US Senate passes Us$95bn for Ukraine, Israel

The US Senate voted late on Friday to push a Us$95.3bn funding package for Ukraine and Israel closer to passage.

Senators voted 64 - 19 in a bipartisan effort to move forward with the bill, which would provide Us$60bn in defence aid for Ukraine in the war against Russia, Us$14bn in defence for Israel in the war versus Hamas, Us$9bn for humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, the West Bank and Ukraine, and Us$4.8bn to support allies in the Indo-pacific, according to multiple media outlets.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the vote ‘keeps the process of passing the emergency national security package moving forward on the Senate floor’.

His counterpart, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, urged fellow Republicans to advance the legislation to ‘provide for the common defence and equip the next commander-inchief with the tools to exercise American strength’.

Some Senate Republicans are trying to add border security provisions to the funding bill that Schumer stripped from the package when it had to be reduced from its original proposal of Us$118bn.

“How can you be helping Ukraine with their invasion but not be helping America with its invasion?” said Senator Marco Rubio, who voted against advancing the bill, arguing that it failed to address the ‘invasion’ of millions of migrants at the USMexico border.

Senator Mike Lee said it was ‘almost impossible to conceive’ that sending humanitarian aid to Gaza would not benefit the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

At least one amendment to the bill needs to be hashed out before the full Senate votes on the package.

If the measure clears the Senate, the Republican-led House of Representatives would then decide whether to introduce the bill to a full House vote for approval.

Palestine on Saturday called on Washington to take ‘concrete action’ to stop the Israeli ‘genocidal massacres’, as Tel Aviv is preparing to expand its ground offensive to Rafah.

Senators voted 64-19 in a bipartisan effort to move forward with the bill, which would provide Us$60bn in defence aid for Ukraine in the war against Russia, Us$14bn in defence for Israel in the war versus Hamas