US Senate Passes $95B Foreign Aid Package

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Facts

• The US Senate on Tuesday, in a bipartisan 70-29 vote after an overnight session and a working weekend, passed a $95B aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific. But the bill faces a stiff test in passing the House.¹
• The bill's passage, which required 22 Republicans joining most of the majority Democrats, comes a week after some Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would've combined aid for Ukraine and other allies with stricter enforcement of the US southern border.²
• The bill gives Ukraine $61B, provides Israel with $14B, and diverts $4.8B to the Indo-Pacific, including Taiwan. Also included is $9.15B in humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Ukraine, and other conflict areas.³
• Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and his allies denounced the bill before passage, with Johnson criticizing its lack of border security provisions that would address 'the most pressing issue facing our country.'⁴
• Johnson sounded unlikely to even bring the bill to a vote, as he said the House 'will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters.'⁵

Sources: ¹CBS, ²Reuters.com, ³Al Jazeera, ⁴Associated Press and ⁵POLITICO.

Narratives

• Republican narrative, as provided by Breitbart. Republicans who voted to pass this bill are turncoats who are out of touch with the will of the people. The time has come to stop throwing good money after bad in a Ukraine-Russia war that is at a stalemate at best and continues to cost Ukraine uncountable lives and riches. Fortunately, the GOP-led House will do the right thing and kill this bill while getting to work on legislation to address the southern border crisis.
• Democratic narrative, as provided by MSNBC. Republicans in both chambers who oppose this bill clearly don't value the national security of the US and its allies. Western democracy as we know it is at stake, yet Republicans keep playing games over border provisions — which they seem to oppose or beg for depending on which way the wind is blowing. All measures to get this bill through the House should be utilized.

Predictions