrated the bipartisan success of the passage of the foreign aid package Tuesday evening during a late-night press conference following the vote.
"It's not every day you can say you made the world truly a better place but I think the Senate can say that tonight and I am very proud of what has happened," Schumer said.
"America sends a message to the entire world we will not turn our back on you. We tell our allies we stand with you we tell our adversaries don't mess with us we tell the world we will do everything to defend democracy and our way of life. This national security bill is one of the most important measures Congress has passed in a very long time to protect Americas security and the security of western democracy," Schumer added.
Schumer applauded his colleagues who worked in a bipartisan way to get the bill across the finish line. And he gave a special shout out to Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
"He knew the right thing to do and stuck with it," Schumer said.
During a fulsome press conference after an earlier procedural vote on the package, McConnell said he believes his party is beginning to beat back the trends of isolationism he has fought against. He conceded that the isolationist streak in his party is not gone, but he said he believes progress has been made.
"If you're looking for a trend I think it's a trend in the direction that I would like to see us go, which is America steps up to its leadership role in the world and does what it needs to do," McConnell said.
He counted the groundswell of GOP support a win.
"I think we've turned the corner on this argument," he said, adding, "I think we've turned the corner on the isolationist movement. I've noticed how uncomfortable proponents of that are when you call them isolationists. I think we've made some progress and I think it's going to have to continue."
What's next?
Aid will be provided to some ally countries within days, Biden said.
In anticipation of the bill passing, the Biden administration had worked up a roughly $1 billion military assistance package for Ukraine with the first shipment arriving within days of approval, a U.S. official told ABC News on Tuesday.
The package will include desperately needed artillery rounds, air defense ammunition and armored vehicles, according to the official. The weapons and equipment will be drawn from existing U.S. stockpiles under presidential drawdown authority (PDA).
Ukraine can't win its fight against Russia without the funding, America's top general in Europe said earlier this month.
"They are now being out shot by the Russian side five to one. So Russians fire five times as many artillery shells at the Ukrainians then the Ukrainians are able to fire back," U.S. European Command's Gen. Christopher Cavoli told the House Armed Services Committee. "That will immediately go to 10 to one in a matter of weeks. We're not talking about months."
The outcome of the war could hang in the balance, according to Cavoli.
"The severity of this moment cannot be overstated. If we do not continue to support Ukraine, Ukraine could lose," he said.
It has been more than a year since Congress approved new aid for Ukraine in its fight against Russian invaders. The war has intensified in recent weeks, as more Russian strikes break through with Ukraine's air defenses running low.
Biden first requested more assistance for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific last fall. The Senate passed a $95 billion bill in February, but the legislation faced a logjam in the House as a coalition of Republican hard-liners grew opposed to sending more resources overseas without addressing domestic issues like immigration.
Speaker Mike Johnson's position on Ukraine aid evolved from also requiring changes to border and immigration policy to working with Democrats to pass the latest bills.
GOP leaders like Johnson echoed those concerns and had pushed for major changes to immigration policy, though a sweeping deal in the Senate to tie foreign aid to such changes was opposed by former President Donald Trump and rejected by conservatives as insufficient.
Then, pressure increased on lawmakers to pass aid to overseas allies after Iran's unprecedented attacks on Israel earlier this month, in retaliation for a strike on an Iranian consular complex in Syria, and as Russian forces continue to make offensive gains.
Speaker Johnson, once opposed to more aid for Ukraine, said last week he was "willing" to stake his job on the issue as an ouster threat looms from fellow Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Thomas Massie and Paul Gosar.
Johnson earned bipartisan praise for the reversal.
"He tried to do what the, you know, say the Freedom Caucus wanted him to do. It wasn't going to work in the Senate or the White House," Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, the House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman, said on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday. "At the end of the day, we were running out of time. Ukraine's getting ready to fall."
Johnson, McCaul said, "went through a transformation" on the issue.
After the procedural votes' passing, Schumer even praised Johnson.
"I thank Speaker Johnson, who rose to the occasion, in his own words, said he had to do the right thing despite the enormous political pressure on him" Schumer said.
