US approves US$95 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan

The United States Senate approved this Tuesday (April 23, 2024) the US$95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The text also allows for the banning of TikTok in North American territory if the application continues to be controlled by the Chinese company ByteDance.

The vote had 79 votes in favor and 18 against. Another 3 abstained. Now, the text only needs President Joe Biden’s sanction to come into force.

Before being approved in the Senate, the bill went through impasses in the Chamber of Representatives that lasted months. However, on February 13, during a vote that reached 316 votes to 94, the bipartisan majority of the House decided that the project would be discussed, and it was then taken to a vote and approved.

With the approval of the measure, US allied countries will benefit as follows:

• $60.8 billion will go toward aiding Ukraine in its war against Russia, including $23 billion to replenish the U.S. stockpile of weapons and facilities;
• US$26.4 billion will be allocated to Israel, including US$9.1 billion in humanitarian aid; It is
• $8 billion will go toward security assistance for Taiwan and other allies in the Indo-Pacific.

After the text was approved, the Democratic leader of the Senate majority, Chuck Schumer, stated that the aid that will be provided by the United States to allied countries will be a way of demonstrating leadership on the world stage.

Although some Republicans were against the aid package, former United States President Donald Trump took a favorable stance on the bill. In a post on Truth Social published on April 18, he questioned the limited aid offered by European countries, but stated that Ukraine’s survival is important to the US.