US House Speaker Johnson Unveils Aid Plan for Ukraine and Israel
At a closed-door meeting of the US House of Representatives, Speaker Mike Johnson presented four separate bills to help Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and fund national security. He announced this on the X platform (Twitter).
According to the US newspaper The Hill, Johnson unveiled his proposal during a closed-door conference of the House of Representatives on 15 April.
The first plan is to move the procedural rule that governs all four bills - Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan would each get their own, while the fourth focuses on national security priorities. Each proposal will then be voted on separately, unlike the $95 billion foreign aid legislation passed by the Senate, which combines the various elements into a single package.
The fourth bill is related to national security and the ban on TikTok. The document also contains a provision that would allow the US to use confiscated Russian assets to help Ukraine, a lend-lease act for military aid, and convertible loans for humanitarian aid.
Johnson's phased strategy offers the unique advantage of allowing lawmakers to pick and choose which parts of the Senate bill they would like to support and which they would oppose. To further sweeten the deal, he allows amendments to be made to each proposal.
As a reminder, the United States Senate approved an international aid bill that includes $95.3 billion in funding for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan back on 13 February.
The document provides more than $60 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel, and $4.83 billion to support partners in the Indo-Pacific region, including Taiwan, and to deter Chinese aggression. It will also provide $9.15 billion in humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza and the West Bank, Ukraine and other conflict zones around the world.
For final approval, the bill must be voted on by the House of Representatives and then signed by US President Joe Biden.