After four long months, the United States Senate finally passed a new foreign supplemental aid package. The legislation, which includes $61 billion in aid to Ukraine, $14 billion to Israel, and $4.83 billion in support of other partners, including Taiwan, had strong bipartisan support. The Senate voted 70-29 to pass the bill.
This is a significant milestone for the Senate. In November 2023, the supplemental aid package was introduced to Republican and Democratic members of the Senate. Initially, many Republican members stated that the foreign aid package needed to be tied to border security. As a result, Republican and Democratic members debated what should and should not be included in the bill. Multiple revisions were made, and the legislation was in advanced talks. Some members of the Senate, however, determined that they would be unable to reach a deal during the holiday period, and the bill was stalled in December and early January.
Several weeks later, a final version of the joint border security reform and supplemental aid was produced. But after nearly three months of deliberations, several Senate members decided the bill would not pass. They disagreed with the new revisions in the bill, and after holding a preliminary vote on the border security reforms, the deal was blocked. The Senate then returned to the initial plan of introducing a new supplemental aid package for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan. This time, negotiations advanced, and the bill had strong bipartisan support.
Marjorie T. Greene Is a Liability for Ukraine and America Too
While some members of the Senate continued to oppose the deal, the legislation was ultimately passed, suggesting that, despite their differences, Republican, Democratic, and Independent members of the Senate worked together to pass the bill.
But the fight is not over yet. While the supplemental aid package was passed by the Senate, it still needs to be reviewed by the House of Representatives. The legislation will only become law if the House votes on it and it passes. Otherwise, if the bill is not passed, then aid will not be sent to these foreign countries.
Another hurdle remains. Speaker of the House Mike Jonson has previously stated that he will not succumb to pressure from the Senate. He has also rejected a proposal to vote on the aid. But his rejection of the legislation does not mean a vote will not be held. There are other ways of attempting to pass the legislation.
Known as a discharge petition, members of the House can file a motion to vote on a bill that has not been introduced by the Speaker of the House. For a discharge to be successful, 218 House members must vote in favor of introducing the legislation in question. If the vote passes by at least 218 members, then the bill can be introduced to House members for a vote.
According to the House of Representatives website, as of Feb. 13, 2024, there are 219 Republican members and 212 Democratic members. Assuming all 212 Democratic members would support the bill, House Democrats would need at least six Republican House members to support the discharge petition.
A discharge petition is also not out of the question. According to The Hill, some Republican House members have stated that they support aid for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan. Others have even said on record that they have spoken to lawmakers about using a discharge petition. Should this movement continue to grow, then it is possible such a motion could be introduced.
But it is unclear if this process will succeed. A discharge petition is also very uncommon. The last time it was used was in 2015, when policymakers discussed “legislation surrounding the import/export bank.” Signatures on a discharge petition are also public, which may make some House members vulnerable.
Mark Temnycky is an accredited freelance journalist covering Eurasian affairs and a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. He can be found on X @MTemnycky
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Comments (7)
JOHN Guest • 1 second ago
@LM, Sorry...GOP almost got a border fix by bundling it with the bipartisans bill to continue UKRAINE But russia's putinrump had his MRGA minions throw out that effort as he is blackmailing them all to do nothing at least for the next 10 months. Turns out it was not important to putinrump. It was just an excuse for futhering putins goals by attempting to thwart further Ukraine aid.
Also remember when putinrumps chief strategist Steve Bannon and 3 affiliated criminal partners fleeced some of the stupidest MRGA cult members out of millions with their fraudulent "We Build the Wall" campaign. LOL ....I mean really LOL. I think 3 are still doing jail time, but putinrump pardoned his loyal buddy Bannon so he's out to work his manipulative miracles again on the evangelical kumbaya crowd.
Sounds like putinrumps' doing a 'repeat and rinse' with the tax-exempt PAC money donated legally supposed to be used solely for election campaigning .....He's improperly planning on using $23 million worth towards his personal legal defences in some of his 81 felony convictions as a citizen. Apparently Melania's hairstylist also just got a $108k in improperly diverted PAC funds. In 2021 they also give her $155k, but covered their butts claiming it was for her savvy event planning consulting skills.
Can the stupidity of MRGA cult members get any more unbelievable? You just can't make this stuff up folks.
If the U.S. Senate would approve H.R. 2 Ukraine aid would flow. But the US Democratic controlled Senate will not bring it up for a vote. Biden will not meet with Speaker Johnson.
With a 33 Trillion dollar deficit its time to fund only the essentials. Do I think Ukraine is essential? Yes. But get rid of all this DEI and Climate Change horse shit. Shrink the Federal Government.
