From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
US Senate votes to advance Israel aid bill after months of delay
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Billions of dollars in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan advances in the US Senate, heading for a vote on final passage days after the House of Representatives abruptly ended a months-long stalemate and approved the assistance in a rare Saturday session.
As voting continues, the Senate votes 72 to 13 in favor of advancing the package of four bills passed by the House, more than the 60 needed to pave the way for a vote on final passage as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday.
The legislation will send $17 billion in defense aid to Israel, and some $9 billion to provide humanitarian relief to people in Gaza, as well as other war-torn regions (the final decision on allocation was up to the White House, with analysts expecting roughly $2 billion would go to Gaza).
The second bill provides $61 billion for Ukraine, and the third $8.12 billion “to counter communist China” in the Indo-Pacific. A fourth piece of legislation includes a potential ban on the social media app TikTok, measures for the transfer of seized Russian assets to Ukraine and new sanctions on Iran.
US President Joe Biden has promised to sign it into law as soon as it passes the Senate.
The Times of Israel Community.