Senate to Quickly Advance $95B Foreign Aid Bill

According to Punchbowl News on Monday, the Senate is likely to push through the House-led $95 billion foreign aid package despite opposition.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is aiming to bring the bill to the floor for a vote on Tuesday, disregarding objections from two Republican Senators and an independent who want to make changes to the aid package for Ukraine ($60.84B), Israel ($26B), and the Indo-Pacific region, including Taiwan ($8.12B).

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., stated that 80% of the aid to Ukraine will be used to replenish American weapons and stocks. The remaining aid will come in the form of loans that Ukraine can use to purchase U.S. weaponry, with the possibility of loan forgiveness by the president.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, plans to propose an amendment to remove the forgiveness aspect of the loans to Ukraine and use the repayments to reduce the U.S. deficit. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., aims to send the bill to the Appropriations Committee to include provisions related to Israel.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is critical of the aid to Israel’s military and advocates for funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to prevent hunger in Gaza. However, the House has prohibited funding to UNRWA due to its ties to Hamas.

Punchbowl News reports that all proposed amendments will likely be rejected, and the aid package will pass easily in the Senate with over 60 votes, advancing to President Joe Biden for approval.

Despite the Senate being scheduled for recess this week, the House passed the aid package on Saturday, which includes measures like a potential TikTok ban and the transfer of seized Russian assets to Ukraine under the REPO Act.