@LM, Sorry...GOP almost got a border fix by bundling it with the bipartisans bill to continue UKRAINE But russia's putinrump had his MRGA minions throw out that effort as he is blackmailing them all to do nothing at least for the next 10 months. Turns out it was not important to putinrump. It was just an excuse for futhering putins goals by attempting to thwart further Ukraine aid.
Also remember when putinrumps chief strategist Steve Bannon and 3 affiliated criminal partners fleeced some of the stupidest MRGA cult members out of millions with their fraudulent "We Build the Wall" campaign. LOL ....I mean really LOL. I think 3 are still doing jail time, but putinrump pardoned his loyal buddy Bannon so he's out to work his manipulative miracles again on the evangelical kumbaya crowd.
Sounds like putinrumps' doing a 'repeat and rinse' with the tax-exempt PAC money donated legally supposed to be used solely for election campaigning .....He's improperly planning on using $23 million worth towards his personal legal defences in some of his 81 felony convictions as a citizen. Apparently Melania's hairstylist also just got a $108k in improperly diverted PAC funds. In 2021 they also give her $155k, but covered their butts claiming it was for her savvy event planning consulting skills.
Can the stupidity of MRGA cult members get any more unbelievable? You just can't make this stuff up folks. Its' like they are joyously flushing their hard earned money down his toilet.
Someone needs to ask trump turd who is Alexander Smirnov, the fbi informant who was just arrested in Las Vegas USA for lying about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden’s involvement in business dealings with Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings.
#AltrightComIntern
#GOPMAGAEqualsNationalBolshevism
#ThePerestroikaDeception
https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/15/politics/former-fbi-informant-charged-biden-burisma/index.html
Europe relied too much on Russian gas and it gave Putin confidence to invade Ukraine, he thought we would not act if he restricted our gas supply and in the early months of the war he did exactly that, shutting down pipelines for extended and unecessary maintenance.
We adapted and no longer rely on Russian gas.
Europe also relies too much on the US for security, what happens if US support is no longer forthcoming because Trump is elected?
Answer: Europe will adapt again. Trump will not be sitting at the head of the table and holding Europe to ransom whilst he jerks off Putin under the table. The US will lose global influence under Trump.
I imagine European leaders are watching closely what happens with the US election, poised pen in hand to sign new military production contracts if the US fails to deliver.
We didn't let Putin blackmail Europe, nor Orban and we certainly won't let Trump dictate surrender terms to our Ukrainian friends. Please vote with your heart America - the world is watching. 2024 is a vote of a lifetime, the one everyone will remember.
rand paul is pro russian. He is affiliated / backed by the koch brothers who also created a "think tank" called "Defense Priorities" which echoes communist russia's demands of less US military bases, dissolving of NATO, and a reluctance to impose sanctions on north korea.One of paul's key backers...charles koch... the same koch brothers that have donated millions of dollars to "Donors Trust and Donors Capital" which also funds the "Heritage Foundation" recently spread russian propaganda about Ukraine, the koch family made a fortune developing oil and gas in russia as far back as soviet times.
jessie benton sound familiar? A GOP operative working for rand paul & mitch mcconnell funnelling russian money, caught and convicted.
NRA also taking russian money.
nikki haley also accepts money from the koch brothers.
Then there is mike johnson who attends white supremacist meetings of the cnp 4th of October 2019 and used US taxpayer money to travel to this hate fest.
mike johnson as of 14/02//24 has also just trivialized a national security threat posed by russia discovered by US house intelligence chairman.
trump also wants his daughter in law to be republican national chairperson, if this happens, trump will control through his daughter in law, the republican party and who gets donation money and how much.
#GOPMAGAEqualsNationalBolsheviks
Thank you Mark, I did not know this. You gave me hope that some Republicans do have a heart also. Gosh I hope this happens as I have been turn off by the behavior of the Republicans. They are helping in destroying the reputation of the US.
@Maddy. Folks here are not so stupid as to believe that a russian troll like yourself cares about any allies debt so stop sowing this crap. Beside that amount represents a trifle in the USA's overall budget, it's mostly going back into US industry anyways which will create lots of new jobs and tax revenue. The trickle down economic stimulus it will provide will probably even raise the stock market indexes.
Also the fact that you trying to sow discord amongst people doing the humane thing (stopping a murderous thieving regime), just illustrates why supporting Ukraine is so important.
Besides, currently resource rich Russia will eventually repay all the debts it growingly incurs. After first making full restitution to Ukraine, the remaining russian national reserves and discounted resources should readily offset allied expenses.
If China does not want all of Siberia back, maybe Alaska can extend further across the Bering sea. Poland can get back its stolen 'Kaliningrad' region. Moldova can get back its stolen 'Transnista region. Georgia it's stolen 'Abkhazia' and 'Ossetian' territory. The rest get discounts of other russian natural resources / exports until the debt is repaid.
I'm sure the other nations will all work something out.