BREAKING: The Senate has given final congressional approval to a $13.6 billion emergency package of military and humanitarian aid for besieged Ukraine and its European allies.
“We promised the Ukrainian people they would not go at it alone in their fight against Putin,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said just before the vote. “And once we pass this funding in a short while, we will keep that promise.”White House press secretary Jen Psaki said approval “proves once more that members of both parties can come together to deliver results for the American people” — a phenomenon in short supply in recent years.
“This administration’s first instinct is to flinch, wait for international and public pressure to overwhelm them, and then take action only after the most opportune moment has passed us by,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Republicans lay claim to an almost 6% boost for defense, including money for 85 advanced F-35 fighter planes, 13 new Navy ships, upgrades for 90 Abrams tanks and improvements for schools on military bases. There would be another $300 million for Ukraine and $300 million for other Eastern European allies on top of the measure’s emergency funding.
Affirming the practice’s popularity, the Senate rejected an amendment by Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., to strip the earmarks. Braun said they encompassed 367 pages that weighed five pounds and showed “the swamp is rising again.” The amendment’s defeat by a bipartisan 64-35 margin spoke for itself.
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