House approves USD 40B in Ukraine aid, beefing up Biden request
The Hindu
Washington
The House emphatically approved a fresh USD 40 billion Ukraine aid package on Tuesday as lawmakers beefed up President Joe Biden's initial request, signalling a magnified, bipartisan commitment to thwart Russian President Vladimir Putin's bloody three-month-old invasion.
The measure sailed to passage by a lopsided 368-57 margin, providing USD 7 billion more than Biden's request from April and dividing the increase evenly between defense and humanitarian programs.
The bill would give Ukraine military and economic assistance, help regional allies, replenish weapons the Pentagon has shipped overseas and provide USD 5 billion to address global food shortages caused by the war's crippling of Ukraine's normally robust production of many crops.
The measure was backed by every voting Democrat and by nearly 3 out of 4 Republicans.
House debate reflected a perspective, shared broadly by both parties, that the US has even more at stake than standing by Ukraine.
The new legislation would bring American support for the effort to nearly USD 54 billion, including the USD 13.6 billion in support Congress enacted in March. That's about USD 6 billion more than the US spent on all its foreign and military aid in 2019, according to a January report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, which studies issues for lawmakers.
The measure was released as Washington has become increasingly assertive about its goals and its willingness to help Ukraine with more sophisticated weapons.