US Senate okays aid package that includes billions for Israel

The US Senate has passed $95 billion in war aid to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.

The bill passed the Senate on an overwhelming 79-18 vote late April 23 after the House had approved the package on April 20, according to The Times of Israel.

Biden, who worked with congressional leaders to win support, said in a statement immediately after passage that he will sign it on March 24 and start the process of sending weapons to Ukraine, which has been struggling to hold its front lines against Russia.

“Tonight, a bipartisan majority in the Senate joined the House to answer history’s call at this critical inflection point,” Biden said.

The legislation would also send $17 billion in wartime assistance to Israel and $9 billion in humanitarian relief to citizens of Gaza and other war-torn regions (the final decision on allocation will be up to the White House, with analysts expecting roughly $2 billion would go to Gaza). Another $8 billion will go to counter Chinese threats in Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific. US officials said about $1 billion of the aid could be on its way shortly, with the bulk following in the coming weeks.

In an interview with The Associated Press shortly before the vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said that if Congress hadn’t passed the aid, “America would have paid a price economically, politically, militarily.”