US Senate forges ahead on Ukraine, Israel aid as 'Putin is watching'
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[February 12, 2024]
By Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Monday will attempt to steer a
$95.34 billion package containing aid for Ukraine and Israel to passage
this week following months of delays, even as it lacked any guarantee
that the House of Representatives will support the measure.
On Sunday, the bill got a boost when the Senate voted 67-27 to move it
past an important procedural hurdle. Also over the weekend, Majority
Leader Chuck Schumer set a course for passage by Wednesday.
On Monday, the Senate is expected to cast a procedural vote that, if
successful, would keep the bill moving forward.
Having kept senators working during rare back-to-back Saturday and
Sunday sessions, Schumer wrapped up for the night saying, "Our friends
abroad are watching closely how we vote in the upcoming days. Ukrainian
fighters are watching and you can be sure (Russian President) Vladimir
Putin is watching the Senate, too."
Since last August, Democratic President Joe Biden has been urging
Congress to hurry new aid to Ukraine. Following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on
Israel he also requested funds for the U.S. ally along with humanitarian
aid for Palestinians in Gaza.
Congress' haltingly slow response to Biden's call comes as Ukrainian
officials have warned of weapons shortages at a time when Russia is
pressing ahead with renewed attacks.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Feb/12/images/ads/current/humanesociety_sda022411.png)
"There's no good reason to delay the security and humanitarian
assistance ... any longer," Senate Foreign Committee member Brian
Schatz, a Democrat, said during Sunday's debate of the bill.
"Ukraine is running dangerously low on munitions on the eve of the
second anniversary of Putin's invasion," added Schatz. "Millions of
innocent Palestinians in Gaza are suffering daily without access to
basic necessities."
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![](../images/021224PIX/news_e79.jpg)
Tourists walk near the U.S. Capitol as the Senate votes to begin
work on a bill that includes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan in
Washington, U.S., February 9, 2024. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Feb/12/images/ads/current/debbiesfloral_lda_122623.png)
The bill now being debated in the Senate has drawn opposition from
some Republicans, including in the House of Representatives, who
want to shut off U.S. aid to Ukraine. At the same time they are
insisting that the southern U.S. border with Mexico be hardened to
stop an unusually high flow of undocumented immigrants.
But last week, at the urging of former President Donald Trump, most
Senate Republicans voted to kill a bipartisan border security bill
that had been crafted over four months. It was seen as the most
significant border security and immigration reform effort in at
least a decade.
Following last week's action, Schumer stripped the border security
language from the legislation and has advanced a bill providing the
aid to Ukraine, Israel and Gaza, as well as Taiwan.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, in a Senate speech, called for
yet another overhaul of the bill to reflect some of Trump's desires.
Graham said portions of the U.S. aid should be converted into loans
and only "lethal aid," not humanitarian aid be included in the
package. And he called for U.S. border security provisions, although
so far his party has not unveiled border-related amendments.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan; Additional reporting by Patricia
Zengerle; Editing by Don Durfee and Christopher Cushing)
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