Biden signs Ukraine aid bill
U.S. President Joe Biden signs bills on aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
Biden said this during his speech at the White House, Censor.NET reports.
This is a good day for America, a good day for Europe, and a good day for world peace... I have just signed into law the National Security Package that passed the House of Representatives this weekend and the Senate yesterday. It will make America safer, it will make the world safer, and it will keep America leading the world, and everybody knows that," Biden said.
The US president emphasized that the measures taken "provide vital support to America's partners so they can defend themselves against threats to their sovereignty and the lives and freedom of their citizens." Biden also called it a U.S. investment in its own security.
"Because when our allies are stronger, and I want to emphasize this again, we are stronger. I am grateful to everyone in Congress, Democrats, Republicans, and independents, who voted for this bill. It was a difficult path, it should have been easier... But in the end, we did what America always does. We stepped up to the plate, we came together, and we did it. Now we need to move quickly, and we are doing that," the US President said.
At the nearest time, we will start to supply weapons to Ukraine. We are talking about ammunition for air defense systems and artillery, missiles, and armored vehicles," Biden added.
The law on assistance to Ukraine provides for the allocation of approximately $61 billion to Ukraine. Not all of the proposed amount will go to arms transfers. More than $20 billion will be used to replenish US military arsenals. Another part of the money will be spent to finance the activities of the US military near Ukraine. About $14 billion will be used to help Ukraine buy its own weapons.
Approval of the US Congress of the aid for Ukraine
The adoption of the Ukraine aid bill has been ongoing in the US Congress since October 2023. At that time, the White House submitted a budget request to Congress that included funding for additional spending to help Ukraine in the amount of about $61.4 billion. However, the issue was not put to a vote due to the position of some Republican congressmen and personally Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.
In February 2024, the U.S. Senate approved a joint bill on aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, but House Speaker Mike Johnson refused to put it to a vote.
In April 2024, Mike Johnson proposed his own four separate bills to Congress - on aid to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and on US national security issues.
On April 20, the US House of Representatives passed a bill on financing assistance to Ukraine. The Congress also supported the confiscation of frozen Russian assets in the United States for Ukraine and voted to extend anti-Russian sanctions.
On April 23, the document was supported by the US Senate and sent to the president for signature.
