Amid Russia's continuing invasion, President Joe Biden signed legislation on Monday that would make it simpler for the US to transfer military weapons to Ukraine.
President Joe Biden signed the bill in the Oval Office with Vice President Kamala Harris and members of Congress. The Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022 was passed by Congress last month with bipartisan backing.
Joe Biden Reaffirms Support For Ukraine
Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) presented the measure, which authorizes the US to lend or lease military equipment to Ukraine and other Eastern European allies while expediting the procedure. The law brings back a strategy from World War II that helped defeat Nazi Germany.
Last month, the law cleared the Senate on a voice vote and then the House on a bipartisan vote of 417-10. Republicans accounted for all ten no votes in the House. As Ukraine has fought back against Russian strikes on key cities such as Kyiv and southern and eastern Ukraine, the US has supplied military and other security aid at a rapid pace, The Hill reported.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked Congress to act before the present drawdown funding run out on May 19, in a letter handed to Capitol Hill on Monday. All except $100 million of the $3.5 billion in weapons and equipment that the Pentagon may deliver to Ukraine from its current inventories have already been supplied or pledged. The remaining $100 million is likely to be consumed by May 19, according to the officials.
The bill's signing was praised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He thanked President Joe Biden for signing the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022, calling it a significant milestone in the country's history.
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Aim To Help Ukraine May Be Tested Through Bipartisan Votes
President Joe Biden and Congress have shown a steadfast commitment to Ukraine that has been both surprising and long-lasting. Still, as the United States and its allies come closer to the fight with Russia, the bipartisan support for Ukraine will be tested.
The House might vote on the enhanced Ukraine assistance package as early as this week, sending the bill to the Senate, which is now trying to approve Biden's nomination of Bridget Brink as the next Ukrainian ambassador.
Because the president's party only has the tiniest majorities in the House and Senate, Republican participation is preferable, if not essential, in passing the president's regional policy.
Despite their differences about Biden's foreign policy approach and perceived blunders in facing Russia, lawmakers of the House and Senate have united to back the president's agenda in Ukraine, as per AP News.
Republicans refused to approve new money to fight the pandemic without a vote on Biden's decision to end a Trump-era border policy known as Title 42. Biden and Democratic leaders had hoped to move a coronavirus aid package alongside the Ukraine aid, using the Ukrainian assistance as leverage to secure additional COVID-19 funding.
President Joe Biden and Democratic leaders had little choice but to divide the two measures as a result. His decision to split the two legislation should help ease the way for Congress to approve roughly $40 billion in financing for Ukraine, but it puts a $10 billion pandemic relief package in limbo, which Biden and Democrats have said is a high priority as the US prepares for a possible winter spike.
Without further money for Ukraine, Biden has warned that shipments of guns and other help will have to be discontinued in approximately ten days. Later, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., stated that the House will take up the bill first and proceed rapidly, according to NBC News.
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