US House to vote on Ukraine and Israel aid, despite hardline objections

[April 18, 2024]  By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. House of Representatives will have its long-awaited vote on aid for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific as soon as Saturday, Republican Speaker Mike Johnson said on Wednesday, paving the way for its possible passage despite fierce objections from the right wing of his conference.

The House Appropriations Committee unveiled legislation providing more than $95 billion in security assistance, including $60.84 billion to address the conflict in Ukraine, of which $23.2 billion would be used to replenish U.S. weapons, stocks and facilities.

The Israel bill totals $26.38 billion, some of which will cover the cost of U.S. military operations responding to recent attacks. And $9.1 billion of the total is designated for humanitarian needs, something Democrats had demanded, although it bans any funding for the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA.

The security aid effort gained urgency following Iran's weekend attacks on Israel in retaliation for a suspected Israeli airstrike on Iran's embassy compound in Damascus on April 1.

The Indo-Pacific measure totals $8.12 billion.

Johnson said he would give House members 72 hours — until midday Saturday — to review the bill and offer amendments before a vote on final passage.

He also said he would release a separate border security bill, meeting a demand from conservatives.

Democratic President Joe Biden called on Congress to pass the bills quickly. "I will sign this into law immediately to send a message to the world: We stand with our friends, and we won’t let Iran or Russia succeed," Biden said in a statement.

The three bills are similar to a $95 billion foreign assistance package the Senate passed in February with strong 70% bipartisan support. But Johnson declined to move ahead until this week, amid objections from hard-right lawmakers, some of whom threatened to try to oust him as speaker.

The Ukraine measure includes a provision that economic assistance to Kyiv - not military - should be repaid, which was a conservative demand. However, the Biden administration could waive that requirement.

Late on Wednesday, House leaders introduced a fourth national security bill as part of the package. It includes several provisions not part of the Senate bill, including provisions to allow the transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine and sanctions targeting Hamas and Iran.

The measure also would prevent app story availability or web hosting services in the U.S. for applications controlled by China's ByteDance, including TikTok, unless the applications sever ties to ByteDance or other entities "subject to the control of a foreign adversary."

DEMOCRATIC SUPPORT

Democratic support for Johnson's plan will be essential, given the slim Republican majority in the House and opposition from far-right Republicans.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks to reporters during a weekly press conference at Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 16, 2024. REUTERS/Michael A. McCoy/ File Photo

The plan got an important boost from Representative Rosa DeLauro, the top House Appropriations Democrat. "We finally have a path forward to provide support for our allies and desperately needed humanitarian aid," she said.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats would discuss the bills and decide. "We want to have that conversation, as a caucus, as a family, as a team," he told reporters.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said that he would review the legislation before deciding how to respond.

At least two House members had threatened to try to oust Johnson if he went ahead.

Aid to Ukraine is strongly opposed by many of the most conservative lawmakers - especially those allied with former President Donald Trump, who has been a Ukraine aid skeptic and hopes to win back the White House in November.

Hardline Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, reiterated her threat to try to remove Johnson.

"Joe Biden just announced he supports the House bill Johnson is forcing forward," Greene said on X. "Johnson is not our Speaker, he is theirs. The question is how much longer will our conference tolerate this?"

Johnson said he would not let the threat influence him, saying it was critically important to support Ukraine. "I could make a selfish decision... but I'm doing here what I believe to be the right thing," he told reporters.

There are also objections on the left, amid concern about sending money to Israel as it strikes back against the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants and calls for tighter controls on U.S. weapons and taxpayer dollars, given the devastating toll of Israel's campaign in Gaza on civilians.

Johnson also introduced a separate border security bill. Immigration is a top concern for conservatives ahead of Nov. 5 elections that will decide control of the White House and Congress. Some Republicans have insisted they would not back foreign aid without more funding for security at the frontier with Mexico.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Additional reporting by Moira Warburton, Makini Brice, Richard Cowan and David Morgan; Editing by Jonathan Oatis, Don Durfee, Daniel Wallis, Lisa Shumaker and Michael Perry)

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