Republicans strip US$300 million for Ukraine from defence spending bill in Congress but will consider it later
Republicans in the US House of Representatives have decided to strip US$300 million of financial aid for Ukraine from the defence spending bill and consider these funds in a separate bill.
Source: European Pravda with reference to The Hill
Details: The House Rules Committee convened a last-minute meeting to remove the funding for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative – which is intended for training Ukrainian soldiers and purchasing weapons – from the Department of Defense appropriations bill.
US$300 million financial aid for Ukraine will be considered in a standalone bill. Tom Cole, House Rules Committee Chairman, explained this is crucial for approving the defence budget.
The Republicans took this step despite the fact that their leader in the House of Representatives, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, promised last week not to strip funds for Ukraine from the defence budget project.
And it happened despite the fact that the lower chamber of Congress had previously rejected an amendment proposed by Republican Andy Biggs which provided for this step.
Though the defence appropriations bill may be able to pass the House of Representatives without the financing for Ukraine, which is opposed by far-right Republicans, it must still be approved by the Senate and signed by President Joe Biden.
The US$300 million in question is not related to the additional US$24 billion financial aid for Ukraine and associated spending which the White House adopted in August, and which is likewise opposed by far-right Republicans.
Against this backdrop, the US Senate implemented an alternative short-term budget resolution project which, among other things, provided for over US$6.1 billion of additional aid for Ukraine, specifically US$4.5 billion for defence spending and over US$1.6 billion for economic support.
But Kevin McCarthy has already stated that there will be no votes in favour of the Senate’s budget proposal among members of the House.
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