Senate votes to advance foreign aid package - assistance for Ukraine and Israel
Ted Barrett, CNN | 2/8/2024, 12:24 p.m.
The Senate held a key vote on Thursday to advance a $95.3 billion foreign aid package that provides assistance for Israel and Ukraine after Republicans blocked a broader bill that included border security measures earlier this week.
The major foreign aid package now moves one step closer to a final passage vote, which could still be days away. All senators need to agree to a timing agreement to swiftly pass legislation out of the chamber, and opposition to foreign aid from key senators is likely to slow down the process. Since Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has long opposed foreign aid, said he will not agree to speed up this process, it will be a laborious path for the Senate to finally pass the bill.
Thursday’s vote advanced the bill on a tally of 67 to 32. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called it “a good first step,” saying that “failure to pass this bill would only embolden autocrats like Putin … who want nothing more than America’s decline.”
If the bill is eventually passed by the Senate, it would next go to the House, where it’s unclear when or whether Speaker Mike Johnson would hold a vote on it.
Senators were supposed to be on recess next week. Schumer said on Thursday that the Senate will keep working on the bill “until the job is done.”
The foreign aid package includes billions of dollars to support Ukraine and for security assistance for Israel, as well as humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza, the West Bank and Ukraine.
The bill includes $60 billion to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia, $14.1 billion in security assistance for Israel, $9.2 billion in humanitarian assistance and $4.8 billion to support regional partners in the Indo-Pacific region, among other provisions, according to the Senate Appropriations Committee.