War in Ukraine – US military aid could end – WP
According to journalists, the US Senate must now pass the law. Biden is waiting for House Speaker McCarthy to introduce another bill to support Ukraine.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution extending federal funding for 45 days by a vote of 335-91. The bill does not provide for any funding to support Ukraine, the Washington Post reports.
One Democrat and 90 Republicans reportedly voted against the bill.
“The short-term funding bill includes disaster relief funds, an extension of the federal flood insurance program and a reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, but no aid to Ukraine,” the journalists noted.
The publication also reported that the US Senate must now pass the bill before 12:01 p.m. local time on Sunday (7:00 a.m. Kyiv time) to avoid a government shutdown.
The US Congress supported a bill that would withdraw military aid to Ukraine
According to journalists, Mike Quigley of Illinois was the only Democrat to vote against the short-term spending bill for the US federal government. He represents one of the largest Ukrainian communities in his state and is co-chair of the Ukrainian Caucus.
The publication noted that President Joe Biden has asked Congress to allocate $20.6 billion to support Ukraine. The country enjoys bipartisan support in the Senate, but a growing number of Republicans in the House have recently turned sharply against it. House Republican leaders say a no-money Ukraine funding bill could be the only way to break the government’s funding impasse, although it was not certain as of midday whether the bill would pass.
A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the House-passed bill prevents deep cuts to domestic programs and includes disaster relief. The Biden administration expects House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to soon introduce another bill supporting Ukraine.
The US supported a bill that would withdraw aid to Ukraine: Kiev’s reaction
People’s Deputy of Ukraine Yaroslav Zheleznyak said in his telegram that this was a bad story.
“The House of Representatives (which passed this bill without support from Ukraine) is controlled by Republicans. But as you can see, they voted thanks to 209 Democratic votes,” Zheleznyak noted.
He wrote that the document has already been submitted to the Senate, where the majority of members are Democrats. In addition, Republicans there are more loyal to Ukraine. However, Democratic senators find themselves in an awkward situation. They can either block funding to U.S. government agencies indefinitely or deny aid to Ukraine.
“In both cases they are accused of either the first or the second,” Zheleznyak said.
It was previously reported that the United States had proposed withholding aid to Ukraine to avoid a shutdown – a temporary partial halt to US government authorities. A closure occurs when the government fails to pass a funding law for the following year or a temporary funding measure.
