(TheRedAlertNews.com) – In a highly controversial development, the US House of Representatives will most likely delay further the consideration of a Senate bill to provide nearly $100 billion in military aid to US allies Israel, Taiwan, and an increasingly desperate Ukraine since Congress is headed for a break.
As Congress prepares for a two-week recess starting this weekend, there remains no definitive strategy to deliver the urgent military assistance that the White House has requested to aid Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression, Insider Paper informs in a report.
Despite the critical situation, with President Volodymyr Zelensky highlighting the desperate need for resources to replenish diminishing ammunition supplies+-+-, action seems uncertain.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, an ally of former President Donald Trump, has been under pressure to permit a vote on the bill, which would also extend support to Israel and Taiwan.
Johnson indicated on Wednesday that he is not entirely closing off the possibility of additional funding beyond the $110 billion already sanctioned for Kyiv.
He committed to revisiting the matter “immediately” after the conclusion of the protracted 2024 federal budget negotiations.
“There’s a number of avenues that we’re looking at… We have to project strength in the world stage and we’re going to do that,” he told reporters.
However, with Congress scheduled for recess post-weekend until April 8, and the this week’s proceedings set to focus on government funding discussions, urgency mounts, the report points out.
“The longer that the national security supplemental sits on Speaker Johnson’s desk, the more desperate the situation in Ukraine becomes,” Chuck Schumer, the Democrat Senate Majority Leader, emphasized on Wednesday.
Schumer highlighted the dire shortages Ukraine faces, not only in ammunition but in troop numbers, and he underscored the House’s strong potential support for the package, should Johnson facilitate a vote.
“Russia is now making three times — three times — as much artillery and munitions as the US and Europe, and Ukrainian forces are suffering the consequences on the ground,” the top Senate lawmaker added.
It is noted that in the early 1990s, Ukraine agreed to give up its share from the former Soviet Union’s nuclear arsenal in exchange for Western security guarantees.
The majority of the proposed $60 billion in aid represents funds that would circulate back into the US economy through the replenishment of aged weaponry supplied to Ukraine, thereby supporting American employment and industry. However, $12 billion would be directly allocated to Ukraine.
Copyright 2024, TheRedAlertNews.com
