Senate passes $95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan
Associated PressWASHINGTON — The Senate has passed $95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars. In an interview with The Associated Press shortly before the vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said that if Congress hadn’t passed the aid, “America would have paid a price economically, politically, militarily.” “Very few things we have done have risen to this level of historic importance,” he said. On the Senate floor, Schumer said the Senate was sending a message to U.S. allies: “We will stand with you.” Schumer and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made passage of the legislation a top priority, agreeing to tie the Ukraine and Israel aid to help ensure passage and arguing there could be dire consequences for the United States and many of its global allies if Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression is left unchecked. AP AUDIO: Aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan heads to the Senate for final approval after months of delay In remarks, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says Washington must send the world a clear signal. “The United States is spread too thin,” Vance said, “And that argument, I think, is winning the American people and it’s slowly winning the Senate, but it’s not going to happen overnight.” The growing fault line in the GOP between those conservatives who are skeptical of the aid and the more traditional “Reagan Republicans” who strongly support it may prove to be career-defining for the two top Republican leaders.