US Senate presents US$111 billion finance package with aid to Ukraine and Israel

Democrats in the US Senate unveiled a national security package on Tuesday worth about US$111 billion, which included aid to Ukraine and Israel, as well as measures to secure the southern border with Mexico.

Source: The Hill with reference to the document

Details: The 167-page bill provides more than US$15 billion in support for Ukraine, including in areas such as military training, intelligence data sharing and increased presence in the European Command area of responsibility.

The bill also includes US$10.6 billion in aid to Israel, which, as noted, includes US$4 billion for air defence, as well as US$1.2 billion "to accelerate the development of the Iron Beam missile defence system."

It also includes US$43.6 billion for measures aimed at increasing the country's arms and ammunition production capacity, investing in the US submarine industrial base and increasing its stockpile.

In a statement accompanying the bill’s release on Tuesday, Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray called it "imperative we extend our support for Ukraine at this pivotal moment and make clear to Putin and other dictators that they cannot simply wait out the United States." 

"It’s past time for Senators to stop tying partisan and extreme immigration proposals to a broadly bipartisan supplemental. It turbocharges efforts across government to stop the flow of fentanyl and crack down on transnational criminal organisations trafficking it," she said.  

The decision comes as border talks between senators on both sides have broken down in recent days, with Republicans demanding that any agreement to provide aid to Ukraine and Israel also include changes to strengthen border security.

Among the provisions that Democrats pointed out in Tuesday's package is the allocation of approximately US$1.4 billion to hire "immigration judge teams, including associated attorneys, law clerks, paralegals, court administrators, interpreters, and other support staff," among other things.

The bill also provides hundreds of millions of US dollars for efforts to address the "backlog of DNA samples collected from migrants encountered by the US Border Patrol" and for the enhancement of "laboratory analysis of illicit fentanyl samples to trace illicit fentanyl supplies back to manufacturers."

Democrats say the bill would also provide more than US$5 billion in emergency funding for US Customs and Border Protection and about US$2.3 billion in emergency funding for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The bill is expected to come up for a first procedural vote on Wednesday, as Democrats warn that Ukraine lacks resources amid the ongoing war with Russia.

However, the path to passing the bill is not easy, as Republicans are insisting on more aggressive border proposals.

Background:

• On 4 December, Jake Sullivan, US National Security Advisor, called on Congress to support the White House's request for additional funding for Ukraine, warning that a refusal to vote for it would help Russia.
• Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called for the first procedural vote on an additional US$106 billion aid package proposed by President Joe Biden for Ukraine, Israel, the Indo-Pacific, and for humanitarian purposes in Gaza.
• In September, the White House asked Congress to approve the US$106 billion supplemental funding package, which includes more than US$61 billion in funding for Ukraine, as well as spending on aid to Israel, Taiwan and border security.
• But the initiative was stalled by the opposition of far-right Republicans in the House of Representatives, whose new speaker, Mike Johnson, proposed splitting aid to Ukraine and Israel.

Support UP or become our patron!