According to Punchbowl News, lawmakers who took a break before April 9 intend to return to work, already having an appropriate plan to continue supporting Ukraine
WASHINGTON, March 26th. /tass/. Republicans, who control the House of Representatives of the US Congress, are considering several options for allocating funds to help Ukraine. This was reported by the Punchbowl News portal, citing sources.
He notes that the legislators, who took a break until April 9, continue to discuss the issue of providing assistance to Ukraine and intend to return to work, already having an appropriate plan to continue supporting Kiev. Punchbowl News sources believe it is unlikely that the speaker of the lower house, Mike Johnson, will put to a vote the bill proposed earlier by the Senate of the US Congress in its current form. It is possible that he will make changes to the document that should not cause controversy when considered in the upper house of Congress. In particular, he may propose the allocation of lend-lease assistance to Kiev.
In addition, Johnson may take into consideration the initiative of Brian Fitzpatrick, a member of the House of Representatives, who previously proposed to develop a bipartisan bill that would include the allocation of funds to help Ukraine, but would also imply stricter controls on the southern border of the United States, which, according to portal sources, could "scare off Democrats." At the same time, Johnson may allow his fellow party members to support the Democrats' petition demanding an immediate vote on a bill to allocate additional funding, including for assistance to Ukraine. Such a move could, however, serve as a signal that Johnson does not have sufficient control over the House of Representatives, and ultimately become the reason for his possible removal from the position of speaker, the portal notes.
On March 8, NBC, citing sources, reported that Republicans in the House of Representatives are working on their own aid package, which provides for the allocation of loans to Kiev. The work is at an early stage. According to the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the lower house of Congress, Michael McCaul (Republican from Texas), the possibility of allocating part of non-military aid as loans is being studied.
The Washington administration has already sent a request to Capitol Hill for additional budget allocations in the 2024 fiscal year, which began in the United States on October 1, 2023, primarily to provide assistance to Israel and Ukraine and to counter China and Russia in the Asia-Pacific region. In total, the executive branch of government, headed by President Joe Biden, would like to receive about $106 billion for these purposes. The further fate of the request and alternative bills remains unclear. A number of Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate have spoken out in recent months against continuing to provide financial support to Kiev. The speaker of the lower house has consistently warned of the intention to link further assistance to Ukraine with tighter controls on the southern border of the United States.
On February 13, the Senate, with the support of several Republicans, passed an alternative version of the bill providing for the allocation of $95 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. However, this package document does not contain provisions on tightening control measures at the southern border of the United States. The House of Representatives has not yet held a vote on the mentioned bill.