Biden signs a law authorizing foreign aid that gives Ukraine vital military support.
The $95 billion aid package, approved by the Senate late on Tuesday night, consists of around $61 billion for Ukraine, $26 billion for Israel, and $8 billion for the Indo-Pacific region.
Speaking from the White House following the bill's signing on Wednesday, Biden—donning a pin of the US-Ukrainian flag—stated that it was a “good day for America, a good day for Ukraine, and a good day for world peace.”According to Biden, the aid deal will "make America safer." The globe will become safer as a result. And it keeps America at the forefront of the global community.
Months of intense talks, personal lobbying by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and a division within the House Republican conference that persists in endangering House Speaker Mike Johnson's leadership position culminated in the signing of the aid package. Hardline Concerned over Johnson's handling of the discussions, House conservatives vowed to remove him and rejected any US funding to Kyiv. Congress's conservatives have objected to further funding for what they see as an unwinnable war.
Biden had been pressuring Johnson to extend aid to Ukraine for months. He had brought in senior administration officials and CIA Director Bill Burns to explain the risks to Ukraine and, eventually, democracy in Europe and the world, should Russia succeed in its military campaign there.
Biden had been pressuring Johnson to extend aid to Ukraine for months. He had brought in senior administration officials and CIA Director Bill Burns to explain the risks to Ukraine and, eventually, democracy in Europe and the world, should Russia succeed in its military campaign there.
Earlier in the year, Biden made it clear that if Congress proceeded with the aid bill, he would be willing to make considerable compromises on immigration. Congressmen Republicans had been pressing for these changes, but they withdrew their demands when President Donald Trump hinted that he would not support Biden's claim to victory on a topic on which he intends to run for office.
In his remarks on Wednesday, he conceded that getting the package passed would be a difficult journey.
"It was a challenging journey," Biden remarked. "It ought to have been simpler. It ought to have arrived earlier. Ultimately, though, we did what Americans usually do: we seize the opportunity and unite. We completed it.
Biden focused the most of his speech on the assistance to Ukraine, pointing out that Russia has "been responsible for a brutal campaign against Ukraine."
Biden declared, "They've bombed hospitals, kindergartens, grain silos, and tried to plunge Ukraine into a cold, dark winter. They've killed tens of thousands of Ukrainians."
However, what is not mentioned in that statement is something that will probably aggravate Biden's left flank even more: Israel has also been accused of attacking Gaza's hospitals, of using starvation as a weapon of war, and of conducting an indiscriminate military campaign that has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians, many of them children. Additional military hardware valued at billions of dollars is part of the aid package for that nation.
Biden declared, "They've bombed hospitals, kindergartens, grain silos, and tried to plunge Ukraine into a cold, dark winter. They've killed tens of thousands of Ukrainians."
However, what is not mentioned in that statement is something that will probably aggravate Biden's left flank even more: Israel has also been accused of attacking Gaza's hospitals, of using starvation as a weapon of war, and of conducting an indiscriminate military campaign that has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians, many of them children. Additional military hardware valued at billions of dollars is part of the aid package for that nation.
Democrats who voted against the bill did so in part because of the aid to Israel.
The Senate's final voting count was 79–18. Along with two Democrats and one independent, fifteen Republicans voted against the bill. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who met with Vice President Joe Biden earlier this week and expressed opposition to continued US backing of Israel's conflict in Gaza, was one of the senators who voted against the bill.
Not long after the law was passed, Sanders declared in a post on X, "Enough is enough." "No more funding for the war machine run by [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu."The bill’s effects will be felt most quickly and acutely on battlefields in Ukraine, whose soldiers have faced ammunition shortages and battlefield losses in the absence of US assistance this year.
The Senate's final voting count was 79–18. Along with two Democrats and one independent, fifteen Republicans voted against the bill. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who met with Vice President Joe Biden earlier this week and expressed opposition to continued US backing of Israel's conflict in Gaza, was one of the senators who voted against the bill.
Not long after the law was passed, Sanders declared in a post on X, "Enough is enough." "No more funding for the war machine run by [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu."The bill’s effects will be felt most quickly and acutely on battlefields in Ukraine, whose soldiers have faced ammunition shortages and battlefield losses in the absence of US assistance this year.
Ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), artillery rounds, air defense missiles RIM-7 and AIM-9M, Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, and more are among the capabilities contained in the new package. Along with small weapons ammunition, including.50 caliber rounds to counter drones, anti-armor systems, training munitions, and spare components are also included.
Administration representatives told Congress on Tuesday that the US would provide Ukraine its long-desired Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS. Although it's not totally unprecedented, the ATACMS were not listed on the Pentagon's official list of materiel being transferred to Ukraine. The US provided a specific variant of the ATACMS last year, but the administration kept it a secret.
At the time, an official stated that the purpose of remaining silent was to surprise Russia in case they relocated armaments out of the missiles' path before Ukraine could utilize them.
Administration representatives told Congress on Tuesday that the US would provide Ukraine its long-desired Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS. Although it's not totally unprecedented, the ATACMS were not listed on the Pentagon's official list of materiel being transferred to Ukraine. The US provided a specific variant of the ATACMS last year, but the administration kept it a secret.
At the time, an official stated that the purpose of remaining silent was to surprise Russia in case they relocated armaments out of the missiles' path before Ukraine could utilize them.
The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Mark Warner, said on Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation"
Sending ATACMS to Ukraine right away is necessary.
"I hope that once this reaches the president by Tuesday or Wednesday, that these shipments will be literally launched with that longer range ATACMS," he stated. "We need to get this additional equipment as soon as possible."
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