US Senate approves Ukraine defence funding All eyes on Congress for next steps

The US Senate voted to pass a $95 billion emergency defence spending bill, including $60 billion for Ukraine in the early morning of February 13.

“I believe that if this bill is brought to the House floor, it will pass with strong bipartisan support,” The Hill quotes Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as saying.

The 70-29 vote capped nearly a week of floor debate and four months of wrangling over President Biden’s request to fund the war in Ukraine, which he submitted to Congress in October.

In addition to military and economic aid to Ukraine, the measure will provide $14 billion in security assistance to Israel, $9 billion in humanitarian aid for Gaza, the West Bank and Ukraine, and $4.8 billion to deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific.

It would also provide $2.4 billion to help the US forces defend against Iranian-backed Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

The package includes the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, which would require Biden to sanction transnational criminal organizations that traffic fentanyl and enable to use proceeds from property seized from traffickers to fund law enforcement operations.